SS Discs good or fake?

[Carfin LEWYS]

Hi All,

Some pics from my SS ID discs.
Good or Fake ?

Thanks for reply.
Regards.
Carfin.

[ozzaroo]

i am no expert but from what i have seen on internet they certainly look authenic

[Matt L]

Hi Carfin,

Most look reasonably likely to be good, the '3/ SS Totenkopf Pz' I'm afraid is a fake though- the font is recognizable. The 'SS/ FEB 10' is strange since the SS ought not to preceed the slash, that's where a Kompanie or Bataillon number would go, the SS should follow it as part of the formal unit title, the SS-Dirlewanger is the SS-Dirlewanger (some like it others don't- they're supposedly unissued and very weird so it's anyone's guess)- I can't reacall having ever found anything to prove they're authentic myself.

[Carfin LEWYS]

Hi Matt,

Thanks for your help.
The Dirlewanger Discs comes from ex USSR for 30 years ago.
The disc 508 comes with all cloth insignia (see photos)
Best Regards.
Carfin.

[Matt L]

I take it you didn't dig it up yourself- did you know the guy who did personally? Not that I disbelieve the story, but without solid support, that's all it'd be- good for you to have so you're content with the piece in your collection, but unfortunately not something any of the rest of us can point to to formally be able to say yes, it's real.

Or is that collar patch specific to the Dirlewanger, which would lend some support to the authenticity of the disc?

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Guys, I cannot comment on the disc, but that is the remains of a Dirlewanger collar tab.

Cheers, Ade.

[Carfin LEWYS]

Hi Matt, Hi Ade,

I know the guy who dig the stuff, since over 30 years. I was 1st lieutenant in the French Army in Berlin , he was lieutenant in the Red Army in Berlin. I meet him in a cocktail at the French embassy in Berlin in 1976.
Best Regards.
Carfin.

[Carfin LEWYS]

Hi Matt,

He gives me all the stuff, the 2 discs and the remains in 1977, he specify that the disc 508 and the remains comes from the same grave, and since I have it .
At that time, nobody or a very few guys collect ID Discs, and moreover to know somebody from the other side of the wall, nothing comes from this country.

I dont absolutely convinct nobody, I tell you the facts.
Regards.
Carfin.

[Matt L]

Ah, okay well those facts make things different. I guess this is the first time I've encountered anything reasonably solid to show that one of those truly very odd discs is real. There are many known- they're not rare really at all compared to some- but that's probably because the majority are unissued. Yours with the number 508 didn't seem likely to have been, so it was either real or a fake for certain. The collar tab is certainly helpful physical evidence- a faker could 'age' a proper one to support the disc, but it's going further than I think most would; as important are the acquisition circumstances- a friend you've had for 30 years, who recovered the stuff himself is certainly believable. I have such a friend myself- I've only known him about 8 years, but trust the things he says he's dug up are real too. Great- this is really excellent; I'm sure glad you asked about your discs

Now the one issue this raises is that you say the stuff is from a grave- are you sure that's the case, as in it was found with human remains, or that they're from the same 'hole'? The friend I mentioned finds groups of objects sometimes- discarded by one man at the end of the war- but never actual graves. It's a significant difference, I'm sure you'll agree, since a grave with a complete Erkennungsmarke likely means a man who is still listed as missing in action. If you're unsure, perhaps it would be appropriate to contact the Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt) anyway to report the discovery if it hasn't been reported already...

[Carfin LEWYS]

Hi Matt,

My friend found the dics and the remains in a hole, a grave ?, he dont know but he is certain, two men were bury in the hole, the grave, the discs and the remains comes from this: (hole.....grave) ???, in the Halbe country.
He found perhaps other things but he talled me nothing, never!!!!!
The WASt give you respons only if you can prouve you are from the family.
My uncle is Missing In Action in Russia in august 30, 1943 near Novo Jamskoje, he was 20 years old. My uncle was a forced incorporate soldier as a "volksdeutsche" ; like 100.000 other Elsaesser (French people), since the 25 august 1942 law edit by gauleiter Robert Wagner.
The Alsace country was French up to 1870, Germann from 1870 to 1918, French from 1919 to 1939, German from 1939 to 1945 and French since 1945.
My grandfather was incorporated in 1914 in the german army Infantry Rgt 99 as first lieutenant.
I have a photo from my family in 1918, my grandfather and his three brothers in law, my grandfather in german uniform, the first B.i.L in german uniform, the second in French uniform and the thirth in US uniform (He goes to the US in 1909). All 4 fighted at the same moment, fortunately not exactly at the same place.
My father and his brother were forced incorporate soldiers to, my father was in Gebirgsjaeger Rgt 100 in 1943, 20 years old, he was in Crimea, 4 X wounded, the last time the 8 april 1945 in tchekoslovakia. He was captured by the US Army and give up to the Soviets, he comes home in october 1945. His brother my uncle was sanitäter in Italy , captured by the US Army, he comes home in june 1945 .
All the Alsacien age classe 1926 was forced incorporate in the Rgt der Führer of the SS Div das Reich.
You can see , our history is not common.
Best Regards.
Carfin.