Polish cap "Rogatywka"

[btone]

Hi anyone can help in the assessment of the originality of the caps?

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Hi btone, and welcome to the forum.

The cap appears genuine. The tricky part is determining exactly when it was made - pre-WW2 or post war. In many cases a hands on inspection is necessary to determine the period of manufacture. Pre-war caps are definitely far more rare and desirable to collectors. As a result many of the rogatywki on the market are worked over Soviet era pieces - which is another reason for a hands on inspection, especially if the authenticity of a maker's label is in question.

The rogatywka you pictured is a mix-and-match piece. The eagle is a pre-war pattern, made by Jan Knedler (same type as my avatar image on the left of your screen). The rank star is from the post war communist era - I believe post 1950 pattern. This is a non-officer grade cap (missing the silver piping), so the presence of a rank star is incorrect. The metal visor rim is also a stumbling block. Pre-war enlisted rank caps did not have metal visor rims. Some NCO caps could be found with them, however, regulation was that only officer caps had metal visor rims. Post war EM caps had metal rims.

I doubt this is a pre-war cap. If the price is right it’d be a good purchase just to get that beautiful eagle badge.

Regards,
Tony

[pat15567]

Looks like a combination of few differents caps in one Only the eagle is pre-war, that one was made by Knedler's factory.