M40 Heer Feldbluse & Belt

[Gumrum]

Hello all,

A dealer near to me is currently offering what appears to be on the surface, a pretty nice M40 Feldbluse (for quite a bit of money!) and I just wanted to see what the opinions of those on this forum were for this piece.

It comes with the medals and the belt, so that's a nice bonus (I think...)

Do let me know your thoughts!

- Gumrum

[Kohima]

All the component parts look good to me (private purchase or tailored bluse), though it’s impossible to say how long they have been together, of course.
The only thing I am not keen on is the stitching style, and execution, of the breast eagle.

By the way, all the extras are not a ‘bonus’; you’d be paying for them too! It will all be included in the “quite a bit of money” you mention.
The thing to do would be to break down the cost of the parts. Then you can see if its a fair deal.

[baerchen]

I would think that a soldier who got the Infanteriesturmabzeichen would be promoted by then to Gefreiter. And why wear the KVK? But it is all plausible and not a showstopper. I would rather like the uniform without the medals, tbh, just the coat and the belt.

[Gumrum]

Thanks both for your input, I agree that the medals are not a 'bonus' in the 'free' sense of the word (as nice as that would be!) However, I think they make for a nice 'story' for the piece, whether that story is particularly believable as baerchen wisely puts it, is debatable!

I haven't broadened my collecting into uniforms/cloth items so far, as I know this is an area of the hobby that is particularly treacherous for those that aren't well-versed on what it is they're looking for with these pieces. This particular piece is close to £2000 GBP, which might be a steep asking price... Although there are few examples of similar pieces online to which I can compare and contrast this price!

So, thank you for your input as it's really very helpful and is definitely helping me learn to ask the right questions and apply the right attention where it counts!

- Gumrum

[Ben Evans]

Belt and buckle look ok from what I can see

[baerchen]

I am almost certain the medals and the bar have been added after 1945. The question will also be if they are all originals.
There is a medal bar with Kriegsverdienstkreuz 2. class, Medal Winterschlacht im Osten and the westwall medal (if I am correct). When I see this I must doubt again that the soldier was not promoted to a higher rank and I suspect this was all added later to 'upgrade' the coat.

Maybe a uniform expert could give insight around the stitching of the eagle ? I am curious to learn more now

[Kohima]

The German forces were less ‘free’ with promotions and some quite decorated personnel could be of surprisingly low rank. I have original images of a qualified pilot who is still a Gefreiter! (Granted, a qualification, rather than a decoration, but it illustrates my point).
Unusual, but not impossible (it all depends on the soldier’s role or suitability for promotion), though the likelihood is that the tunic has been dressed up by a collector or dealer.
As Baerchen says, the originality of the awards is the only thing you can judge them on.

[Gumrum]

Hey all,

Thanks again for your continued input, it's a great conversation to have and I'm learning some great insights!

As I mentioned before, I haven't branched out into collecting uniforms as yet, but I was definitely keen to use this as an opportunity to hear some of your opinions on this example which is available to me. With what's been said, I'd likely look at this purchase as a bit of a collection, i.e. buy the Feldbluse for its own merits and consider the medals as other pieces I'm buying with it rather than for their close connection to this particular soldier (all the medals are examples I don't already own, so would all be good editions, providing they're all legit)

Thanks again and do please continue to provide your invaluable input on this!

- Gumrum

[baerchen]

That is a good way to look at it, @gumrum.
There are also threads in this forum to check on the medals, I can imagine that especially the Sturmabzeichen has some varieties and could be identified as real or fake.

The coat remains still nice, regardless