Brunswick Skull

[toot]

on the SPANISH SKUSS'S I didn't realize that they came left & right? is that all right, when found?

[toot]

sorry I meant SKULL'S

[Aldo]

Yes they are collar insignia...



LINK: Skull insignia for Spanish Lusitania cavalry regiment

[Dos]

I did not notice that the first skull in this thread posted by Peter II on #21 had a broken bone. I also think that the backing plate and the button have something to do with this to salvage this badge at the time and making it useable again. But i think neither of us here can tell for sure if this is a period repair or something done in the the past 30 years. I do like it more with the most recent pictures posted here with the closeups of the back. Fact is it did not leave the factory like this if its authentic! Making a separate thread about this "Assmann" type skull will give you maybe some more insight of other members that will notice it better then in this Brunswick Skull thread by Aldo.

I have not bought any items from Emedals so far. There are fakes being sold there, but that is with most of the auction houses. These can be filtered out by having knowledge and experience on hand about what you are buying or showing it here on the forum first to get some other opinions. It does have some nice items offered if you look frequently, although sometimes the buy now prices are to high. My experience is that a lot of skull insignia are rising in price lately...Not just only the SS TK's. You payed almost ten times as much as what i have payed for that Lusitania Cavalry skull..!

-Dos

[Peter II]

Thanks Al and Dos for your feedback. Perhaps I'll start another thread when I have more time and have better learned how to navigate the site.

It's funny, somehow I had supposed that era to be the wild west in terms of skulls; but your posts have made me realize that there was indeed some order to items being produced (perhaps not as regulated as RZM?). That is, we apparently know what was being produced during the time (i.e. there wasn't an unlimited number of legitimate variants except for the occasional custom piece, perhaps like mine).

Funny Dos, when I purchased the Spanish Lusitania Cavalry Regiment Skull I had no idea it was far more expensive than the cost of your skull. I thought $270 was a great price! It reminds me of the first time (just a few months ago) that I saw the cost of a nice Deschler SS skull and told myself I'd never pay that much. Now, these few months later my expectations changed and did the very thing I said I'd never do.

Thanks again guys.

[Aldo]

Funny Dos, when I purchased the Spanish Lusitania Cavalry Regiment Skull I had no idea it was far more expensive than the cost of your skull. I thought $270 was a great price! It reminds me of the first time (just a few months ago) that I saw the cost of a nice Deschler SS skull and told myself I'd never pay that much. Now, these few months later my expectations changed and did the very thing I said I'd never do.

Thanks again guys.

I have to agree with this statement wholeheartedly. When I first started collecting I could not come to terms with paying so much for a Deschler but once I broke that barrier I became desensitized to the sticker shock. It's only now in the last few months where I have drawn the line because I know what I paid before and refuse to pay an extra $300 to $400 that was arbitrarily added on by dealers. Of course pricing is all suggestive and if you feel it's worth it by all means enjoy yourself. I think the only real matter is verifying authenticity, because a fake is worth nothing as far as I'm concerned.
Yes the Spanish skull is overpriced because I know what I paid for my pair but If I did not have that previous experience I would have happily paid $300 or more for it. I look forward to seeing your future posts, just start a new thread for each new item.

Cheers, Al

[Peter II]

Thanks Al. The only way I can justify paying these sums of money for any of the more expensive stuff (stuff in excess of $500 -My wife is super-super frugal) is because I've got the hope that they'll retain their value. I have been told by some of the more major players I know (Jeff Clark & Mike Holverson) that lower priced items were on the decline for a while while most SS items have continued to increase in value. I'm not sure where everything is on the curve now.

I look forward to posting more and exchanging ideas with you guys. Perhaps I'll add just this one last thing. I've found it nearly impossible to try to explain my interest in 3rd Reich stuff to most people. Almost invariably they construe my interest in the stuff to mean that I'm sympathetic to Nazism. The best I've been able to do is to ask them why they like the Joker from the Dark Knight so much (as most people do). They don't like him because of the destructive things he does but because of the insane intelligence behind his madness.

Anyway, for me, I feel a well of sad emotion when I look at the (few) SS-TV items I have. It's amazing what men and women can do to each other both for good and for evil.

[Dos]

Insignia and other things that were made in the time before WWII and WWI were not as regulated as with the RZM. But just like right now in the present you had firms with a good name that made quality items and therefore were popular. The construction and general form of making these things were somewhat in line of eachother when you compare them all together. Some methods were not used in this time and therefore have a red flag when examining them.

The Lusitania Cavalry skull is nonetheless a great looking skull that has a lot of details! I have only seen 3 examples for sale in the time i have been collecting skull insignia. I think they are more rare then we think. Then again if you search locally in spain itself they would probably pop up more. I hope you find the time for making separate threads, since i'm curious to see what other members here have to say.

I have the left version of it.. And you have the version that goes on the right. Maybe we can make a deal if i ever find a complete set

Goodluck,

-Dos

[Peter II]

Dos, I'd totally be interested in making a deal if you find a complete set.

On a somewhat related note, I just purchased a WWI Sturmtrupp Badge that's pretty nifty. I'll try to post pics of it once it arrives.