Condition: Excellent
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Product Description: This Nederlandsche SS Visor Cap emblem is a great example of a rare and desirable piece of insignia. It’s a neatly factory made piece, struck from aluminum. The bare aluminum never had any applied finish, which is how these were issued. It’s in the form of a Wolfsangel, an ancient Germanic runic symbol adopted by the Dutch SS. The obverse shows only slight wear with some minor marks, and is clean, with minimal aging. The reverse of this Nederlandsche SS Visor Cap emblem is flat and smooth, and is unmarked, as is typical. There is a single full-length attachment prong made of malleable round brass wire. The prong is factory crimped to the reverse of the insignia, with no repairs. This Nederlandsche SS Mützenabzeichen is complete and sound, with no damage to note. It displays very well, and is in excellent condition.
Historical Description: The SS was founded as a paramilitary branch of the Nazi Party in 1925. Beginning in 1927, the SS began to wear a German national eagle and swastika emblem on their headgear. The SS were the first to adopt this practice, but the SA and other Nazi organizations soon began to use the same pinned-on metal cap eagle, which became known as a “political” type cap eagle as it was different from those used by the various military branches. Beneath this eagle, instead of a wreathed national colors cockade, the early SS wore a jawless skull emblem, sometimes called a “Danziger” skull, which was based on a traditional “Totenkopf” death’s-head emblem that had been used in the Prussian military since the time of Frederick the Great. This jawless skull is referred to by collectors as the first pattern SS skull. On October 6, 1934, the SS introduced a new pattern of cap skull that was unlike the traditional design that had previously been adopted. This second pattern SS skull was used until the end of WWII and is the iconic Totenkopf widely associated with the SS today. It was initially worn in conjunction with the political style cap eagle, but in February 1936 the SS introduced a new type of cap eagle to differentiate from other political organizations. This eagle had longer wings than the early political type, and was the pattern worn by the SS together with the second pattern Totenkopf, until 1945. Early SS cap insignia was made from a variety of materials including aluminum, which was left bare, and Tombak, a brass alloy, which was treated with a silver finish. Some examples were made of a composite material called CupAl, which is made by coating aluminum with copper sheet using a special mechanical process. Later, during the later years of WWII, SS cap insignia was generally made of zinc that was treated with a silver wash. As with all SS regalia, SS cap insignia is very collectible today.
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