Vietnam Era Subdued cloth chevrons

[JCFalkenbergIII]

Here is my collection of Vietnam Era Subdued cloth chevrons so far. I think it has a pretty good mix of what was used. I think the SGT chevrons with the Black edging so close to the chevrons interesting. Which color edging was more prevalent?The Black or OD? Robert

 

 

EDIT: Pictures are lost

[patches]

Ah these are all repros

 

Seriously you have a nice grouping, I would say the Black Borders ones are the more seen types, OD borders run second, these from what I can tellare all on OG cotton Sateen, but they were also found on OD Twill I have and have seen loads of them on twill with both Black and OD borders all U.S. Made.

[JCFalkenbergIII]

Ah these are all repros

 

Seriously you have a nice grouping, I would say the Black Borders ones are the more seen types, OD borders run second, these from what I can tellare all on OG cotton Sateen, but they were also found on OD Twill I have and have seen loads of them on twill with both Black and OD borders all U.S. Made.

 

Thanks LOL. The Sgt chevrons just look odd to me . :think: . The MSgt are my latest additions :thumbsup: . Robert

[Bill]

These are the ones I picked up at Ft. Sill, OK

 

They were U.S. made for troops deploying to Vietnam from Ft. Sill.

 

I was able to pick up a box of them after a unit supply Sgt

donated them to the thrift store.

 

In my collection I also have the new PFC (1 up / 1 down), MSG and SGM.

 

These are green, the scan is off some.

 

Bill

 

[Sabrejet]

Very nice collection Robert. I have examples of most of these myself...but a little harder to locate over here, you understand!? I've been fortunate in that I've got mostly pairs rather than singles...plus a few actually on jungle jackets. I've also managed to supplement them with examples of the similarly made OD/black twill unit patches as issued during the VN war. Have you gone down that road too?

 

Ian

[JCFalkenbergIII]

Very nice collection Robert. I have examples of most of these myself...but a little harder to locate over here, you understand!? I've been fortunate in that I've got mostly pairs rather than singles...plus a few actually on jungle jackets. I've also managed to supplement them with examples of the similarly made OD/black twill unit patches as issued during the VN war. Have you gone down that road too?

 

Ian

 

Hey there Ian. Thanks. Not yet . Luckily I have found all mine in pairs too so far. I am still looking for the ones I am missing. :think: Robert

[JCFalkenbergIII]

These are the ones I picked up at Ft. Sill, OK

 

They were U.S. made for troops deploying to Vietnam from Ft. Sill.

 

I was able to pick up a box of them after a unit supply Sgt

donated them to the thrift store.

 

In my collection I also have the new PFC (1 up / 1 down), MSG and SGM.

 

These are green, the scan is off some.

 

Bill

 

 

 

Hiyas Bill. Good ones you have there :thumbsup: . I still need the new PFC (1 up / 1 down) and PVT obviously. I notice that your SGT looks similar to mine. Robert

[KurtA]

They are reproducing these now. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to tell the difference. But, when considering buying the ones you're missing (Sgt Major, Cmd Sgt Major) , make sure the reverse conforms exactly to the reverse of a known original in your collection. That way, you'll stand a better chance of getting an original.

And totally stay away from a subdued SPEC 8 or 9 chevron on Ebay (or anywhere else for that matter). I would say at least 99% of those offered on Ebay are of recent manufacture. Funny how I've never seen one of those until just a few years ago. Now, they are offered for sale quite regularly (And they aren't cheap!)

[JCFalkenbergIII]

They are reproducing these now. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to tell the difference. But, when considering buying the ones you're missing (Sgt Major, Cmd Sgt Major) , make sure the reverse conforms exactly to the reverse of a known original in your collection. That way, you'll stand a better chance of getting an original.

And totally stay away from a subdued SPEC 8 or 9 chevron on Ebay (or anywhere else for that matter). I would say at least 99% of those offered on Ebay are of recent manufacture. Funny how I've never seen one of those until just a few years ago. Now, they are offered for sale quite regularly (And they aren't cheap!)

