The Coburg Badge

Ranking right up there with the Blood Order in important Third Reich political badges is the Coburg Badge... a simple looking badge in bronze with a little village on top of a wreath and a sword placed tip downward across the face of a swastika within the wreath. The wreath contains the words "MIT HITLER IN COBURG".

Be careful of the Coburg Badge! It withholds several secrets and because of some of those you might end up with a fake when you thought you bought a real one. Even the "authorities" have a little disagreement about this badge.

The first "mystery", and it is a minor one, is where the Coburg badge fits in the scheme of things within the hierarchy of Third Reich medals. David Littlejohn in his book ORDERS, DECORATIONS, MEDALS AND BADGES OF THE THIRD REICH, states categorically that it ranked "higher than the Blood Order". R. Kahl, in INSIGNIA, DECORATIONS AND BADGES OF THE THIRD REICH, makes the same statement.And it's true. All of us who have seen pictures of the Nazi leaders strutting down the Munich streets with their Blood Orders and their Blood Flag will continue to wonder how the Coburg Badge could rank higher, but it really did!

In November of 1936 Hitler gave new "orders" for the "Orders and Awards" of the Third Reich. According to ORDERS, EHRENZEICHEN UND TITEL, by Hanns Dombrowski, published in 1940, the NSDAP awards are listed in this order: 1. Coburg Badge; 2. Nurnberg Party Badge of 1929; 3. , SA Treffen at Brunswick; 4. Golden Party Badges under 100,000; 5. The Blood Order; followed by the Gaubadges and the Golden HJ Badge.

Hitler caused the Coburg Badge to be struck in 1932 to memorialize an event that took place ten years earlier, on Saturday, October 14, 1922, and to honor the participants.

One of the finest books, if not the finest, on the early Nazi years is I KNEW HITLER, by Kurt G.W. Ludecke. Ludecke was a sort of "public relations" man for Hitler... he later came to the U.S. as special envoy for Hitler in an effort to woo U.S. Germans to the Nazi cause and later escaped with his life during the Blood Purge of 1934.

On that day in 1922 Hitler was invited to "German Day" in Coburg and asked to bring a few friends. I have written before that Hitler, if nothing else, was an exceptional opportunist. He rented an entire train and filled it with 800 of his followers (virtually the whole Party) and even bought his own 42 piece band, planning to take the town by storm.

Ludecke is ecstatic when he writes about what happen in Coburg. Remember, in 1922 Hitler was a nobody on the German national scene; only his fanatical little band of followers thought anything would come of the "little man with the silly mustache. Most Germans had never evenseen the swastika! According to Ludecke, "amassed burghers and wide-eyed Jews almost fell out of the express trains which passed them." Hiring the train was a huge bluff, the Nazi party had no money. Every man who climbed on the train bought one or more tickets, often with his last marks.

Coburg was a town which had long been dominated by Marxists. And the Marxists, of course, wanted no part of the Nazi "foreigners". When the Nazis arrived at Coburg, a uniformed policeman told them they could not march into the city with bands playing or flags flying. The words were music to the "opportunist" ears. Hitler pushed aside the policeman and they marched into the center of town, all flags flying, all instruments blaring. A crowd of thousands threatened to bar their way. No one was sure who these fanatics from Munich were. Suddenly some of the crowd (mostly Marxists) ,began to throw things and a furious fight ensued for perhaps 15 minutes. In time most of the crowd began to join the Nazis and before long they had won over the townspeople. Here, at last, they saw a savior" from the Communist repression. The town officials, of course, were not impressed or happy.

The next day as the Nazis triurnphantly boarded the train, Hitler was told the "Reds" would not run the train back to Munich. Again, Hitler saw an opportunity. He told the officials that he and his group would run the train themselves, but they would first kidnap every Communist they could find and would take them back to Munich on the commandeered train. What would then happen to the Communists was left to everyone's active imaginations. The Communists capitulated, the train ran. Hitler won!

And now to that badge and its secrets. No doubt that it is a heavy, solid bronze badge.

