Wehrmacht buckle
 

I bought this recently and wondering what it is really worth.
Does anybody here collect belt buckles?
It is made of steel and not broken. Tried it with a belt.

jussi

Hi,

I don't collect these, but there are online articles like:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_W...l.C3.B6sser.29

http://www.das-koppelschloss.de/gottmituns.htm

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koppelschloss

http://das-koppelschloss.de/index.htm

http://translate.google.com/ will do a reasonable job of translating the websites from German.

Marc

Jussi..I collect buckles and this one does not look real. The rear of the buckle is more important to see to determine authenticity. Even if real these can be had for $50-100 bucks.

If it prooves to be fake..worth nothing.

The detail looks ok to me, just that it has been lightly sanded, polished. A view of the back, along with the manufacturer's stamp is important. It is missing the leather tongue, which is not unusual.
I agree with Jerry that a standard Heeres steel buckle like this can be had for $50-$70 today.

The backside
 

Here is the backside of the buckle. Some surface rust there.

jussi

It is original. Fakes do not have this crisp detail and the loop for the belt hook is not that thick a guage. The thicknes of the buckle itself looks righ as well. Also, the sheet metal wrap that holds the two tongs onto the pin is tight and meets up nicely., Fakes usually show a gap where the sheet metal meets and the corners are curved up.

"JFS" is the buckle maker.
It stands for Josef Feix & Sohne from Gablonz. This company also made several decorations for the Wehrmacht.

Douglas

M/22
 

Here is a Finnish SA model m/22. War and prewar buckle that is a good part of a finn luger rig.
German leather belt fits perfectly.

jussi