Description
PRUSSIA – WAPPEN – ENLISTED MAN/NCO – GRENADIER STYLE. This is a prewar enlisted man/NCO’s Grenadier-style wappen. [Grenadier-style wappen (also used on certain Dragoner and Jäger zu Pferde Regiments) feature Hohenzollern Eagles with outspread wings rather than the folded-in wings displayed on Line-Infanterie, Küraßier, Ulanen, Feldartillerie, Fußartillerie, and Train Battalion wappens]. As a prewar example, the wappen is made of brass. As WW I progressed, by 1915 wappens usually were made of steel that had been painted gray (subdued) to prevent sunlight glinting off them and betraying their wearers to enemy troops.
The wappen measures an impressive 6″ wide from wingtip to wingtip. As it is for an enlisted man/NCO, the crown is closed not open (voided) as it would be for an officer. Its reverse sports two clips by which the wappen was inserted into its helmet’s leather body. Small pieces of leather inserted through these clips kept the wappen in place. These clips are another indication it is NOT an officer’s wappen. Officers’ wappens typically had screw posts attached rather than clips. The example is in excellent condition.