Ltc. John Angolia in his book FOR FUHRER AND FATHERLAND.. POLITICAL AND CIVIL AWARDS OF THE THIRD REICH says it was made of "massive bronze and was slightly convex, while later versions were thinner and flat." Forman's GUIDE TO THIRD REICH GERMAN AWARDS AND THEIR VALVES only mentions one version of the bronze medal (presumably the "massive convex" one mentioned by Angolia.) Littlejohn does not mention a "thinner" badge at all. HOWever, all authorities refer to another Coburg badge made of silver with a red swastika. Littlejohn says it's authentic; Forman gives it a price of $2000 and Angolia states it was probably a private purchase.

Forman lists the price of the bronze Coburg badge at $1,250. I have seen them on tables of reputable dealers for somewhat less than that. The problem, of course, is knowing if they are real. The fakes I have seen have "villages" on top that simply do not match the real ones. I saw one recently that was "thin" all right. It resembled a large, cheap tinnie. The asking price was $400. I passed.

Robert McCarthy, who has a fine example of a real Coburg badge, mentions that you should look for a small RZM on the lower reverse of the badge. Steve Wolfe says that the thinner version does exist, but without the RZM and that there is very little difference between the two versions.

Even thought "thinner" badges were apparently manufactured, my "authority quotient" would feel more comfortable with the heavier "massive" bronze medal, and with the RZM mark.There were only 436 of these badges awarded which makes originals fairly rare.

Mickey Huffman, "The Curious Case of the Coburg Badge", Der Gauleiter, 1989

Note: The picture is for an example only. I don't know if it's a real one. If you have a picture of one that you are sure is real please email it to me. Thanks, Bob

About Our Blog

Welcome...

In this section you will find a series of articles on the various aspects of Third Reich militaria collecting. These are intended to introduce the new collector to a particular area of our hobby and to provide the experienced collector with a refresher course, or perhaps some new info. They are not intended to replace reference books in one's library, but are here to "wet the appetite" of the collectors, and encourage them to aquire the books or magazines they were taken from. Many of these sources are currently available from book dealers, or the publisher, and some are long out of print. In the case of the later, it might take some hunting to aquire them. Militaria shows, other collectors and our web site might be good sources.

Most of this info was aquired by scanning pages and running them through an optical character recognition (OCR) program. While this is the most efficient way of aquiring the text, it is not fool-proof and errors are encountered. We have proof read all of these articles and made the corrections we found. However, don't be surprised if you find a mis-spelled word or other error here and there. We could only do so much.... In the case of the photos that accompany the articles, some are from the article itself, while others are photos I added from other sources as I thought appropriate. And be sure to look through the archives, there are more articles than you see on this page.

This feature of germanmilitariacollecibles.com will be an ongoing project. I will add more material as often as it is available and I have time to do so.

If you are an author who has written something about German militaria collecting, and would like to share it with our readers, we would like to see it. You can email a copy to us. If we use it, and we will try to, you will receive full credit. Be sure you tell us your name, the title, where or who published it (if it was) and the date published.

Finally, I would like to express my thanks to Roger Bender, of R. James Bender Publishing, for his interest and support of this project. Bob Treend

E-Boat Badges

The Kriegsmarine, like most navies of the era, commissioned a variety of ships - each of which was designed to fulfill a particular mission. During the First World War, the Italian Navy commissioned small, swift, maneuverable, shallow draft torpedo boats, which were used with great success against the Austrian Navy in the Mediterranean. By the 1930's the torpedo boats and destroyers of World War One had evolved into the larger and more heavily armed corvettes, frigates and destroyers utilized in World War Two. These vessels were too large to operate in coastal waters, so naval designers produced various boats to protect coastal areas from naval attack. The Americans referred to their boats as P.T.'s and the British referred to theirs as M.T.B.'s. The Kriegsmarine actually had two types of vessels, Schnellbooten and Rammbooten, which the British Admiralty referred to interchangeably as E-Boats,without any apparent reason.

