Must be my eyes but that looks like a woolen construction kampfbinde which should have a 'D' tag on it. A 'B' tag is for cotton material.
Must be my eyes but that looks like a woolen construction kampfbinde which should have a 'D' tag on it. A 'B' tag is for cotton material.
The armband above is 100% genuine, just so you know. I do believe another collector is interested in it who visits this site so don't wait too long.
I've had a good experience with Bruce and he treated my wife well when she made some Christmas purchases from him.
My brother-in-law also purchased an SS kampfbinde from him last year and it went well. Nice piece too.
I would advise against rushing in and buying this one, especially as this is your first purchase and $475 clams isn't chump change. These things aren't exactly rare so if you bide your time a piece that is 100% rock solid will present itself. It may be that the armband itself is good but I believe a spurious tag has been added to raise value.
Here is what you should be looking for on a woolen SS kampfbinde.
Kampfbinde.4.JPG
Don't like the tag either.As far as I am concerned you look around and see these armbands all over with tags.Don't think these prices for a common piece are really indicative of their value!
I'm sorry guys but I have to respectfully disagree. I have an example with the exact same material that has the letter "B" RZM tag. Though it means nothing, I purchased it in a small Texas town from a veteran and speaking for myself I am completely sure it has not been messed with. The tag on the example above doesn't appears altered IMO either. Maybe Bob would be willing to comment?
I'm not saying the tag has been altered, I'm saying it's wrong for the material the kampfbinde is constructed from. The letter code was designed to indicate a level of taxation charged against an item based on the material of construction. B was for cotton and D was for wool.
Scary. It is definitely described as wool on Grenadiers site. I'm going to ask Bruce directly and see what he has to say. I am just not in the market for maybes after my first purchase. I will post his response. I also sent Bob Coleman a PM. Thanks everyone.
Ok, I got an answer from Bruce Asap - I have seen the wrong tags period applied on many things. Also, some tags have been applied over the years as well. Being that a "B" is not too far off from a "D" this would lend me to think it is a period foul up. The armband is a fine and original example. So please let me know how you wish to proceed. Also the armband does pass the UV light test.
Thanks again for all your help guys. I would definitely rather have a correctly tagged version and you guys saved me on that front. Cheers. Let me just add that Bruce was extremely wonderful to deal with and this is not a reflection on him. I believe the armband is genuine.
A Bob Coleman quote from another thread... "The letter code denotes the level of tax assessed on an item. On standard armbands, the "B" code was found on cotton examples. The "D" code on wool. The letter are much higher on 4th pattern political armbands with the embroidered oakleaf patterns. A pair of hand embroidered S A general officer tabs would have a "M" code".
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