RLB First Pattern Buckle Tabbed

Product Description: This is a very attractive RLB First Pattern Buckle. This is the early, 1930s pattern of buckle worn by enlisted personnel of the German national air raid defense organization, and is a very tough type of buckle to find. It is made of stamped nickel silver. The front is beautiful, with moderate wear from use. Lots of crisp original detail remains intact. The swastika emblem still retains nearly all of the original black paint. The reverse of this buckle is hollow, with a round brass wire catch still in place with the original braze joints. The steel roller bar and prongs assembly is intaxct and functional and still retains the original leather tab. The tb is made of brown pebbled leather, and all of the original stitching is present. The tab is maker marked and dated on the back bottom “Otto Koberstein, Landsberg, 1935.” Overall, this rarely encountered and desirable RLB First Pattern Buckle remains in excellent condition.

Historical Description: The belt buckle was an important part of the regalia worn by all uniformed military, civil, political, and paramilitary organizations during the Third Reich. The belt (“Koppel”) was part of the uniform and would always be worn while on duty. The belt buckle (“Koppelschloss”) was generally specific to each organization, with many organizations having separate belt buckles for officers and for enlisted personnel, sometimes with different colors and finishes to further denote specific purposes. The buckles were adorned with various mottos and designs specific to the organizations for which they were intended. Many designs used the German national eagle emblem, in a variety of forms. Belt buckles were worn with uniforms ranging from finely tailored officer parade uniforms, to the issue uniforms of enlisted soldiers in combat. Generally speaking, most German belt buckles of the Third Reich were made with two prongs on the reverse, to allow the buckle to be worn and adjusted on a belt. The buckle had a catch that would mate with a hook on the belt, when worn. The earliest Third Reich buckles were often made of brass, or nickel silver. Later, aluminum became very common, and was used on private purchase as well as enlisted buckles of the German military, with or without a painted or plated finish. After WWII began, most enlisted military buckles were steel. Nazi belt buckles were popular souvenirs for Allied troops who served in Europe. Some types were made by the millions and remain quite common today. Others were made in limited numbers and are very rare.

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