SS Eagle Ferdinand Wagner

Product Description: This SS Eagle Ferdinand Wagner is a nice, representative example of the extremely desirable metal cap eagles worn on SS visor caps. This one is a wartime made piece, struck from fine zinc. The front shows some honest wear, with the high points having reverted to the gray color of the base metal. About half of the original silver finish remains on the obverse, mostly in the recesses of the design. The reverse has an even matte gray color, and is nicely maker marked with the round “RZM” emblem of the Reichszeugmeisterei, as well as the maker code “475/42” indicating manufacture by the firm of Ferdinand Wagner. The maker code is applied slanted under the left wing, a marking style found on these zinc eagles. One of the original three crimped in sheet metal attachment prongs remains intact, the other two having broken off and been lost to time. This SS Eagle Ferdinand Wagner is an appealing piece, 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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