The Germans constructed approximately 200 Schnellbooten and 200 Rammbooten between 1933 and 1944. Two classes of each type of vessel were commissioned. The first Schnellbooten (Hull Nos. 5- 7, 8, 10-18), 2337 were constructed between 1933 and 1939. This class was 93 feet long, displaced 62 tons, carried two 19.7" torpedo tubes, two 1 pound anti-aircraft guns and one 20mm anti-aircraft gun. It was operated by a crew of 17 and had a maximum speed of 30-33 knots. The second class (Hull Nos. 38-57 and 58- 204) were constructed between 1939-40 and 1941-44. These boats were 105 feet long, displaced 86 tons, carried two 19.7" torpedo tubes and two 4 7mm anti-aircraft guns. They were also operated by a crew of 17 and had a maximum speed of 36 knots. The first group of Rammbooten (Hull Nos. 1-16) was built between 1930 and 1934. This class of boat was 85 feet long, displaced 45 tons and carried one 1 pound antiaircraft gun. It was operated by a crew of 15 and had a maximum speed of only 18 knots. The second class (Hulll Nos. 18-40 and 41-?) was constructed from 1935-39 and from 1940-44. This class was 85 feet long, displaced 90 tons and carried two 1 pound anti-aircraft guns. It was operated by a crew of 17 and had a maximum speed of 18 knots. The distinction between the two was principally that Schnellbooten were designed as torpedo attack boats, while Rammbooten were designed as motor minesweepers. The latter did not require the speed or armament of the former, yet both were encountered in all combat zones laying mines and harassing Allied shipping.

For example, E-Boats accompanied the Kriegsmarine capital ships to Norway in 1940, saw extensive service in the Mediterranean, escorted the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen in February, 1942, and attacked Allied shipping in the Atlantic Ocean, English Channel and Baltic Sea. When the first rumors of the Allied invasion of Normandy began to circulate through the German Command on the night of June 5/6,1944, Lt. Commander Heinrich Hoffman lead three E-Boats of his 5th E-Boat Flotilla from La Havre to search for the Allied fleet. Hoffman eventually encountered an eerie fog, and after pushing through, ran into the Royal Navy. Hoffman's boats attacked, launched 18 torpedoes and withdrew. One torpedo sunk the Norwegian destroyer Svenner. Although Hoffman was unable to alert German commands of the presence of the Allied invasion fleet until he returned to base due to the destruction of his radio, his flotilla was the only German naval unit to engage the Allies on June 6. E-Boats from Cherbourg claimed to have engaged Allied shipping on the morning of June 7, however, Allied naval units failed to report their attack. Nevertheless, the E-Boats saw a large amount of action; and it is estimated more than 140 were lost to Allied naval and aerial attack.

Before May, 1941, E-Boat crewman were awarded the Destroyer War Badge after participating in 12 operational sorties or being wounded in action. On May 30, 1941, the Berlin firm of Peckhaus released a new badge authorized for wear by qualified E- Boat crewman. Original badges were well made and measure approximately 1.75 inches wide by 2.25 inches long. I have encountered badges which are seven-eights of the size of the original badges; however, they are reproductions made from the original dies.

In 1943, Peekhaus released a second version of the E-Boat Badge. Absolutely no reason for the change of the design is known, however this is the only war badge to be redesigned during the war.

Both versions of the E-Boat Badge followed a similar design. In the center, an E- Boat is cruising toward the viewer's left with a visible wake at the bow. The E-Boat is surrounded by a wreath of oakleaves with the national emblem at the top. In both badges the E-Boat is silvered metal, the waves are darkened metal and the wreath and national emblem are gilted.

The second version is easily distinguished from the first. It is larger, measuring approximately 2" wide by 2.25" long. The proportions of each element of the second version of the badge are larger than the first, with the tip of the E-boat's bow actually breaking beyond the right exterior of the wreath. The national emblem appears to be almost twice the size as that of the first version, with the swastika extending further into the void between the wreath and the cabin house of the E-Boat.

Both versions of the E-boat badge were affixed to the uniform by a wide, flat horizontal pin positioned behind the E-Boat. The pin is affIxed to the badge by a heavy hinge on the right side and a sturdy catch on the left side of the badge's reverse. Additionally, a hook is found behind the national emblem, which was used to hook the top of the badge to the uniform to protect it from flapping.

Reproductions of both badges frequently utilize a thin round vertical pin with flimsy hinge and catch. The detail and construction of many reproductions is poor, although some reproductions of reasonable quality have been encountered.

