Autopsy of Erkennungsmarke Politzei Battaillon 104

[BlackCat1982]

So we've seen a fair few Erkennungsmarken marked Pol Btl 104 on the forum. So can you please post further examples of them together in this thread so that we might once and for all sort the good from the bad.

[Rik.S]

This example is currently for sale online, so photo is not mine. I post it for reference and so we can finally solve the Polizei Bataillon 104 mystery.



Regards, Rik

[Rik.S]

Here are more examples. All photos are taken from our forum.

[Montag]

As I said before, these used a fake '7' font.

(Personally) This is why it is hard to believe the dog tags excavated from the ground.

[BlackCat1982]

With all of the examples above having a similar font for the unit are we now saying they are all bad or have a load of unissued ekm been later stamped with a fake Stammrollnummer?

[Montag]

With all of the examples above having a similar font for the unit are we now saying they are all bad

Personally, I can say 'yes'.

The reason is that the number "7" font is not a copy of the original, just designed by a Belarusian fake.
Therefore, these are fake themselves.

If someone doesn't want to admit this, they have to prove that the number "7" font is original.


For reference, the "7" font was used for both 'Stammrollnummer' and 'unit names'.

[Montag]

It's a new wave.
The '1' font is the same with or without '7'.

[BlackCat1982]

It appears that these first started to appear around 2017, they are mentioned on WAF but there was never a consensus on them being original either.

[Montag]

It appears that these first started to appear around 2017, they are mentioned on WAF but there was never a consensus on them being original either.

Someone made it and posted it on several forums, but I guess there haven't been any negative comments so far. And at the auction it would have been marked as 'Rare erkennungsmarke POL BTL 104'.

[BlackCat1982]

I haven't got any conclusive evidence to positively accept these ekm as original. However, the more I think about it the less I am convinced.

We know that the Politzei Bataillon 104 was raised in late 1939 in Hamburg and was sent to Poland in January 1940. It soon began its nefarious tasks of organising re-settlement and summary executions of unarmed civilians.

By November of 1940 the bulk of the Bataillon had been returned to Hamburg and thus far I have found no evidence that it ventured outside of this area for the remainder of the war.

The hunt goes on.