 

 

Thats waht I was thinking about the Sgt Major, Cmd Sgt Major and SPEC 8 or 9 chevrons myself :think: . Thanks. Robert

[KurtA]

Thats waht I was thinking about the Sgt Major, Cmd Sgt Major and SPEC 8 or 9 chevrons myself :think: . Thanks. Robert

Robert-

Original Sgt Major and Cmd Sgt Major are out there and aren't overly scarce. You just have to be careful. But the other two?....I wouldn't spend my money on them.

Kurt

[KurtA]

Here is a pair of subdued CSM chevrons that I bought in NYC around 1970 or so. I really wanted a pair of color CSM chevrons for my collection, but I could never find them in Army-Navy Store "5 for a Quarter" patch bins. Being a poor kid, I couldn't afford "new" prices. After deciding to bite the bullet and pay new retail for a pair of chevrons, on one of our trips to NYC to prowl the Army-Navy Store circuit, my father and I visited Topper Merchandising on Broadway in NYC, as I used to receive mail order insignia lists from them. This company was owned by Mr. Denmark and eventually was renamed after him.

 

We met Mr. Denmark and he showed us around his very impressive office which was filled with really cool militaria. We then went back to the big storeroom to get the CSM chevrons. I was really disappointed to find that they were out of color CSM chevrons, but they had plenty of subdued. (No doubt lots of demand in Vietnam for color, but very little demand by that time for subdued). So, I figured "subdued" was better than nothing.

I still have the catalogue and you can see that I paid 45 cents for the pair. From an investment standpoint, I think it turned out better that I could only buy the subdued chevrons, as the color ones are probably still worth 45 cents a pair. These subdued ones; more so.

 

Anyway, the first photo shows a front and reverse view of 100% original period subdued chevrons (the very ones I bought that day). No doubt there are other original examples that differ, but if you see any that exactly match these, you're probably looking at originals.

 

 

Notice that there are no SPEC8 or 9 chevrons listed for sale. Actually I'm glad they weren't available that day. I'd be kicking myself right now for not buying all of them and becoming the "King of Ebay" with them today.

[patches]

OHH, NYC was a treasure trove back then huh, it's to bad I was small in those days to really get into it, I caught basically the very tail end of all that in the early 80s but know where near the stores they had in the 50s, 60s and 70s, like in the 70s I started to collect, this being around 1974-75 but being very young I was never allowed to go into the CITY, ( I,m from Queens) by myself, I went a few times though,(with MOM ) one time in 1976 I went with Bill the Patch ( were very old friends) but you know we really didn't know that much at that very early stage, to bad huh.

[KurtA]

OHH, NYC was a treasure trove back then huh, it's to bad I was small in those days to really get into it, I caught basically the very tail end of all that in the early 80s but know where near the stores they had in the 50s, 60s and 70s, like in the 70s I started to collect, this being around 1974-75 but being very young I was never allowed to go into the CITY, ( I,m from Queens) by myself, I went a few times though,(with MOM ) one time in 1976 I went with Bill the Patch ( were very old friends) but you know we really didn't know that much at that very early stage, to bad huh.

It certainly was a treasure trove. My very first militaria purchase ever was an M3 flak helmet in the very early 1960's. My father and I were walking through lower Manhattan and I saw it in the window of a used electronics/junk store. Paid 75 cents for it and still have it. Kaufmans was the place I never bought anything. Patches were big money there - 25 to 50 cents each. No way would I pay that. I still remember a Civil War cavalry shell jacket that hung on the wall inside Kaufmans year-after-year unsold for $100. Way too much money! (I was in there about a year ago, and to my utter dismay, it was gone. I was now prepared to pay their price.) The many Army-Navy stores in the dingy "low rent" district of lower Manhattan offered patches and surplus way cheaper. WW2 leather .45 holsters in brand new condition for $1 each. WW1 Springfield bayonets (big bin of them) for $1.98. I could go on and on. All this great treasure hunting largely came to an end in the late 60's when many city blocks in lower Manhattan were razed through eminent domain to make way for the construction of the New York Trade Center. But right before that happened, buying was the best. All these shops were just blowing stuff out as they were being forced out of business.