The following books were used in preparing this article and are recommended for further reading. Morrison, US. Naval Operations In World War II: Operations In North African Waters, Little, Brown (Boston, 1968) , Ruge, Der Seekreig, U.S. Naval Institute (Annapolis, 1957) Morrison, U.S. Naval Operations·In World War II- The Invasion of France and Germany, Little, Brown (Boston,. 1964) Jane's Fighting Ships 1944-45, Arno Publishing Co. Inc. (New York, 1971) Von Der Porten, The German Navy in World War Two, Crowell (New York, 1969) MacIntyre, The Naval War Against Hitler, Scribners (New York, 1971) Morrison: U.S. Naval Operations In World War II: Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, Little, Brown (Boston, 1968) Ryan, The Longest Day, Simon and Schuster (New York, 1959) Dodkins and Littlejohn, Orders, Decorations, Medals and Badges of the Third Reich, Bender Publishing, (Mountain View, CA, 1970)

Robert McCarthy and Philip Carson, "Coastal Craft Badges", Der Gauleiter, 1991

Duane Pfister

Click image to enlarge...

Collectors Snag Nazi Propaganda

WEEHAWKEN, N.J. Tyrannical, calculating, and above all, deluded, Adolf Hitler was also the consummate politician, as evidenced by a series of photographs autographed by der Fuhrer and sold by Newman &. Co. Galleries during its most recent auction of historical letters,photographs and other paper ephemera.

The Third Reich understood the value of propaganda, teaching the world a painful and lasting lesson about false impressions as seen through their carefully focused lenses. The clever and ruthless Nazi propaganda machine staged well orchestrated cinematic, events and, posed photographs, all carefully choreographed to achieve the desired results.

At least three of these particular images of Hitler, taken in the mid 1930s and early 1940s were of partipular interest to military buffs and collectors because they show a side of Hitler not normally seen in history books and newsreels.

The first, dated 1935 and signed by Hitler, shows him in full military uniform, wearing his Iron Cross and red, white and black Nazi armband. He stands behind a young girl, his hand on her shoulder. Both are smiling, looking directly into the camera. Still in its original frame, the photo sold for $650.

The second, dated 1940 and signed by Hitler, is a chilling dichotomy. It shows him in full uniform with a group of regular army and SS officers pausing to greet a group of five young children. Hitler is bent slightly at the waist as he leans down toward the children, smiling.The photo sold for $525.

The third photo in this group; signed but undated, is framed and under glass. The photo measures 4-3/4" by 3-1/2" and shows Hitler in uniform without his hat smiling and shaking the hand of an elderly woman. Both are in profile, with a crowd behind them, mostly Army officers. The frame also includes a Nazi party 10th anniversary medallion. It sold for $675.

The fourth Hitler piece shows him riding in an open limousine seated beside Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Both dictators are looking upward as they drive past a crowd shown in the background. Signed by Mussolini, the photo is under glass and framed, with a silver-plated swastika inside a wreath mounted on the matting beneath the photo. It sold for $625.

Also shown on the same page of the catalog were signed photos of two German officers. The first is aviator Walter Oesau; dated 1938, the fighter ace is shown wearing his flight jacket bedecked in medals, including at least three Iron Crosses. It sold for $100. The second shows a Major General Ringel in uniform, an Iron Cross around his neck and wearing a cloth cap, signed and dated 1939. It sold for $70. The image of Ringel is somewhat unusual in that it shows the high-ranking officer wearing a moustache and neatly-trimmed Van Dyke beard.In addition to photos and autographs, the Newman auction also included a variety of ephemera, including posters, stamps, cancelled envelopes, trade cards, even sheet music, one of which is a classic crossover piece, appealing to military and Disney collectors.

The music for "Der Fuehrer's Face," an anti-German song written by Oliver Wallace for a Walt Disney Co. propaganda film released in support of the war effort in 1942, sold for $80. The cover shows an incensed Donald Duck throwing a tomato that splatters on Hitler's face.

A 1-cent Jefferson postal card cancelled Sept. 14, 1944, in Springfield, IL., showing a larger-than-life American G.I. holding a rifle and sledge hammer aloft standing over a battlefield, an advertising card for Collier's Publishing, sold for $16.

Other picture postcards included: "The Awakening Orient," by Heinz Keune, a WWI propaganda design showing armed Turkish troops charging out from under a giant fez, which sold for $38; a Xavier Sagar design, "Flags of the Allies, USA," a WWI card showing a U.S. officer standing in front of the American flag with his sword drawn, which sold for $20; and a set of four German Weimar Republic propaganda cards designed by Karl A. Wilke which sold for $40. "Silent Night, Holy Night," a 1914 German Red Cross card showing a soldier mounted atop a horse passing by a church, sold for $40; "Stop the War," a Willy Pogany signed propaganda card showing death on a dark horse trampling bodies, sold for $44.

