Sheet metal sign. About 2 1/2' wide by 2' tall.
Similar to the one shown in 'Nazi Regalia' and 'Nazi Regalia'.
Runes sawn, LAH hammered out.
Sheet metal sign. About 2 1/2' wide by 2' tall.
Similar to the one shown in 'Nazi Regalia' and 'Nazi Regalia'.
Runes sawn, LAH hammered out.
'SS Regalia' is the second book I was referring to, both Ballantine books.
very nice impressive item
It has been said by a number of collectors that such a piece can be very difficult if not impossible to authenticate.
I have showed this piece around over the years and have heard the gambit of opinion.
I purchased this from a flag/banner collector from Stockton, CA. He supposedly acquired it from a vet who found it under a pile of TR signs just after the war. This collector/dealer sold it to me as original.
I showed it to a dealer from Reno, NV and he said it was definitely fake; such signs were never made, he said. When I told him about the similar sign in Ballantine's books, he said that was fake too.
As the Ballantine sign is said to have been taken from the rear of Shonbron? palace in Vienna, (exact location known) how could that one be fake? I felt that the Reno dealer was being unreasonable.
I also had this sign examined by a sheet metal foreman (also a TR collector). According to him and his experience, he believed it was original.
Opinions/comments?
Brian - Over the years I have seen a few of these shields and in all cases they were post 45, they have also been offered in auctions years ago i.e.Manions as post 45. A number of years ago a friend on mine who owned a machine shop made one which was outstanding. If attachment devices were still on the back you could measure these to see if they are in metric dimension. I would be very suspicious of this shield -
Horst
"He who hesitates is lost - is not only lost but miles from the next exit"
No doubt almost every piece of militaria ever made has been reproduced, or will be.
There may be a metalurgical test that could be conducted to see how old the steel is.
A roomate of mine from decades ago who was a chemist at a nuke power plant once told me that all steel mined after the first nuclear detonation (7/45) is different (chemically, molecularly, atomically?) from the steel mined before that date.
In other words, he said that the first atom bomb detonation forever changed the makeup of steel mined in the world after that moment.
If I remember what he said correctly, the steel used to construct certain atomically sensitive instruments/machines had to be of the type mined prior to (7/45). If it wasn't, the later metal (somewhat radioactive?) would cause the instrument/machine to give inaccurate readings.
If this guy wasn't pulling my chain, and if such a test verified a pre 7/45 date of the steel, I would think that the likelihood of authenticity would be great.
Horst, what is your opinion of the SS sign in the Ballantine books?
Brian - Hard to say although I have seen period pictures reflecting this type of shield on the outside of a barracks doorway. Yours is the first Ive seen reflecting the LAH which also makes me suspicious as the Germans liked to use the "Suetterlin"letters rather than the block letters as is in your shield. Just my opinion - Still makes a nice center peice in a collection .
Horst
"He who hesitates is lost - is not only lost but miles from the next exit"
Such a font would have been much more difficult to cut in, I would imagine.
Do you recall the book where you had seen the period photo of the barracks shield?
Here is a little blurb from Wikipedia:
When the Nazis conquered much of Europe, they found that commands in the local language could not be understood when written in Sütterlin, so, in 1941, like all blackletter typefaces, it was officially banned from use.
Sorry Brian long ago -
Horst
"He who hesitates is lost - is not only lost but miles from the next exit"
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