Heer ESL 43 buckle - green

[PaulW]

Hi, my last one of 2016, an Ernst Schneider (Ludenscheid) 1943 buckle with a very definite green colour. It has a slight ding on the left side, with a corresponding paint mark, just enough to add some character without affecting the buckle in any significant way.

It's identical (maker and year) to another buckle I recently posted here:-

Heer ESL 43 buckle

that is significantly darker, and is perhaps (on reflection) an example of an 'Einheitsfarbe' buckle? Perhaps these two buckles are examples of the transition in 1943 to the universal buckle colour?

Regards, Paul

[PaulW]

This is a colour comparison of my four Heer buckles.

The "B & N 42" with leather tab contrasts with a "B & N 43" in a very definite (in daylight and in hand) blue-grey colour.

The "ESL 43" green buckle, perhaps early 1943 (?), contrasts with the other in a significantly darker grey, that might be Ernst Scheider's version of an 'Einheitsfarbe' buckle, possibly produced later in 1943?

Just speculation of course!