Need help: Authentic SS NCO Degen Portepee?

[TheJackal83]

Hi collectors!

Yesterday I parted from 80% of my collection, as I decided it was time to ”downsize”, not in value but space. Wasn’t an easy decision (bet you all know the feeling), but I got back home with some nice items in return:

1) A close to mint Kriegsmarine dagger, complete with double etched blade, portepee & hangers.

2) A completely untouched reissue SD M35 helmet in excellent condition

3) A SS NCO Degen!

Now the NCO Degen unfortunately came without a portepee and being the completionist I am - I jumped online straight away to find me one! Now, also being the impatient person I am - I pulled the trigger as soon as I did find one (these things are hard to come by as you all know)… Of course I did check the dealer references beforehand, but now - Doubt creeps up: What if it’s a fake and the dealer didn’t know?

So: Would any of the seasoned SS collectors mind having a look at the pictures for an assessment? Any red flags?

All help is as always greatly appreciated!

[Larry C]

Sometimes people get married for the wrong reasons ...and Impatience instead of walking slow will cause self afflicted injury ...including ones wallet.

These kinds of portepees especially the SS NCO ones are highly faked due to their rarity. Not one of my strong points of study..but Im not comfortable seeing how perfect the threading is on the bottom ...which does not appear to have the same material thread..that are seen on SS and Police porteppes. Just doesnt have that squashed look to it

I can only be cautious ..and I would wait for more advanced and knowledged collectors to comment further.

Regards Larry

[Rossi]

Here is one I used to have and sold. I think yours does stand a chance and if it is a reproduction it is a good one at that. I would love to have it in hand as well. I bought a repro luft portapee once from Tom Johnson and compared it to a war time piece. The feel in hand is something I can tell. The repros to me have a rough or scruffy feel to them compared to an original to me. Billy G here is a good resource to check with on Portapees.

[gerrit]

One thing to keep in mind is the fact that repro's dont have the "flattened" silverthreads on the acorn, which is very well visible on Ross his one.
The silver threads on yours do have a bit of the same flattening on their silver threads, and thats a good sign.
Repro's often do have that flat "wear" look on the cap of the acorn, but somehow its hard to reproduce that look on the acorn threads.

What sets me off a bit is that wobbly black thread on the strap, aint looking straight.

Ger

[Anderson]

Agree with Ger on seeing flattened bullion threads are a good sign. But I'm not thrilled about the construction of the strap, looks off.

[TheJackal83]

Thank you all very much for your oppinions and insights - I’m already learning a lot! SS has been out of my league until now, I really don’t know what to check for yet, so your comments are very helpful!

So to my understanding: There are good signs and there are some question marks. I see the point with the strap; the black lines look just a little bit jagged. Based on this, I think I will follow through with the purchase (paid with paypal and would’ve cancelled if the thread had caused a red alert!), for a closer inspection in hand.

For instance, I think I know what you mean with ”the feel in hand” Rossi: I have handled several other dagger- & sword portepees and they are all surprisingly soft to the touch when you grab them. It’s like you expect them to be ”rough” when you see them, but then when you grab them, they are just so smooth!

[TheJackal83]

Hi again,

I have another question, that I’m hoping someone with more experience in the subject might be able to answer: I bought this as a SS NCO portepee for the NCO Degen and have seen it listed on a few other sites as such as well. But I have also seen other types / colors of portepees, some with runes, some like this one but with a black strap, listed as SS NCO portepees for the Degen.

What are the differences between the different SS NCO portepees - What do they mean?

I have searched, but have been unable to find an answer to the question.

Thanks!

[gerrit]

I guess you mean the SS VT portepee (VerFügungs Truppe) or Allgemeine SS, thats a bayonet Portepee
Then we have the Officers Degen Portepee with the SS Runes, i owned a few in the days

Best
Ger

[TheJackal83]

Wow, that’s a nice collection!

Thanks for the reply and the great info! Do you by any chance know what the difference is between the portepee I posted (black acorn ”hat”) and variants that are the same, including the color of the strap, but the acorn hat is silver?

Like this one:



Is one of them Allgemeine and the other Waffen?