Germany, Third Reich. A Rare NS-Ordensburgen Overseas Cap, Veteran-Retrieved from Sonthofen
(NS-Ordensburgen Schiffchen). A rare and extremely well-preserved NS-Ordensburgen overseas cap, constructed of olive-brown wool. The cap is fully surrounded by fold-down side panels with frontal scalloping. Stitched onto the left side of the panels is an insignia consisting of a triangular light brown rayon base, bearing a machine-embroidered silver aluminum wire NSDAP-style German national eagle clutching a wreathed mobile swastika. The eagle insignia measures 65 mm (w) x 40 mm (h) overall. Affixed to the peak with a pin and stitching is a button bearing a raised German national eagle clutching a swastika. The reverse of the button is maker marked with the logo of F.W. Assmann & Söhne, Lüdenscheid. The interior features a complete olive-drab cotton-blended liner bearing a number of marks. These include a fully-intact Reichszeugmeisterei (RZM) label featuring a maker’s code of “13” and a secondary code of “278235”, a size stamp of “55”, and a partially-legible stamp of “EIGENTUM DER N.S.-ORDENSBURG” (“PROPERTY OF N.S.-ORDENSBURG). It measures approximately 285 mm (l) x 110 mm (h) when folded flat. It is accompanied by a handwritten note from the daughter of Private Howard F. Fisher, indicating that the latter discovered the cap in a locker at Sonthofen as the building was being converted into a US Army academy. It is supplemented with an extract from the 1 April 1946 edition of Stars and Stripes commemorating the first class of officers and enlisted personnel to graduate from the school. A rare cap with a storied history in overall extremely fine condition.

