Newly Arrived Army Eagles

[Saladin]

Hello All,
these two eagles came to me earlier this week.

What do you think, Good or Bad?


Many thanks
DougAttachment 680947

[Jerry B]

The flatwire is good, the other is also probably an original, but not so pleasing to the eye.

[Saladin]

Hello Harryamb2, thank you for the thumbs up on the eagles.

Anon, I appreciate what you say about the second eagle but there does appear to be an original price stamp... 0.35 so I assume it was for sale at 35 Reichs Pfennigs

Best regards
Doug

[Silberkreuz]

Yes agree the flat wire is very nice. Minty

[Jerry B]

Hello Harryamb2, thank you for the thumbs up on the eagles.

Anon, I appreciate what you say about the second eagle but there does appear to be an original price stamp... 0.35 so I assume it was for sale at 35 Reichs Pfennigs

Best regards
Doug

I commented more from an aesthetic viewpoint than one of authenticity. It does appear to match known originals.

[Glenn66]

The price stamp is a nice touch, hope its original.

[Saladin]

The price stamp is a nice touch, hope its original.

I think it may be Glenn,
everything that came in this mixed bundle has been given the thumbs up.
I think this vet collector just picked up anything that was available.
There were a few eagles but I passed on two Luftwaffe ones as they were on black backing...I now know what they could be so I have asked if they are still available!

Best regards
Doug

[KENT1965]

Hi Doug,

The flatwire eagle is a type that was used on parade tunics ('waffenrocke' in German), and also on 'walking out' uniforms (a soldier's 'best' uniform, worn on leave or around town, rather than in combat). Although flatwire eagles on combat tunics were for NCOs and officers only, it was permissible for enlisted men to wear any kind of eagle on tailor-made uniforms. I have an original studio portrait picture of an army private with a very chunky bullion eagle on his tunic, a type usually seen on officers' tunics. Anyway, the flatwire is a good original, that has had some of the surroundiung dark green wool backing trimmed away. That's not a big deal, sometimes the edges could be a litle ragged from being sewn onto a tunic.

The second eagle, which is not one of the standard types applied in unfirom factories, falls into the category usually referred to by collectors as 'private purchase'. Soldiers could buy these eagles from military tailors' shops and use them to replace the standard eagles on their tunics, or have them put on a new tunic if they were having one tailor-made. These can be quite hard to authenticate, because there were a great many variants made back in the day. It's nice if you can find an original, period photo of a guy wearing a particular type of eagle, it's something I look for when checking photos online. The eagle you have stands every chance of being an original, and as I say, you see lots of different variants when it comes to private purchase eagles.

All the best,

Mark