A new area for discussion and photo examples.

b.loree

Administrator
Staff member
We have previously talked about establishing a separate area for kokarden/cockades so here we go. I will be posting photos shortly.
 
Great! Many times I have searched the forum looking for Kokarde examples. They are everywhere. This will be very helpful. Thanks.
Do you think we can get the existing Kokarde threads to transfer here?

John
 
I don't know John but I will try, it will take someone with more tech expertise than I. In the meantime, here is a pair to start things off:
IMG_1193.JPG
A rare pair of Baden NCO kokarden from the same helmet. The helmet was trashed, but I bought the kokarden. Note, that the Reichs Kokade is in the Prussian NCO style as well. There are only two ridges on the NCO white metal ring whereas the officer kokade has three.IMG_1196.JPG
Reverse side showing the typical cardboard backing and bent tabs holding the NCO rings on.
IMG_4162.JPG
Reichs kokarden on the left and Baden on the right. The two larger pair of kokarden are from a Baden Dragoon helmet. The red paint on the upper right kokarde is complete although in this photo it appears to be missing due to “lighting”.
 
Last edited:
Two Prussian kokarden (black and white), the left piece with small hole is the pre 1891 model cockade designed to fit the bolt on chin scales found on pickelhauben 1842-1891.
IMG_6195.JPG
Two examples of the pre 1891 chin scale bolts. In my experience, these always have slotted rounded heads.
A matched pair of pre 1891 OR's kokarden:IMG_6072.JPG
IMG_1192.JPG
 
Last edited:
Wurttemberg and Reichs Officer kokarden:
IMG_1878.JPG
The Wurttemberg officer kokade like the Baden is often made of Brass. On many examples, it looks to be hand painted but this may be because of the fan shape of the kokarde. Note the extra middle ridge on the Reichs officer kokarde which differentiates it from the NCO. Helmets made prior to 1897 do not carry the Reichs kokarde, only the State kokarde was worn over the right ear. Post 1897 the Reichs kokarde is worn over the right ear and the State kokarde on the opposite side.
IMG_0266.JPG
Notched Wurttemberg M91 kokarde. These notched kokaden are usually found only on ersatz tin OR's helmets but in this case it was used on an M95 leather helmet.
IMG_0267.JPG
Reverse.
 
Last edited:
A set of pre 1891 chin scale bolts and fittings, the kokarden are M91 large hole where they should have small holes. The Garde helmet these belong to is dated 1879 but many things happen to fittings over 140+ years. Obviously, the matched pair of M91 kokarden are original.
IMG_0972.JPG
The order of fittings here is....bolt, brass disc, chin scale, kokarde.
 
Last edited:
It is not uncommon for an officer kokade to be stuck to the side of the shell as we see here with this Dragoner helmet. The helmet is subjected to hot conditions, the lacquer softens and the cardboard backing of the Reichs kokade sticks to the shell. Better to just leave the kokade in place as most times the cardboard will tear if you try to remove it. In my experience, cavalry kokarden are often larger than infantry.
IMG_0785.JPG
Below, we see a matched pair of officer kokarden from a Bavarian officer helmet, these are in rough shape but do give us a good comparison of Bavarian vs Prussian styles. Unfortunately, most of the blue paint is missing on the Bavarian but you can see the white metal ring only has two ridges while the Reichs has the Prussian three ridges.
IMG_0477.JPG
Sometimes there will be no cardboard backing on the officer kokade.
IMG_0478.JPG
 
Last edited:
For the most part, three piece officer kokarden can be carefully taken apart:
IMG_5808.JPG
In this case, the cardboard backing has torn, probably because I did not follow my own advice and just leave it stuck to the shell! However, you can trace out a replacement using suitable cardboard, spray it with black paint and replace the torn piece.
IMG_5809.JPG
 
Brian,
Fantastic thread; in my recent searches, I have been wondering about the different types of kokarden/cockades. This answers many questions and shows the neat alternative types of kokarden/cockades one can come across.
Thank You
John
 
Brian, I cannot thank you enough for bringing the kokarden category back into existence. And thanks to all our members for contributing so eagerly to it!
I have learned so much from these threads that I wake up every morning wondering what fascinating new facts I will see when I log on!
Gratefully yours,
Steve
 
Thank you Steve, I think we all need a bit of “positive learning and information “ after having gone through these long months of global pandemic. My thanks also to the members who have shared examples from their collections!
 
Back
Top