SS RELICS - WAFFEN-SS TUNICS, SS HEADGEAR, SS POSTERS, SS UNIFORMS, SS INSIGNIA, SS ALLACH PORCELAIN

SS INSIGNIA

SS insignia and the study of it is a large subject and has already filled several books. The subject of SS cufftitles alone has produced several excellent books.

Trying to cover all the different insignia here would be an impossible job, so I will show a few relevant examples from my own collection. I'll attempt to impart some of the things that I have learnt from other collectors and my own study, to everyone reading this. I am very grateful to my fellow collectors for the knowledge I have gained from them.

Here are a few of my favourite reference books to get you started:

"Insignia of the SS" by John Angolia

"Uniforms of the Waffen-SS" The 3 volume set by Mike Beaver

"German Military Cuffbands 1784 - Present" by Gordon Williamson & Thomas McGuire

Flatwire SS Cap Skulls

This flatwire skull photo comparison was inspired by (and dedicated to) my friend Paul Harris who was much more versed in this subject than myself, as a quick reference guide on flatwire skulls for all my collector friends. In my opinion, it shows every variation of authentic machine woven flatwire SS cap skull known to date. All of these in the photo are in my collection except #5 (I did own # 5 briefly) and can be seen on the headgear page. From my own study it appears that numbers 4 & 5 are the rarest of all the types and I have only encountered one of each in 8 years of study. The most common type appears to be # 1. Even though these look different, they all share a number of common traits that so far the fakers have not been able to reproduce (yet). One of the main traits is the tightness and quality of the weave that the German's excelled in. Anyone who is interested can contact me for the details on the other common features. The last skull on the bottom row is actually the same pattern as # 1 - they have just been stretched differently when sewn to their respective caps. If you believe you have another variant I would be pleased to see it. Contact me here SS Relics - Information if you have further relevant information.

The above photo is merely to illustrate the front and back construction of a flatwire skull for reference purposes.

Flatwire SS Cap Eagles
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Flatwire cap eagles have been faked much better than the skulls have, as you can see from the above photo comparison. However the details give the fakes away when you know what to look for.



SS Sleeve Eagles

Flatwire Type 1 (machine woven)	Flatwire Type 2 (machine woven)	Hammerhead (machine woven)	Bevo Tropical (machine woven)	Hand Embroidered bullion (this type is sometimes called the "RZM" or Karl Wolff style)	Another more worn, hand embroidered type. This shows how the "shiny" bullion wears off giving it a unique two-tone effect.

SS sleeve eagles came in a very large number of styles and could easily take up a large reference book by themselves. The flatwire types are generally acknowledged as having come in 3 styles only. The Bevo types, hand embroidered bullion and machine woven types all came in many different styles. The hand embroidered bullion types are now becoming very hard to distinguish the authentic from the fake, as the fakes are now very good. I would generally advise posting these on one of the forums to get further opinions. The photos shown here are from my own collection. I generally don't like to show items that are not in my collection as then I'm "borrowing" other collectors photos. However I can provide some links to some reference threads on various forums for further study of these items. You might have to join as a member of the various forums to view the photos. SS SLEEVE EAGLE REFERENCE


SS Collar Tabs

Machine emroidered bullion (unissued pair)	Machine emroidered bullion (close-up)

SS Cuff Titles


SS Metal Visor Insignia - Skulls



SS Metal Visor Insignia - Eagles


The list below (I believe) is a current list of all the good metal visor eagle and skull markings and their makers where they have been identified. This list is subject to change and should not be completely relied upon for a final determination of a good (or fake) item. Please do use it as an intial checklist only. Then get some further advice. Skulls: Unmarked - Deschler & Sohn GES.GESCH. - Deschler & Sohn RZM GES GESCH - (no periods) Deschler & Sohn (RZM STAMPED ON BACK LOWER LEFT JAW) RZM D.&S.M. GES.GESCH. - Deschler & Sohn (RZM STAMPED ON BACK LOWER LEFT JAW) RZM 52 - Deschler & Sohn RZM M1/52 - Deschler & Sohn RZM 254/42 - Deschler & Sohn RZM 499/41 - Fritz Zimmermann RZM M1/24 - Overhoff & Cie. GES.GESCH. - E. W. Assmann & Söhne Unmarked - E. W. Assmann & Söhne RZM M1/17 - E. W. Assmann & Söhne (unconfirmed) S.P.40 - Unknown possibly Overhoff & Cie.
Eagles: RZM M1/52 - Deschler & Sohn RZM SS 155/36 - E. W. Assmann & Söhne RZM SS 155/36 - E. W. Assmann & Söhne RZM SS 155/42 - E. W. Assmann & Söhne RZM M1/17 - E. W. Assmann & Söhne Unmarked - E. W. Assmann & Söhne RZM M1/24 - Overhoff & Cie RZM M1/72 - Fritz Zimmermann RZM SS 499/42 M1/72 - Fritz Zimmermann RZM SS M1/167 - Augustin Hicke RZM M1/8 - Ferdinand Wagner RZM SS 475/39 - Ferdinand Wagner RZM SS 475/42 - Ferdinand Wagner RZM 394-35 - Unknown E.S.P.F. - Unknown (unconfirmed possibly Eugen Schmidhäussler, Pforzheim)




	SS INSIGNIA SS insignia and the study of it is a large subject and has already filled several books. The subject of SS cufftitles alone has produced several excellent books. Trying to cover all the different insignia here would be an impossible job, so I will show a few relevant examples from my own collection. I'll attempt to impart some of the things that I have learnt from other collectors and my own study, to everyone reading this. I am very grateful to my fellow collectors for the knowledge I have gained from them. Here are a few of my favourite reference books to get you started: "Insignia of the SS" by John Angolia "Uniforms of the Waffen-SS" The 3 volume set by Mike Beaver "German Military Cuffbands 1784 - Present" by Gordon Williamson & Thomas McGuire