Wappen of the Imperial Duchies

b.loree

Administrator
Staff member
Recently, Tony S. asked me for photos of the "Duchy Wappen" that I have managed to acquire over 40 years of collecting. I took the pictures yesterday and thought why not post them on the forum as well? Unfortunately, I have not been able to find them all :) so I would invite members who have the the missing examples in their collection, to post them here. These are very rare as in most cases there was only one Regiment/Company that wore such special helmet plates.
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JR 91 Oldenburg with Koenig motto.
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JR 91 Model 1915
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JR 95 Note: Laurel leaves on both sides of the shield. Fuerst motto. Helmet date stamped 1888 and 1893.
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JR 94 Note: Oak leaves on the right side of the shield, Laurel leaves on the left. Fuerst motto. Helmet dated 1900.
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Filz helme from JR 153 Ink stamped BA IV which is correct for this Regt. Laurel leaves on both sides of the shield.
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Oldenburg Dragoner 19 officer wappen. Note contrasting star burst, scales and stars.
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Older JR 91 wappen with screw posts and larger star burst.
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JR 91 Officer wappen. Mercury gilding on Eagle, silver frosted star and shield.
In my 40+ year experience as a haube collector, for some reason the Oldenburg M95 OR's pieces were the easiest to find. Any "Fuerst" wappen/helmets are extremely rare and today.... $3,500, the latest price I have seen!
 
Very impressive Brian,

I only have Prussian EM Pickelhauben so my Wappen collection is very boring :D

Regards, Lars
 
Very nice. I left my plates all back in Singapore and I am in Australia now so will only be able to admire all these beautiful plates of yours :)

Impressive.
 
Yes, it is. Btw, does anybody checked if one of your stars in your collections was made out of real silver? Today I read the price list of a helmet manufacturer again and noticed that silver stars, signs and skulls were available in Neusilber and also in real silver.
 
Thanks Brian. It was just for interest, because until yesterday I thought all applications were made out of Nickel-Silver.
 
I know this is an old post but how is the silver plate attached to the eagle?

On issued Wappen always two threaded posts with square brass nuts.

On private purchase (officer) often flat brass prongs soldered at the back.

Sandy all issued overlays (and complete Wappens) were Neusiber. Only on private helmets could the buyer pay for “echt silbernem” but honestly I have never seen one.
 
Thanks Tony, I think I got my answer when two longtime collectors never have seen real silver plates 🙏:)
 
Truly an education on wappen from the Imperial German Duchys of era. The details in the craftsmanship was remarkable though hazardous for the makers. Thank you for posting these excellent examples.
Best regards
John
 
You are welcome John. The craftsmanship and detail of these wappen is as you say amazing. We also find this quality on the British helmets of this era. I managed to purchase a JR 93 Anhalt OR’s wappen this summer and will post photos tomorrow in order to add to this post.
 
As promised, the Anhalt wappen purchased from a French auction this summer. I have an OR helmet marked to JR 93 but it came with a Prussian wappen which as we know from original photos is legitimate. Unfortunately, this wappen is too small for my helmet.
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The details on this are amazing and confirm that this is no "fake"!
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The reverse, showing the typical screw post and square nuts attaching the shield/star. Due to the condition of this, I doubt whether it was ever issued.
 
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