Gents,

What is your opinion of this Landespolizei (LAPO) buckle? This one appears to be in brass without plating.

View of the back showing the Assmann & Sonne markings. Original or a new reproduction?

George

Would suggest that this buckle is the extremely rare "gold" version of the LaPo-Koppelschloss by Fritz Assmann, although having been subjected to a somewhat enthusiastic and vigorous buffing. There is apparently (urban myth ?) story of an original "batch" of these buckles showing signs of water staining due to poor storage conditions. Note the gold traces still left intact within the pebbled oval and the reduced detail in relation to the eagles chest and the otherwise very distinct swastika.

Regards,

David

David,

Thanks for the reply. I was not sure if this was an over-cleaned buckle or a new reproduction. I did like the discoloration on the back of the buckle but I was not too fond of the catch and the detailing on the eagle body and legs.

George

George, my gold variety has lost a geat deal of gilding too. Can we compare with weight like I do with police Dienstmarken? What is its weight in grams and I will check mine tonight.

Joe,

Thanks for the offer but I do not have the buckle in hand to weigh it. One thing that I did not care for was the shape of the chest. It seems that it is not quite symetrical but appears to puff out more on one side than the other if you can see that from the photo of the front and back. I did not know if that was correct or not for this buckle, but I did not think so.

George