Hi friends,
I am offerd this shako. Is it real or fake and how much should I pay for it??
Thanks
Dirk

2

Well, the body is original, pre 1945.
It is an EM/NCO Shako for Schutzpolizei (Rural Police).
It could be the light, but the body should be covered with green felt. On the pictures it alomost looks like some 'rubberish' material. This would be incorrect, and indicate that his itme has been seriously tempered with. Again, the pictures could be misleading.
The Chinstrap attachment lugs have been removed and put back on on the wron sides. The one with the little rectangulare loop should be on the left side of the shako. this is to attach the plume.

The eagle should be stamped metal. The one in your pictures does not appear as crisp as I would like it to be. It should have to screws on the back and is than screwed in place.

Not sure if the chinstrap is original or not, my gut feeling says 'not'

I agree with Herr Wolf that the body does look strange especially in the pictures that shows the eagle! Never seen an original shako with a texture like that. It should have a look like this. This is a rural but it has the same colored felt as the municipal.
SSman

Hello,

I believe your tschako is original (interior looks great) but was "treated" with some sort of waterproofing post war, or even recovered with some sort of vinyl to replace mothed felt. VERY strange indeed. It may have been used post war but in any case the "rubber" looking covering is something that I have NEVER seen on a war time used tschako. Insignia looks ok to me, but with that stange body treatment I would not invest in it.

Regards,
William Unland

Thanks so much Great to see a real shako and so good to have you areound. Thanks a lot Dankeschoen!
Dirk