SS Officer's armband for review

[all1knew]

Hello all,

I was told this armband was a reproduction because of the way the swastika disc is sewn to the wool. Are there maker variants that did this or did the RZM control things like this as well?

Another question, multi-piece swastikas were sewn to the disc prior to the disc being sewn onto the wool backing, weren't they?

I was also told RZM tags should never have blue or red ink used in the stamping, is this true or is it a combination of both blue and red ink that was never used?

William Kramer

[ireichit]

hi it looks ok to me.

[BOB COLEMAN]

This appears to be one of the newer high end fakes. The white disc is round and not oval. The stitching of the oval to the band is also not of the precise nature I am used to seeing on period examples. As you stated, the swastika should be sewn to the white disc and not through the band. I also do not care for the RZM tag. As a side note, these were worn by all ranks on the black uniform, not just officers.

[harryamb2]

I agree with Bob.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

That is a very ugly and poorly made fake.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Look at these......

[Friedrich-Berthold]

I agree with Bob.

moi aussi!

[all1knew]

thank you all for the help with this one.

William Kramer

[Friedrich-Berthold]

The serial number in the bottom field tends usually to be in black ink. I.e. the serial number of the tag for the specific item of insignia.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

The late 1960s fakes of these are, by modern standards, virtually undetectable. The more recent fakes are a nice try, but no cigar.
Today's enclosure is pretty crude, in fact.
The cotton arm bands do have the crooked cross sewn through the red textile, but the woolen ones tend not to be made this way as I have shown.
The 1960s fakes, made by the infamous and cunning felon Nisbet, were perfect copies, save the red textile was more candy cane or even apple red versus the orange red of the originals.
This man was always laying traps for collectors with stinking, nefarious trickery, to include fake Allgemeine SS cuff titles that were clever for their time, but incompetent by today's standards.