HJ Winter Caps: A Primer

[stonemint]

Wolfgang, thanks for that link--I had not seen it before, and it looks like it got slightly contentious.
The civilian ski cap existed in the 20s, and was made up until the 60s.

& yes, I have no doubt that HJ lads who could not find a regulation RZM cap simply slapped an HJ pin on their ski cap.
However, like everything else, there is no way to conclusively determine that the pin was put on prior to 1945.

As such, unscrupulous dealers/sellers/auction houses regularly sell non-RZM caps as period pieces, w/o any provenance.

If you want to be safe, get an RZM marked piece (unless the hat comes with rock-solid provenance going back to 1945).

[stonemint]

Almost every fake HJ cap I have seen has the pin-back insignia, simply b/c they are so common to find.
The fakers almost never use prong-backs because they are hard to find loose.