Is this a real ID disc? Can anyone provide info on it? Allegedly found in Bulge..

[Jan S]

i'll have to see what the seller says. But he may not get much info on it. You know how stories go, we may never find the true story. But it seems to be a real disc, right? By the way, where have you dug? I'm in the USA, it's been a dream of mine to go overseas to see old battlefields......and maybe do a little digging. Is there still alot to be found, or has it been all dug over by now? My grandfather died near Krinkelt, Belgium. It would be intersting to go there one day..

I live in Czech Republic.. In fact war ended up here, cca 800.000 german soldiers surrended there and throw away all their weapons and personall items. There are estimated 10.000 metal detectorist in a country with 10.000.000 citizen so you can image how hunted the areas are right now... Years ago you simply went to the forrest for badges and ID tags, especially in west and southwest of the country - all soldiers wanted to be captured by US not russian troops.
Today is a problem to find one single badge or ID tag... But sometimes you have luck ;-)

Jan

[Matt L]

Yup, the guys are right- it's a dug disc, so not part of a vet estate (as a contemporary piece to his service anyway). And being a field unit and not an Ersatz unit, with a low roll number suggests it's quite early; and since the unit name changed in December 1940, this disc predates that. The fact that it has a blood group letter on suggests the soldier was still serving in later 1941, which is when it's believed the marking of discs with the letters began. None of the main units in which Bau-Bataillon 208 served was ever in the west though it seems- everything's listed as 'Osten': in the east. German soldiers carried the same disc with them throughout their service time though, regardless of transfers, so the unit marking doesn't necessarily reflect the unit the man was serving in last.

If you want a piece from the a unit that participated in Wacht am Rhein (what Americans call the Battle of the Bulge), you need a list of them and the appropriate replacement units and search for one of those.

[Bulge44]

I think the vet estate story is just that a 'story'. I agree with Jan, this tag has been in the ground a long time, certainly not brought back from the war in this condition unless this 'vet' kept his collection buried in the garden.

Still, I believe the item to be original, maybe worth $20-$30.

Well, at least it appears to be real, and I paid $25 for it. So, i'm happy with that.............thanks for your input....

[Bulge44]

I live in Czech Republic.. In fact war ended up here, cca 800.000 german soldiers surrended there and throw away all their weapons and personall items. There are estimated 10.000 metal detectorist in a country with 10.000.000 citizen so you can image how hunted the areas are right now... Years ago you simply went to the forrest for badges and ID tags, especially in west and southwest of the country - all soldiers wanted to be captured by US not russian troops.
Today is a problem to find one single badge or ID tag... But sometimes you have luck ;-)

Jan

Yeah, i figured by the time I ever got over there, all the items would be in personall collections and not buried outside. It must be a rush to go out and find something like that. Most of the battle fields here from our Civil War or revolutionary war are protected and you cannot go digging on them.

[Bulge44]

Yup, the guys are right- it's a dug disc, so not part of a vet estate (as a contemporary piece to his service anyway). And being a field unit and not an Ersatz unit, with a low roll number suggests it's quite early; and since the unit name changed in December 1940, this disc predates that. The fact that it has a blood group letter on suggests the soldier was still serving in later 1941, which is when it's believed the marking of discs with the letters began. None of the main units in which Bau-Bataillon 208 served was ever in the west though it seems- everything's listed as 'Osten': in the east. German soldiers carried the same disc with them throughout their service time though, regardless of transfers, so the unit marking doesn't necessarily reflect the unit the man was serving in last.

If you want a piece from the a unit that participated in Wacht am Rhein (what Americans call the Battle of the Bulge), you need a list of them and the appropriate replacement units and search for one of those.

Ok, excellent. Thank you so much for your insight, just what I was looking for. If I give you a couple unit names, could you give me some input on what to look for on a disc?
Thanks again.

[Matt L]

Sure thing

[Simke]

Hi Bulge44,

in the Belgium ardens, I think the chance of finding there something is very small, a lot of diggers go to there and on alot of those places are now factory's build, even this famous picture is taken at a crossroad, I have been there recently and all the tree's there are gone, there are factory's , some are lucky and find here and know something, but when you whant to do some real digging and hoping to find something, the best chances are in the Hurtgenwald, wich whas the American sector, or in the Reichswald, wich whas the English sector. Even where I live, there is still alot to find and not even 15 minutes driving from where I live is Zondereigen, where a great tank battle whas fought and where even todat Fj relics are being found.
Greetings, Simon

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Attachment 383234

[Glenn66]

Attachment not working Simke, can you repost using the forum uploader?

[Simke]

[Glenn66]

Ah yes, a very famous image, thanks.