Opinion about Purchase

**drkost** · 08-03-2018, 01:23 AM

After reading others' experience, I am reluctant to ask, but I made two purchases today at an auction... How did I do... are these real or fake?

GERMAN WWII TR WAFFEN SS OFFICERS CAP SKULL

AND

GERMAN WWII WAFFEN SS OFFICER CAP EAGLE & SKULL

Sorry, I could not get the pictures to upload properly, so I sent the links.

**Espenlaub Militaria** · 08-03-2018 01:23 AM

We also buy and trade your items and full collections!

**rbminis** · 08-03-2018, 01:26 AM

Hello,
We do not allow the use of outside photo hosting sites or links.
Please save the photos and upload them directly to this thread. Here is a good thread on posting photos.
Visual Guide to Upload Photos
Ralph.

**drkost** · 08-03-2018, 01:31 AM

I was also looking at this, but this seems to be too good to be true... in terms of condition and markings, from what I have read... I am assuming fake:

Just trying to learn without wasting tons of money...

- - ------- - -

I just figured out what I was doing wrong. I will upload them now. Thanks!

**drkost** · 08-03-2018, 01:33 AM

Pictures are below:

Thank you for your help.

**carlsson1982** · 08-03-2018, 01:37 AM

everything shown here is fake

**drkost** · 08-03-2018, 01:38 AM

Thank you for the quick reply. What gives it away on the set?

**bsiwula1** · 08-03-2018, 02:17 AM

Hello drkost welcome to the forum. Sid is the authority on skulls and eagles around here, so of course he is correct. Unfortunately there's no simple explanation on these insignia. I cannot stress enough how heavily faked these are. My guess is for every 1000 examples you encounter there is ONE real one in the bunch and i could be lowballing that estimate. Study is a must unfortunately there's no reference books that is all inclusive to help determine real vs fake. Our forum is an excellent resource to gain knowledge from. In your examples they are pretty obvious fakes, most notably and this sounds generic and redundant but the the details are soft, and the aging is not there. General areas to study on skulls (the fractures, teeth, jawline, cutouts, type of metal used, forced vs natural aging, prongs and their attachment methods all these traits will obviously differ from one manufacturer to another so it's important to look at alot of different threads...don't rely on the Maker's marks for authenticity sometimes they can automatically rule a piece out as genuine but rarely can you look at them and say a piece is authentic based off them alone. Eagles are much the same finite details separate real from fake alot of the same observations apply but substitute eagle head shape, talons, feathers, etc. Study study study and quiz yourself. Looking for value is not the way to go on these pieces they are rare and expensive. And fakes are always improving. Wish I could explain it better but with time the knowledge will come. Best regards.

Brian

Another point to mention and is a good example of some of the things I mentioned look at the skull you posted labeled M1/24 (Overhoff) the reverse is closeish to Overhoff setup but the obverse more closely resembles M1/52 (Deschler) again another ploy to decieve. But more reason study of these pieces is important.

**MAP** · 08-03-2018, 04:11 AM

If you are looking for originals...no better place to buy them than from our classified section.

Carlsson1982 (Sid) has one for sale at the moment.

SS cap skull - Militaria Collectibles buy - sell at War Relics

**drkost** · 08-03-2018, 01:53 PM

Thank you for the reply and information. I am used to research, but cannot believe the number of fakes out there. I really wanted one for my classroom to show the students. We discuss ethics and Nazi experimentation to a great extent and to have something tangible related to that process would be powerful. If I am going to spend the money to do this, then it might as well be authentic. I will continue to study. Fortunately, I have not paid for anything yet, so while I am get kicked off of a site, it is not a loss since items do not appear authentic.