Sorry to say, but they are indeed fake. Both green and this shade of gray have been observed and the paint was very convincing even 35 years ago. They were made in the early 1970's or at the same time as the fantasy Carl Eickhorn "knife" buckles and really don't show up that often. I believe they were made in England, but can't prove that, although, if you ever get a chance to examine one of the known Brit made "knife" buckles, you'll see some very similar workmanship.
Hope this helps?
Gary
__________________ "You know that your landing gear is up and locked when it takes full power to taxi to the terminal."
Although I don't go back to the 60ies/70ies as a collector, I remember seeing a lot of these buckles, to include the fearsome letter opener, in dealers' lists (xeroxed and sent by mail) in England in 1981/82.
447 on ebay.I believe there is one of these on ebay right now. The hitler youth and prussian police. The seller emailed me pictures, but I dont know how to get them from my email to the forum. I can forward if some one else knows how.
These buckles (at least the one I have) don't even come close to TR quality. I have no idea when or where I got this -- it must have been thrown in on a trade at the kansas City Militaria show.
447 on ebay.I believe there is one of these on ebay right now. The hitler youth and prussian police. The seller emailed me pictures, but I dont know how to get them from my email to the forum. I can forward if some one else knows how.
Peter -
You can email the photos to me at gmingj@acsol.net and I will transfer them here.
Back in the early 1970's, my brother thought he had found a real treasure of a 3.R buckle for me. Turned out to be the 447 fantasy Hitler Youth slash Prussian Police buckle, complete with Carl Eickhorn marked knife. I believe if anyone has the old "Reproduction Recognition" reference from the early 1970's, there is a good article about these exact buckles with and without knives. My R-R reference was loaned out and never returned.
David - Thanks for posting the great buckle pages. I believe you have finally connected the dots for me as to proof that the "knife" buckles and the TENObuckle that started this thread were, indeed, made by the same people in UK, circa early 1970's.
Regards,
Gary
__________________ "You know that your landing gear is up and locked when it takes full power to taxi to the terminal."
447 on ebay.I believe there is one of these on ebay right now. The hitler youth and prussian police. The seller emailed me pictures, but I dont know how to get them from my email to the forum. I can forward if some one else knows how.
I recall that all of these buckles I observed in the 1970's came in nude steel. Some painted finishes are more convincing than others, but is it me or does this buckle look like it's been gun blued.
Gary
POSTED ON BEHALF OF PETER:
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__________________ "You know that your landing gear is up and locked when it takes full power to taxi to the terminal."
Left handed Teno buckle
Linear Mode
