ID Tag Question...

[Baracca]

This disc was given to me by my Grandfather who served as an SSG with the 99th Div during the "Battle of the Bulge". I think that "Wildflecken" refers to the training area in Bavaria, but I am unsure about the "H. Ma.". Any information is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[gooseandspoons]

what do you think matt? Co H and then the unit at wildflecken? not sure though still new at erkannungsmarke.

[Baracca]

I did a bit more research and according to the "Military Intelligence Service War Department Special Series No 12 German Military Abbreviations 19", H. Ma. was an abbreviation for Heeresmunitionsanstalt or "army ammunition establishment". I think it is possible (if it was issued) that this tag belonged to a civilian worker in the munitions factory at Wildflecken (no unit number etc...). Again, any input is appreciated. Matt L...?

[Matt L]

H. Ma. would stand for Heeres-Munitionsanstalt- 'army munitions institute or establishment', so not a usual military unit to be sure; that being the case, I can't say anything specific about it since I don't even know if it's a burearcratic organization or what.

[Matt L]

Ah, just beat me to it LOL It's hard to say if it was issued or not- no blood group doesn't mean anything since it's not necessarily reasonable to expect office or factory workers- if that's who this would have been issued to- would be typed since the serum for that wouldn't have been available in unlimited quantities and certainly combat formations would have taken precedence. If it were for a munitions plant worker, one might think that 1092 isn't a particularly high number per se- at least not so much so to make it unlikely to have been issued; I can easily see a munitions plant having over 1000 personnel if large.

[Baracca]

That was quick Matt! The only civilian tags I had seen previously were similar to this (small piece of metal with a single hole). Thanks for your help!

[Matt L]

Oh no, I've seen children's discs that are normal Erkennungsmarken; non-military tags did vary somewhat in shape and markings to be sure, because they likely didn't have standards the way the military did. But since the military-style discs were punched out in the millions, it certainly seems there was an ample supply to use for whomever needed them.

One interesting thing I'd point out about this disc is that people note that two different stamp sets were used to mark it- clearly the large captial and small capital letters do not go together. This isn't uncommon on authentic Erkennungsmarken- you can sometimes see that the letters and numbers don't share a common style or size, sometimes one letter is different than the rest suggesting somebody lost a stamp and required a replacement, etc. These are helpful features for adding to the 'pro' side of an evaluation. Of course fakers did learn this and sometimes do mix-and-match, but it doesn't succeed in making their junk any more believable to knowledgeable review.