From the early 19th century, a two-line note cencerning the departure of a French government minister on a visit to Italy, signed by Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France, in March 1805, sold for $1,000.

The auction also included a lot featuring two modern-day warriors, an autographed copy of "My American Journey" by Colin Powell and an autographed copy of "It Doesn't Take A Hero" by H. Norman Schwarzkopf sold for $55. Both retired generals led the Allied coalition that vanquished the Iraqi armed forces during Desert Storm.

Rod Hirsch, "Collectors Snag Nazi Propaganda", Military Trader, 1997

Reproduction Diplomatic and State Official's Daggers

Here are some observations concerning the large number of well-made reproductions of the silver plated Diplomatic/State service Official's series daggers, currently being offered as originals. These specimens are becoming more and more prolific at gun shows and on dealers lists. Their sophistication is attested to by the number of knowledgable collectors being "burned" by them.

The earliest reproductions of this series of blades can easily be identified by checking the features listed in the following references under their respective headings; EDGED WEAPONRY OF THE THIRD REICH, Maj. John R. Angolia, 1974, pages 198-99. BLUEBOOK OF IDENTIFICATION OF REPRODUCTION NAZI EDGED WEAPONS, R. McFarlane, 1969, pages 24-25. The latter more deceiving and sophisticated repros have every single feature in these 2 references corrected.

There are, however, still a few salient characteristics that the prospective buyer of one of these blades can look out for. Those that I've noticed are:

1. The phonies generally show a highly polished, tinny chrome-like finish to all plated parts. This plating is very thin on the repros and appears to wear through easily. Underneath is a yellowish-colored base matal which shows through on many of them. Originals retained a much deeper, darker silver-like lustre which I have never noticed to wear through to the base metal.

2. Every late model reproduction I've seen to date has had a very pronounced ridge or outline running along the outer edge of each oak leaf that goes to make up the scabbard bands. Originals had no such cutline on the leaves. Also make sure there is an acorn on the lower left section of the scabbard bands, when facing the scabbard frontaly. All originals have this feature, repros don't.

3. While the crossguard eagle is cast very well, the newer phonies will sometimes show distorted head detail. In such cases, the eagles beak and eyes are somewhat misshaped and show poor casting. Originals generally showed good detail in this.

4. Notice the tang-nut which holds the entire piece together. Original specimens incorporate 2 small holes to accomodate a spanner. The reproductions I've seen generally have 2 larger size holes that those on the good pieces. Many times these holes are out of round due to assembly and disassembly with improper tools, and their subsequent effect on the inferior base metal is noticeable.

5. The small leather washer fitted to the ricasse of the blade is usually very thick in width and unevenly cut on the bad pieces. New appearance is obvious. Originals have a fitted, thin oval washer which, regardless of use, invariably shows its age.

6. Lastly, examing any accoutrements that may be present with the dagger. The hangers should consist of a silver, patterned facing sewn to a black velvet backing on each strap, with 2nd Luftwaffe buckles and retainer rings, and Army officer type suspension ramps and top snap fastener. These are very rare and originals will not generally be seen with a bad dagger. Beware if the backing is anything other than black velvet, or if the top fastener and suspension ramps are 2nd Luftwaffe fittings, probability is that they are bad. Also take note of the portepee, if one is tied to the handle. It should consist of a thinner than normal cord with about a 2/3rds normal size acorn. Only this type of knot was used on this series and, like wise, are very rare and never seen on reproductions. They will usually have a standard Army officer's 16 1/2 inch aluminum portepee tied to the handle, in lieu of the proper trappings.

I hope these findings will keep prospective buyers from throwing away their hard earned cash on a worthless reproduction. Don't discount the information contained in the above listed references, but don't let a fast-talking shyster convince you to spend $800. or more for a phony by citing how his "gem" doesn't have any of the characteristics noted in the references. Most blade collectors know the painful experience of showing off their prize pigs ticker to a knowledgeable enthusiast who subsequently informs them that the only good thing about that piece of junk on the wall is that it can perform its intended function on the posterier of the crook who sold it to them.

D.G. Pape Jr..: "REPRODUCTION DIPLOMATIC/STATE OFFICIAL'S DAGGERS", "Der Gauleiter", 1977