SS Rank Tab – Wool

Product Description: This is a textbook, unissued example of a Waffen-SS rank collar tab, preserved in exceptional near mint condition. Produced in fine black wool badge cloth, the surface remains full-napped and completely intact, with virtually no wear. Importantly, there are no stitch holes or traces of prior application, confirming that this tab was never issued or sewn to a tunic.

The reverse displays the neatly folded wool edges over a correct wartime internal stiffener made of lacquered cheesecloth—exactly what collectors expect to see on genuine period production. At the corners on the back, there are small traces of glue residue, likely from having once been mounted in a photo album or scrapbook, a common period practice that does not detract from the overall presentation.

This collar tab remains in near mint, untouched condition, making it an ideal companion to a matching SS runic tab or a stand-alone example representing the precision and standardization of Waffen-SS insignia manufacturing during the later war years. A choice, authentic piece with strong appeal for advanced collectors of SS uniform insignia.

Historical Description: Regulations for the SS Collar Tab went through quite an evolution in just a short 16-year period. The first SS Collar Tabs were introduced in 1929 by Heinrich Himmler as part of the newly introduced SS uniform code. Initially, tabs were worn by both lower rank SS men and their senior leaders. Lower ranks would wear a rank tab as well as a numbered unit identification tab, with senior leaders wearing their rank tabs on both collars. In 1933 the well-known “SS” runic tab was adopted by Hitler’s personal bodyguard detachment, the “Leibstandarte” or “LAH”. The LAH used this runic tab in lieu of the numerical unit identification tab to identify them as members of the elite unit protecting the “Führer”. In 1934 the runic “SS” tabs were again adopted for use by the early “SS-VT” units. This adoption eventually led to the widespread use of SS runic tabs by German Divisions; the later non-German volunteer units would not be permitted to wear the runes, and bore their own unit designed patch instead. SS Collar tabs can be found in an extraordinary variety of numbers, designs, and pipings depending on unit and rank, from hand-embroidered tabs worn by officers to mass produced embroidered and machine woven types that were used on combat uniforms.

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