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Hi Gildwiller1918, Thank you for your donation of 20.00 GBP. We look forward to improving the forums with your donation. Thanks Treasure Bunker Forum

While we are on the subject, I assume this is a re-enactment fake, It appears to be aluminum, magnetic does not stick and no makers marks, with a steel cross pin. The top eagle portion is actually a separate piece attached to the buckle plate. Comments? To me this is a cheep dime store fake. I known nothing about these, so I am asking about a rummage sale $1 item. Lets here what the experts say.... Anyone see such crazy stuff?

Picked this pair up not long ago, SA collar tabs for a Standartenfuhrer from the Mitte Group. Some minor moth damage to one tab, but a handsome pair, nonetheless.

No, ranks this grade and higher typically command high prices, that is why I don't have much of them, lol. I only go for the yellow- and orange-colored groups to match other items I have.

Kavallerie Wachtmeister. Not quite matching, some moth damage, repairable

Bet they were'nt cheap

very nice

New set of collar tabs. Rank is Gruppenfuhrer, before the outbreak of war ranks such as this and other officers above standartenfuhrer had metal rank insignia. After the war started, this was changed to embroidered versions.

Here is another French specialist patch, this one for Engineers.

Escape to Athena was a very strange film, when I was in Rhodes in the 90's I was being driven along a road in a taxi coming from the other side of the island, when I saw all the white lattice featured in parts of the film. I asked the taxi driver to stop and went to look around and it was the exact place the movie was filmed. It looked the exact same as in the film, although I recently saw pictures of the same place and it was very dilapidated looking. It was a totally unexpected find and I could easily have driven right past it. I walked along the same path as Rodger Moore and David Niven, thinking back to how it must have been when they filmed it in 1979. The Guns Navarone was also filmed on Rhodes. I also saw a WW2 Kubelwagen parked outside a pub! and a German Bunker which still had a rifle rack in it, I spent a few days trying to work out if it was possible to get the rifle rack back on the plane, but decided against it. Rhodes is a lovely place and still has the Italian fascist architecture, Mussolini even had his holiday home there which I also visited. I took photos must try to find them again and post them here. The white lattice covered path where Rodger Moore, David Niven and Sonny Bono walked along.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&sca_esv=5fee7d56a3546583&sca_upv=1&q=buch+koppelschlösser&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjezKXX2sSEAxUNVPEDHS1aAGQQ0pQJegQIDBAB&biw=1138&bih=489&dpr=1.2 Books on belts and buckles https://fjm44.com/articles/aluminium-buckle-heer-dransfeld-co-1937/ a further buckle similar to the first one, an original

Thanks to all, fritz really nailed it ( fritz I got it free as a gift) , so here is the story from 6 Nov. 2020. Buckle, knife -as fritz shows, and a Carcano with bring back papers. from old now gone forum. Wayback machine may take a minute to load. https://web.archive.org/web/20220104164414/http://www.surplusrifleforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=4378 thanks to all. We could use a general buckle ID post... great idea. Thanks to all now I know its original. Any special buckle primary reference books?

Over the weekend, I’ll take a few photos of some of my collection showing some of the different methods of construction/ materials. I’ll start it in a new thread. E

Hi, from the new photos that you posted, It has the correct post and prong fittings, not the post war copied types that you see, and having looked at some of mine this morning, I’m be happy to say it’s real. As Fritz says, there are combat versions, parade buckles and general wear buckles- some made from more robust metals than others, some pressed from one piece of metal, some two piece and others that are factory painted, anodised or washed with different coloured metal finishes. The variety makes for it to be an interesting field to collect but also a minefield with fakes. This would be one I’d be keeping.

The buckles in your photos are original, and worth more than one dollar, I would say more like 100. Whatever you think, these are not cheap quality, but they are not combat buckles and not as "robust" as such. These are for the pre-war walking-out uniform - as in photos below Patent leather, not for a "combat" uniform (original) and always worn with a weapon like this, also non-combat, also patent leather, both showing age Originals, dress buckle above left

Eddieq , Thank you for your expertise and knowledge and detailed observations and comments. The buckle looks so common, I had my doubts. Not what I would call a high quality buckle. As support for your facts, this did come from a US Army guy's attic, but I thought it was a fake because it looks so new and low quality. It has a lack of patina and wear like the first buckle exhibited. However, this one's historical provenience suggests it is real. I know bayonets and rifles , but not uniform treasures. So that buckle is likely a real thing? I added more photos as evidence.... I am a boot to German buckles. Again a huge thank you for your input.

There’s a lot of this stuff about that is absolutely legit . Two piece, unmarked, aluminium heer buckles do exist. It looks ok in the main, however, I have two reservations:- 1. It looks like an Overhoff & Cie unmarked example but there is usually a ‘dimple’ or recess behind the catch, 2. the front obverse plate does not look as crisply formed as it should be - particularly in the 4 to 6 o’clock area. Could be the photo but it doesn’t look crisp enough. sorry, a bit on the fence with this.

Unfortunately a poor cast copy. These are quite common in so far as the replicators make a cast of the obverse (front face) and not the rear and pour in the molten liquid - hence the difference in quality between the front and back. you should also be able to see quite clearly (on these copies) where the catch has been attracted/braised on. On the original aluminium cast buckles it was all one.

Yes Fritz, I agree, while the details on the front are very crisp, the rear side looks very odd, the details should be the same if not better on the back side.

The front looks very sharp with what looks very like original paint finish, the back looks strange

Nachrichten, Leutnant. Collar patches just arrived, although they look more like golden yellow than lemon yellow.