Stamps/markings in soviet field equipment

[jock auld]

Guys,

It seems at first glance to be just as fraught with fakes as the German market?

I will keep my eyes peeled.

Thanks.

Jock

[Dimas]

Yes Jock, 3 Reich fakes is more known, due of more peoples specialized in this market

[alysloper]

Jock
I think I am in a similar position to you, as I only just got interested in Soviet WW2 militaria and have been trying to find out how to tell WW2 stuff from the wealth of post-WW2 stuff that's out there. The best place to learn seems to be this forum! I should certainly like to know about the cloth used for WW2 canteen covers? How was it different from later type?

thanks
Ian

[Wesley's Dad]

Size depends from the factory

Agreed... the 1950's types are identical to wartime production. Similarly, the canteen cover material and the draw string as well look to be fairly modern.

So if something was found without a date what does a collector do? I offer this...

Many come into this genre of collecting bringing a mindset with them from collecting German militaria previously. That is there should be clear distinctions between what is before and after May 1945.

The problem is that the Soviets didn't stop making this stuff in May of 1945 and there is a huge gray area from 1945 into most of the 1950's where items either did not change at all or changed slowly over time. Often in this time period, the only reliable determination is a post war date. I say post war because it is highly unlikely such would be faked because it only serves to keep the value low.

I have described collecting wartime Soviet equipment as being like the movie "The Matrix" In that film, a character had to take a "blue pill" in order to see the world as it really was.

The "blue pill" reality here is that often times there are no assurances that an item is post war or wartime. Many wartime dates are fake and as a collector you have to learn to accept the fact that undated material that is identical in every way to known WW2 issue... is WW2 issue or good enough. We can learn to feel good about some wartime stamps versus others, but the reality is that there are no absolutes.

[Wesley's Dad]

Jock
I think I am in a similar position to you, as I only just got interested in Soviet WW2 militaria and have been trying to find out how to tell WW2 stuff from the wealth of post-WW2 stuff that's out there. The best place to learn seems to be this forum! I should certainly like to know about the cloth used for WW2 canteen covers? How was it different from later type?

thanks
Ian

Ian, a ww2 canteen cover in this thin HBT looking cloth would be highly unusual. However if you look at enough 60's, 70, 80's models you will see that it is very common on those. In addition, most wartime Soviet covers have a chord draw string and not this green flat tape type. Again most all the 60-80s types have one like is shown.

Also, it might be an illusion, but it sure appears that the 43 stamp has been place over another stamp that has been scrubbed out. That is never a good sign.

[Wesley's Dad]

While the shovel is certainly a good one, do not put too much faith in the OTK (Otdel Tehnicheskovo Kontrolya) mark alone. This mark is not limited to wartime and is not limited to military material. I got a plastic model kit made by a Russian manufacturer last year and it had an OTK mark on the instruction sheet. Such a mark is simply like reaching into the pocket of your new purchased trousers and pulling out the little slip of paper that says "Inspected by #37"

Mike