Sorry for getting off the track of "subdued chevrons."

[JCFalkenbergIII]

Here is a pair of subdued CSM chevrons that I bought in NYC around 1970 or so. I really wanted a pair of color CSM chevrons for my collection, but I could never find them in Army-Navy Store "5 for a Quarter" patch bins. Being a poor kid, I couldn't afford "new" prices. After deciding to bite the bullet and pay new retail for a pair of chevrons, on one of our trips to NYC to prowl the Army-Navy Store circuit, my father and I visited Topper Merchandising on Broadway in NYC, as I used to receive mail order insignia lists from them. This company was owned by Mr. Denmark and eventually was renamed after him.

 

We met Mr. Denmark and he showed us around his very impressive office which was filled with really cool militaria. We then went back to the big storeroom to get the CSM chevrons. I was really disappointed to find that they were out of color CSM chevrons, but they had plenty of subdued. (No doubt lots of demand in Vietnam for color, but very little demand by that time for subdued). So, I figured "subdued" was better than nothing.

I still have the catalogue and you can see that I paid 45 cents for the pair. From an investment standpoint, I think it turned out better that I could only buy the subdued chevrons, as the color ones are probably still worth 45 cents a pair. These subdued ones; more so.

 

Anyway, the first photo shows a front and reverse view of 100% original period subdued chevrons (the very ones I bought that day). No doubt there are other original examples that differ, but if you see any that exactly match these, you're probably looking at originals.

 

 

Notice that there are no SPEC8 or 9 chevrons listed for sale. Actually I'm glad they weren't available that day. I'd be kicking myself right now for not buying all of them and becoming the "King of Ebay" with them today.

 

Wow! Thanks for all that Kurt . I had gotten all the ones I have now from fellow members here and just a couple I found at a local shop. I will certainly shy away from the Spec 8 or 9 chevrons for sure. . Robert

[patches]

It certainly was a treasure trove. My very first militaria purchase ever was an M3 flak helmet in the very early 1960's. My father and I were walking through lower Manhattan and I saw it in the window of a used electronics/junk store. Paid 75 cents for it and still have it. Kaufmans was the place I never bought anything. Patches were big money there - 25 to 50 cents each. No way would I pay that. I still remember a Civil War cavalry shell jacket that hung on the wall inside Kaufmans year-after-year unsold for $100. Way too much money! (I was in there about a year ago, and to my utter dismay, it was gone. I was now prepared to pay their price.) The many Army-Navy stores in the dingy "low rent" district of lower Manhattan offered patches and surplus way cheaper. WW2 leather .45 holsters in brand new condition for $1 each. WW1 Springfield bayonets (big bin of them) for $1.98. I could go on and on. All this great treasure hunting largely came to an end in the late 60's when many city blocks in lower Manhattan were razed through eminent domain to make way for the construction of the New York Trade Center. But right before that happened, buying was the best. All these shops were just blowing stuff out as they were being forced out of business.

Sorry for getting off the track of "subdued chevrons."

 

 

Ah it all relative Kurt and JC is a good sport I know you must be alot older than I but I can remember this one place in the 60s in Rigdewood Queens when I was small, a large Army Navy Store, My father would take me in there when he need work stuff or T-shirts, Boxers ETC, he did sell that stuff along with sneakers, work Boots some athletic stuff like Jock Strapes, but this was only a fraction of what he had, the main stuff was MILITARY, Miltary items of all descritions from what I remember as a kid, he no doubt had even German and Japanese vet bring homes, it folded by 1970, a few years before I started to get interested in Army stuff. On Topper merchandizing, I have loads of the National Guardsman magazines from the 1950s and TOPPER figures prominently with adds they took out in these magazines thougout the 50s, there are in fact quite a few military uniforms and insignia Mail order houses that put in adds in the National Guardsman, most of them being in NYC, some, not many down south.