Item Description
Original Item: Only One Available. The SS (Schutzstaffel - 'Protection Squadron') was originally formed in 1925, ostensibly to act as a small, loyal bodyguard unit to protect the Führer, Adolf AH. Under the direction of the Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, the SS grew to be the most ruthless and feared organization of the 20th century. They were the vanguard of NSDAPsm and eventually controlled nearly every function of German life and much of Occupied Europe.
This is a very nice extremely rare German Allgemeine (General) SS "Other Ranks" Schirmmütze (Visor Cap) in size 57. It still retains the gold "ᛋᛋ" logo on the oil-cloth top lining, under the celluloid diamond. The body is produced in black wool that is in near excellent condition with some minor wear and no moth nips that we can see. The white wool piping also has some minor age toning, so it is now more of a cream color. All of this is minor, and does nothing to take away from this very handsome cap.
The center band is produced in black badge cloth and in very good condition. The original Reichsadler (National Eagle) and Totenkopf (Skull) emblems are present, and in lovely condition. The plating on the Eagle is still quite bright, though the skull has lost most of the silvering, and is now a lovely dull bronze color. The eagle is marked on the back with a very small marking we cannot quite make out, and the skull we cannot see behind. The black leather chinstrap is very good, retained by the proper black enameled buttons.. The black vulkanfibre visor has some very minor crazing but is otherwise in good condition, with a small crack just under the center. The underside is finished in an orange/brown hue and has most of the distinctive black ᛋᛋ rune "RZM" ink stamp.
The interior top panel is finished in orange/brown oil cloth while the remainder of the interior is finished in orange/brown cloth. There is a diamond shaped moisture shield that is mostly intact, as shown, and the gold silk screened symbol are fully intact. The size is ink stamped to the lining and indicates this is a nice large size 57. The sweatband is quite worn, with discoloration from use, and also has numerous tears, some of which go all the way through. Faintly stamped to the underside of the sweatband is Gg. E. D. - 3, which could be a date, but the second number is unclear, and could be 5, 6, or 8 possibly.
Underneath the sweatband is a large, black oil cloth RZM tag which indicates that this is a TUCHMÜTZE für ᛋᛋ (Cloth Hat for SS), and has the Hersteller (maker) number 143. With further research #143 could identify the specific maker, however the records for SS suppliers are very incomplete. There is also the RZM business number 061277 indicated.
A top quality rare German SS Other Ranks Visor cap, in very good shape with lots of research potential. Ready to display!
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- Due to legal restrictions this item cannot be shipped to Australia, France or Germany. This is not a comprehensive list and other countries may be added in the future.
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