New collector - advice on buying first Totenkopf

[Dank]

Hi everyone, I am new to the forum and also to collecting. I have had an interest in ww2 memorabilia since I was a small child and only recently began actively collecting. I have only a since NSDAP party badge and a cloth officers chest eagle patch, and now I am keen to start collecting SS memorabilia, and see the Totenkopf as the holy grail for collectors, but also have read so many posts on fakes and dodgy dealers, so I am asking your collective expert advice!

I have seen several for sale on www.ww2militaris.net along with numerous other SS items including lapel patches, but it's the Totenkop's they have for sale i am most interested in, so any advice on these before i buy?

thanks



a different set




the last set

[Jerry B]

Do lots of research and be able to decide for yourself if they are real or not. Learn all about them from studying originals and you will have the knowledge rather than having to ask others for opinions. Look at lots of old threads here showing originals, and take handwritten mores as that way you will remember what you learn. SS items are faked and are quite expensive so enjoy the hobby but arm yourself with knowledge which makes it far more enjoyable and satisfying as you will have earned the knowledge rather than just having had it given to you.

PS the link did not work.

[Dank]

thanks, the link should have been, WW2 Militaria Including Japan & Germany | WW2 Memorabillia | WW2 Militaria (Powered by CubeCart)

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Bob Hritz has an eagle and Totenkopf for sale on the Wehrmacht Awards Site that are authentic and inexpensive.
Shea has an eagle and Totenkopf for sale on his site which is much more pricey.
We have lots of real items here. Use the expertise of this site, and any bargain is likely a trap.

PS all your enclosures are junk, by the way.

[Dank]

Thanks for that, so all the ones shown are fakes!? wow, i'll check the links you mentioned, thanks

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Here is the Hritz material.

Wehrmacht-Awards.com Militaria Forums

I do not endorse said site, but said person is a fine man and has excellent material.

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Thanks for that, so all the ones shown are fakes!? wow, i'll check the links you mentioned, thanks

Sorry. There are no short cuts with all of this that lead to a sunny, happy place.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

The Telesmanich site is also a good one for this sort of thing.

Metal Insignia

[Friedrich-Berthold]

I collect the insignia on the cap and do not dismember them, to wit.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Others will have other suggestions, but these are mine for what little they are worth.

With a lack of knowledge in the search for "dead heads," you can waste your time, your money, and the wits and patience of others in the blink of an eye.

And, these pictures cannot be the ultima ratio, either. You have actually to look at the things and feel them.

[Dank]

ok thanks for all the information, although cannot see the link to the bob hritz genuine skull you mentioned above?