Afrikakorps and Kreta cuff titles: opinions sought.

[Mark Tuson]

Hi Chaps. I,ve had these two in my collection for a while now. They came from an old boy who collected insignia during the war years as a boy. But, i have had mixed opinions on them from dealers, especially the Kreta cuff. Would appreciate any honest feedback.
Cheers Mark

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Mark, the Afrikakorps is a "textbook" original, totally 100% original.

The "Kreta" is less easy to quantify. I can see why you have got mixed reviews in the past. I think the material being a woolen looking mixture is the first thing some people will pick up upon. (These titles are usually cotton/linen) However, if you compare this to an "Afrika" cuff tilte, this has a similar type of material, apart from the colour of course! A type of band with a woolen texture to the front but a plain woven back. The second point will be the execution of the acanthus leaves. These look a little different to the norm. However, I quite like the way the back of the lettering is formed. A cautious thumbs up. But selling it may always prove more tricky than a "textbook" version.

Cheers, Ade.

[Jerry B]

As Ade said, textbook early green Afrikakorps, but an odd Kreta. Its not textbook, so you need to find some others of the same type with a good history. It looks well made, but when is the question I cant answer.

Jerry

[Mark Tuson]

Cheers Chaps. I,ve managed to get some better pictures of the reverse side of the Kreta. What do you think?
Best
Mark

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Mark, thanks for the good extra pics. I wish I could give you a definate answer, but I am still not 100% certain about this one. The embroidery is well executed and that I like. Have you blacklighted this and done a burn test?

Cheers, Ade.

[Mark Tuson]

Cheers Chaps. I appreciate your good feed back. I haven't done any tests Ade. The reason being, i know where these have come from. The cuffs came from a small collection that i was fortunate to be able to purchase from a very good friend of my Fathers, who was born in 1930, and who are both of the same age. He collected militaria bits and bobs as a boy during the war years and during a conversation with my father a couple of years back he mentioned the fact that he had a box full of childhood stuff in the loft that i may like to have a look at. The cuffs and a whole bunch of nice pieces came from this collection. I will however look into these tests that you have mentioned.
Best Regards and again. Many thanks.
Mark

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Mark, given how you bought it, the odds are it will be good. It is just hard to give a firm 100% "yea or nay" against something which is a bit out of the ordinary.

Cheers, Ade.

[Mark Tuson]

Cheers Ade. I'll keep hold of it now, seeing as i've been burn't quite badly this past couple of weeks. But , i will look into carrying out the Blacklight test.
Many thanks once again for your valuable advice.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Mark, see if you can pick up a small blacklight, the type that are intended to check on paper currency. They are cheap.

Cheers, Ade.

[Mark Tuson]

Cheers Ade, i will. I've already Googled it, and will purchase one asap