Wehrmacht officer's visor

[ToddMalnar]

Hello all, I picked this visor up from a reputable seller on Gunbroker, so I'm not really too concerned about authenticity, but I thought I'd bring it to the forum and get some opinions anyway. Thanks

Todd

[maximus71]

Not a bad cap, First thing I notice is the chin strap buttons are wrong, should be pebbled aluminum for an officers chincord, could have been put on there to bump the price from a normal NCO cap to look like an officers, also most officer caps I have seen are doeskin wool, this one is tricot, not saying its not possible, all IMO. lets see what the experts say.

[MD Helmets]

Is it me or is there an outline for another eagle behind the current eagle?
I'm no visor expert but my gut instinct says an EM/NCO visor made up with an added officers cord to make it more appealing.

I have a tricot pioneer officers visor believed to be entirely original, so it's possible I guess.

[M18922]

Cap is original. No doubt.

But it isn't an officer cap. It's an EM/NCO tricot cap that has had the black leather chin strap replaced with officer cords.

[maximus71]

I thought the same thing about that eagle todd, maybe it just drooped down a bit from its original position? also the cap is alittle bit tattered so its possible it was originaly found without a eagle or chinstrap and somone dressed it back up for resale, its still all original just may not be all original to each other.

[harryamb2]

I agree with you Maximus.

[BobS]

As stated, this is an issue quality enlisted ranks cap, and ,IMHO, just needs a decent quality enlisted chinstrap to be complete.

BobS

[ToddMalnar]

Thanks for the info everyone. I guess I'm not too upset at the news; I got a really good deal on the cap, one way or the other. I don't suppose there's anyone out there that would like to trade an NCO cord for an officer's, is there?

[stonemint]

Back in the 70s & 80s, it was very common for unscrupulous individuals to take EM/NCO caps and swap the chinstrap for cords, and voila, an instant Officer visor (with an instant mark-up).
They did it so much that it is difficult to find private-purchase NCO visors (ie, with silk linings and doeskin wool bodies) to this day.

In any event, if you find a contract cap (cotton lining, heavy tricot, and a teller form) with officer cords, it is immediately considered a post-war upgrade (unless the hat comes with impeccable provenance showing the upgrade occurred during the war).

[stonemint]

I forgot to add that it is very difficult to find a period leather strap that fits an NCO hat exactly--they are usually too big or too small (and you cannot move the buckles due to the age of the leather).