Tropical Sleeve eagle that seems original but 'cheap'

[NZ Allblacks]

Hi,

Not sure the word 'cheap' can be used when comes to collecting as the books I ordered this morning melted my bank card and suspect when the boss finds out I'll be sleeping in the garage!

Apologies for long post but better to be safe than sorry and hopefully get a good or bad vibe from the forum.

I have my eye of a couple of pieces I've been busy researching today, a ss tropical sleeve eagle that seems to me ok but less expensive than other dealers so little concerned I've missed something and a drum skirt that I'm really struggling to find any online information about so likely a raging fake.

As usual I really appreciate any assistance provided.

Firstly the Tropical Sleeve Eagle. When reading SS Bevo Tropical Eagle orignal or not? and comparing images side by side the one I'm looking at seems to have the correct neck/head pattern/shape as the authentic items posted and the swastika touches the wreath as do the tail feathers but the rear stitching seems similar to the fake. Not sure what was meant by 'broad set of stitching at the top on the reverse' being an issue with the fake but if it is the gold stitching then one I'm looking at is even thicker.



Second item is a drum skirt that I'm really struggling to find any information or decent images online which seems odd, could be I'm searching using the wrong phrase of course.



the only images I could find online don't really help. The second image of the skull looks similar but different at the same time. Fairly expensive item so hoped someone could shout fake...

[Aldo]

The tropical sleeve eagle is fine. The unissued tropical bevo eagles can still be bought at a fairly low cost.

The SS kettle drum drapes are more likely fake than not. I've seen this listing and the price is way below what the market would fetch for such a rare item. I'll leave further scrutiny to the experts.

Here is what i believe to be a real one on post #532 in which you can see the difference in quality. Unfortunately there is only one photo. There may be more on the thread link below


Credit: William A. Bell

Post your favorite SS Item!!

[Vocht]

Hi there, good to read you made the investment and broke the bank on the books. As Aldo wrote, the tropical eagle looks okay to me as well. These are widely faked and the most common fakes can be spotted out easy by the shape of the body and the feet of the eagle.

The drum cloth drapes are one of the high end SS collector pieces out there and costs many thousands of dollars. Where did you see this one for sale? I have seen one for sale on Oakleaf militaria currently. I would approach these with caution. Even though hand embroidered, variations do exist. I quickly took a peek into Uflric of England's book where there is one shown. The details of the eagle are much more refined than this example.

Looking forward to seeing your collection grow. Cheers

[NZ Allblacks]

thanks for the quick replies. I'll go ahead and get the eagle as have a tropical skull coming from Hiscoll so thought would be good to frame the 2 unissued insignia together. Not super exciting but a start.

Regards the drum skirt I did see the one in Oakleaf but its eagle and skull look very different and also noticed it has proper looking leather securing straps were this one has cheap looking material. Not sure if that is relevant but there are so few decent images out there its hard to tell.

The price however must be a giveaway as looking £2850 which granted is still a large amount of money but probably nowhere near high enough if these are rare. A decent ss dagger would be at least a good £10K plus on top of that price from what I've seen (which I'm chasing next so be prepared for lots of questions!).

Its in a dealer called military antique but even with my limited experience the skulls and eagle do look a bit half ass. I might give them a call tomorrow out of interest to see where they got it. Only give 7 days guarantee i notice.

[Aldo]

Yes, it's a good idea to start with the basics and build the collection with variety as you gain more experience. I started with The Trop skull and eagle also and paid about $500 for the pair. They're a bit more now but still very nice for display.

[Vocht]

Its in a dealer called military antique but even with my limited experience the skulls and eagle do look a bit half ass. I might give them a call tomorrow out of interest to see where they got it. Only give 7 days guarantee i notice.

I have not heard of this dealer before so I took a closer look. 7 days return policy is a huge red flag. Any dealer worth his salt offers a lifetime guarantee. It is not my place to tell other people where to spend their cash but this dealer sells quite a lot of crap so be careful.

Hiscoll is a solid place for insignia. Nice guy as well.

[NZ Allblacks]

Oh wish you hadn't posted that Al, now I want those Trop skulls as well! No doubt there a bunches of good fakes out there. Looks like a good simple grouping to me. Ah well, shopping time again.

Was wondering how collectors feel about the unissued insignia. Think I'll look at mine when they arrive and think it's great they are mint and all that but think I'll get better enjoyment looking at the iron cross that is coming as feels more like something that was actually used during the war.

Really glad I started this. Was something I've had an interest in since being a teenager and can finally get started many years later.
Thanks, dave.

[paulscoot]

Military antiques do have both good and bad in their inventory. Regards Paul

[NZ Allblacks]

One thing i've learnt in the short time is dealers cannot be all trusted.

Some are obviously unloading items at top money knowing they are not original. The guys on this forum are able to shout fake quicker than it takes me to type a message so some of these dealers must know as well.

As Vocht mentioned these skirts are rare and probably why I could find so little about them when researching. I would expect this to be a lot more than £3k. Think i'll put that money towards a good dagger.

[Aldo]

Oh wish you hadn't posted that Al, now I want those Trop skulls as well! No doubt there a bunches of good fakes out there. Looks like a good simple grouping to me. Ah well, shopping time again.

Was wondering how collectors feel about the unissued insignia. Think I'll look at mine when they arrive and think it's great they are mint and all that but think I'll get better enjoyment looking at the iron cross that is coming as feels more like something that was actually used during the war.

Really glad I started this. Was something I've had an interest in since being a teenager and can finally get started many years later.
Thanks, dave.

Unissued is fine as long as it's authentic. Some collectors only like uniform removed items because it provides that "been there" feel. I like them both but unissued is generally going to be more affordable because of the value placed on those "removed" trophies.