SS General's Shoulder Board

**Lucky36** · 12-12-2017, 04:16 AM

Hello everyone, I have an interesting item only talented people like you could close the book on. I purchased this recently and I am not entirely sure if it is authentic. It appears to be, but I am aware that 99.9% of SS items in the world are pure rubbish. Upon showing it to several people, they raised eyebrows about whether or not it is authentic, and whether or not it is even SS. It has been speculated it is NSKK or SA, but upon looking into the rumors I am certain this is an SS general's shoulder board, authentic or not.

These photos were taken under a considerably bright lamp, but they do expose this fellow for what it is. It appears 100% correct to me but I am no where near an expert.

Furthermore I was told it was worth "$500-$800" if original, but I have never seen one for sale. I was also hoping for an appraisal if possible. Thank you!

**Espenlaub Militaria** · 12-12-2017 04:16 AM

We also buy and trade your items and full collections!

**MAP** · 12-12-2017, 04:42 AM

Welcome to the forum Lucky.

I don't study these but please compare to some fine originals posted by one of our fine members

SS General officers shoulder board

**rbminis** · 12-12-2017, 05:30 AM

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Sorry, we don't do free evaluations here, but we will be able to help you find out what it is, and if it is original.
Ralph.

**Lucky36** · 12-12-2017, 05:37 AM

Yes I was hoping for an original/reproduction verdict please. I'll remove the appraisal request. Thanks!

**Arran** · 12-12-2017, 07:16 PM

In my opinion this is not an original shoulder board. Usually the middle row of twist cord does not simply run in the opposite direction, but is also a slightly different material than the two outer twist cords. The pic below isn't the best, but it will give some indication of what I'm talking about...

**Arran** · 12-13-2017, 02:41 AM

Here is another example that clearly illustrates the point, generously provided by F-B!

**Lucky36** · 12-13-2017, 06:06 AM

No shiny center?

Von Ribbentrop's Uniform (no shiny center?)

It should be noted that my shoulder board is twisting in the opposite direction (the entire thing, not just the center cord of course) loop wise than seen on the right shoulder ones, meaning it's for the left shoulder and worn on later uniforms that featured two shoulder boards of this type. It may be possible that extra detail of the center cord being a nicer material was dropped later on, it's barely noticeable and probably unnoticeable in regular encounters with someone wearing it. I added a photo of Von Ribbentrop's SS uniform from Craig Gottlieb's site that used these boards and it seems to lack the shiny centers...

I'm not sure what to think, truthfully...

**Lucky36** · 12-13-2017, 06:51 AM

Well upon snooping around the forum it seems Craig Gottlieb is like..reviled...but still, the first shoulder board is from the marshals baton. Thanks for the help also!

**Arran** · 12-13-2017, 06:47 PM

Your pics aren't great, but if you could get a close look at the shoulder boards you posted in #7, you'd discover that they do in fact exhibit the different twist material for the centre cord. Look at the cut ends of the cord on the Marshall's Baton (excellent site!) shoulder board, and you will see that the two outer twist cords unwind into separate components, whereas the centre cord simply frays. Its little details like this, not mentioned in any book, that will allow you to move forward through the minefield of SS insignia collecting!