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Scarce 1892 USMC enlisted shoulder boards for sale


teufelhunde.ret
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teufelhunde.ret

A nice set of USMC enlisted shoulder boards has shown up on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT While not really rare in any sense, but becoming more and more scarce as a set as time goes on. More often than not being sold as mis-matched pairs with the incorrect (right shoulder eagle, globe and Anchor - EGA) as seen here...

post_214_1211983817.jpg

 

Theses boards were reportedly sold as surplus by Stokes-Kirk, and Bannerman. The right or opposite emblem/board is very scarce. These shoulder boards with left & right facing USMC emblems are seldom seen these days, but are not in their own right rare. This is a nice matching set in good condition. I expect they will do very well and will not be surprised if they exceed 350. as they are desirably sought for any USMC or EGA collection.

 

_Bfed7Rg_2k___KGrHqEH_CEErvFoQ_gqBLB_mLQciQ___12.jpg _Bfed_TgB2k___KGrHqMH_D8Er2S64jdKBLB_mUwd_w___12.jpg

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I expect they will do very well and will not be surprised if they exceed 350. as they are desirably sought for any USMC or EGA collection.

 

I would've thought that $700-1,000 would be possible? This is that kind of think that just does not come along like this, as you note. I think "rare" might work for this set.

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One might think so / be inclined to consider them "rare" however, due to the post WW1 surplus sales its not possible to know with a great degree of accuracy how many are "out there".. a good thread on the topic: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...showtopic=20479

 

 

I'd forgotten about that thread in which I once before thought something like this should have sold for a lot more: but since this is the rare pair with correct birds, maybe it will :)

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I can see it going either way. Either it goes high because they are desireable, or low because December tends to be lower prices because of the holidays

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Leatherneck72
What denotes these as specific to 1896?

 

 

Just to clear things up, these are the P1892 enlisted "dress" epaulettes. Used until 1904 if my memory of the regs serves me correctly. Not to be confused with "undress" or "special full dress."

 

Brian

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Yes, that's what I had always referred to these as... P1892. A lot of people come to the forum for info. Maybe the Mods can post the correct date of these in the title? Before you know it, everyone will start to call these the "1896" EGAs and epaulettes.

 

Mike

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Final bid of $414 did not make the reserve... :whistling:

 

You were on the money when you said "will not be surprised if they exceed 350," but the seller thought more like I did :)

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teufelhunde.ret
You were on the money when you said "will not be surprised if they exceed 350," but the seller thought more like I did :)

 

$375 - 425 has been the limit for the past few years. If we ever get a handle on the surplus angle... that could change, dramatically.

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For a mismatched pair, the realized price was more than they are worth. You have to look at this set as singles really. Singles go for $100-150 range. I value the "matched" sets around $500. Nice sets are getting hard to find.

 

Mike

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Bannerman was adverstising that they had 100 sets of these that could be made with the Eagle and Globe insignia or with a lyre in their 1949 catalogue and they were in brand new condition. Maybe a lot of the (Mint) mistmachted ones were just made up at Bannerman. However I have a (well worn) mismatched set and they came as part of a grouping that I know is legite.

 

I will try to post the Bannerman add later this evening.

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teufelhunde.ret

Thank you Alec for adding this information - at least we now have a clue as to were some of these came from. s/f Darrell

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teufelhunde.ret
From the January 1949 Bannerman Catalogue

 

Holy cow - Frances was selling cival war and officers boards from the 1800's right up to the 50's :crying: BUYER BEWARE!

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Holy cow - Frances was selling cival war and officers boards from the 1800's right up to the 50's :crying: BUYER BEWARE!

 

 

I have the Bannerman's 1925 catalog and they show this same collection of shoulder knots and epaulettes and as they did in 1949, in 1925 they said they had "100 Pair." One difference though: in 1925 they said they were worth $3 but sold for 95 cents - by 1949 the price was down to 50 cents.

 

It is my strong belief that these were all surplus and not something they made. In going through their catalog they seem to have sold a lot of what we now call NEW OLD STOCK.

 

I only have the 1925 and 1949 Bannerman's catalogs so it would be interesting to see if these same shoulder knots show up in an earlier one.

 

One thing I noticed it that they sold this with a band lyre on them or an EGA. In 1925 Bannerman's was having EGA's made, but in 1949 they did not have any EGA's listed for sale.

 

Based on what is in these catalogs, a Bannerman's shoulder knot dates from 1925 or earlier, as do the EGA's, and we know they made this type of EGA, but the shoulder knots could be NOS.

 

Here's the EGA listing from 1925:

 

post-214-1247632355.jpg

 

 

If you don't own a Bannerman's catalog, it is a fun read: I have an original 1949 catalog and one of the bound photocopies of the 1925 catalog that someone sells online: what's impressive is the vast amount of original stuff they had going back to the Civil War (and even beyond).

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My 49 Bannerman's catalog is an original and I was able to get a very good hi-resolution scan of what they sold, so here's an image for reference purposes:

 

bannerknots.jpg

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Holy cow - Frances was selling cival war and officers boards from the 1800's right up to the 50's :crying: BUYER BEWARE!

Buyer beware of what? Bannermann's was selling original material that even today does not show up. We have no idea if his Marine stuff even sold or the amounts that he may have sold. It is all conjecture. His prices dropping over the years would suggest he could not get rid of most of it. I hope he sold a million Civil War USMC Officer's shoulder epaulette sets, that would make my chances of getting a pair greater. The only pair I have ever seen belong to my father and he has collected militaria for 50+ years. The fact remains that the stuff is getting scarce as each item is absorbed into another collection.

 

Mike

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"Surplus" is genuine left-over contract militaria. Bannerman was the Master surplus seller from the post Civil War period until they went out of business in the 60's. I have no problem with a genuine surplus item from Bannerman or any other seller. We have had discussions here on the Forum about what may have been reproduced. I think in Bannerman's case there was very few 'knock-offs'. He plain just didn't have to do it as he had tons of original material/scrap. These left-over, surplus Horstmann epaulettes I believe were acquired by Stokes-Kirk and marketed to former Marines in the 70's. They are good as gold. I don't think we should confuse them with the suspiciously newer M1892 type nickle-plated single EGAs which abound and of which no one is firmly aware of their origin.

My 2-cents......Semper Fi......Bobgee

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