Italian camo hat with bevo weave tropical totenkopf .......... legit hat or just a70's fake?

[Newbie]

This was sent to me by a collector buddy, saying i might be interested. He said that the seller gives a complete refund if not original WW2 cap and insignia. Like i have said before, i am just getting into this lifestyle, and i love it, love the history ! However i have alot to learn. Red flags fly for me for various reasons. The skulls right eye (when looking at pics ), seems to droop to much. The stitching seems to new. Also i believe the vent holes would be metal, not fabric. I contacted the seller, he said his camera made the pics look way to bright, he said the cap was faded and the stitching was yellowing. Anyway, i really do like the cap, but am not sure if it is original. Ade and Bob have saved my ass more than once! Any help would be appreciated !!!!!!!!!

[Bob Hritz]

The skull is original tropical pattern, but I feel the cap is post war produced with post war camo pattern.

Bob Hritz

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi, my take is the same as Bob's.

The postwar Italian camo is very similar but not identical to the wartime style. The colours are more subduded on the wartime camo cloth.

Cheers, Ade.

[Newbie]

Thanks guys , so the skull is legit.... not sure about hat....... the seller said that the camera made the hat look really bright, and that it is alot more faded than it appears in the picture..... or are we talking the shape of the pattern?

[Adrian Stevenson]

The wartime pattern of cloth can be seen here:

kamouflage.net — Italian three-colour camouflage (1st pattern)

Note the colours.

But I am very wary of the site authors attribution of a wartime date to the 2nd pattern variant. My strong belief is that the others are only post war styes. The one shown on the site is indeed taken from a 1952 dated item.

Cheers, Ade.

[Bob Hritz]

Here are two examples of the camoflage patterns of WWII. The cap, on the left, is of the second pattern. This second pattern was used well after WWII so you must trust in the manufacturing details of the cap and the history of it's ownership. The cap, on the right, is of the first pattern and is a safe bet if the manufacturing charasterics are to the standards of known original wartime caps.

Bob Hritz

[Newbie]

So then there is hope that this is a legit cap?

[Adrian Stevenson]

I would only pay for the price of the insignia alone......

As I said before and now illustrated again by Bob, look at the colours.

Cheers, Ade.

[Bob Hritz]

Your cap appears to be made from post-war camo material.

Bob Hritz

[Newbie]

Thanks guys ....... you always steer me in the right direction !!!!!!