Original German WWII Army Heer Infantry or Supply EM/NCO Schirmmütze Visor Cap - Color Bleed on Piping

Original Item: Only One Available. This is very interesting example of a German WWII Wehrmacht Heer Army EM/NCO Schirmmütze (visor cap). It features the typical feldgrau (field gray) "doeskin" weave wool construction with a dark bottle-green (flaschengrün) "badge cloth" band and a traditional high forward crown. The cap has the usual triple piping we would expect to see, however the color has bled off of the cap band and body of the cap, making the color quite hard to see. We thought maybe it was an administration visor cap, but closer examination shows that the color was originally white or light blue, the Waffenfarbe (corps color) of the Infantry and the Supply Corps, respectively. It still has the stiffener ring around the crown to maintain the shape, though it has still sunk a bit, giving it a nice gently sloped look.

It is decorated with a well detailed silvered nickel alloy eagle insignia on the peak and and an open silvered nickel alloy wreath surrounding a plated metal tri-color cockade on the band. The insignia look great, showing a lovely aged patina, with oxidation and tarnishing to the silvering, giving them a great "been there" look. The red felt insert in the cockade is still relatively vibrant, and does not show any damage. The dual-buckled black leather chinstrap, designating the wearer to be an enlisted man, is attached to black lacquered buttons on either side. The finish has degraded a bit, and it now has a lovely pattern of cracking and checking throughout. The vulcanfibre visor has a smooth black leather-look upper, exhibiting light wear along the edge and is tan on the underside. The top of the visor has a lovely pattern of crazing and checking, which only happens after decades.

The brown leather sweatband is still supple, with the stitching still intact most of the way around the edge, with some repairs on the forehead area. It shows some sweat and oil staining, but still retains the color well, and has been marked with K SCH on the right side, possibly indicating issue to a school (Schule). There is also what looks like an inspection marking on the underside of the sweatband. The interior of the cap is lined with lovely cream colored rayon faux silk, which shows light staining, and the celluloid sweat shield diamond is completely missing. The stitching for it is still retained, and we were not able to locate any markings on the interior. Size seems to be approximately 56cm.

Exterior condition is very nice, showing just only light wear and age toning. We do not see any major moth damage or staining, and it looks to have seen only light use during the war. The discoloration of the piping is the only real issue with this cap.

A very nice example of the classic hat worn by German Army NCOs in WWII, ready to display!

The German Schirmmütze Visor Cap:
The visor cap (Schirmmütze) was an important part of the headgear worn by German uniformed military, civil, paramilitary and political organizations during the Third Reich. This was the standard cloth headgear worn as a part of the service uniform. Visor caps were worn outdoors as well as indoors, and were often required to be worn by all personnel on duty. Visor caps were made in versions specific to each organization and were often further differentiated through the use of insignia, colored piping, or style of chin cord, to indicate rank, role or branch. The insignia used on these caps ranged from simple stamped metal emblems, to elaborate hand embroidery. Visor caps were issued to enlisted soldiers and NCOs in the military and in some other organizations. Officers had to purchase their own hats, and lower ranks could choose to purchase caps that were of a higher quality than the rather basic, issue examples. The private purchase caps were generally made in very high quality, with fine materials. A wide variety of fabrics were used, from Trikot and doeskin, to heavy wool, or even lightweight white fabric for summer wear. In the military, issue of these caps was generally suspended shortly after the outbreak of the war, but they continued to be worn by some troops until the end of the war.