✅ SOLVED German Death Head button?

[Garabaldi]

Is this a German military button?
It is made of lead.
How old WW1? WW2?
Would it have been army Air force(Condor Legion)?
thanks

 

[Iron Patch]

Could be a 17th Lancers badge of some sort.

 

[Garabaldi]

I actually found it in Boston at a site that was occupied by the British and saw action during the American Rev War.

 

[Retired Sarge]

Angle looks a little off and the details a little too crude to be a Nazi Death Head badge in my opinion.

 

[Iron Patch]

I actually found it in Boston at a site that was occupied by the British and saw action during the American Rev War.

Well that's interesting because before being the Lancers they were the 17th Light Dragoons, and that unit was in Boston during the Rev War.

 

[Garabaldi]

Heres an image of a German Death Head. Its very close to mine and seems to be lead.

 

[fyrffytr1]

Are those goggles on your piece?

 

[Iron Patch]

Heres an image of a German Death Head. Its very close to mine and seems to be lead.View attachment 679585

Chances are it's something more modern like that, especially if you dug more modern items where you were hunting.

 

[Retired Sarge]

Are those goggles on your piece?

Looks like goggles or an eye patch and/or a kerchief/scarf around the head, kind of pirate like to me! Also as a note you'll notice that on the Nazi Death Head metal insignia (A google image search will confirm this) that the crossed bones are either touching or very close to each other, while on this one they form a noticable "X" pattern.

 

[Garabaldi]

I noticed the position of the bones, but the ends of the bones look similar. I believe he is wearing a helmet, which looks German.

 

[Retired Sarge]

Which leads me to beleive it might be biker related or a novelty item.

 

[Garabaldi]

This is a German WW1/11 Death Head ring warn by a soldier. Very similar placement of the bones and the ends are the same also.

 

[Garabaldi]

Which leads me to beleive it might be biker related or a novelty item.

That would make sense also.

 

[nhbenz]

Definitively not affiliated with Nazi Germany. It was the SS who wore the Totenkopf (dead man's head or skull and crossbones if you prefer). And although they "borrowed" it from earlier ancestors, even back to them it wasn't fashioned this way (as pointed out) nor as crudely (also mentioned) and finally never in lead. Their devices were most commonly aluminum and sometimes silver. Also, I don't believe the ring shown above is correctly identified, which is common for folks trying to sell similar items.
I would agree that this was likely a biker/pirate novelty piece. There were other military applications over the years, Including the USMC recon battalions, but definitely not an SS piece.
Never the less, it had to fun to find!

 

[NOLA_Ken]

The Totenkopf, or Deaths Head was worn by the SS and also by Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe Panzer divisions. Your piece is neither of those, and IMO a novelty piece made long after the war. There were a couple different versions used over time and a google image search will find pics of them.

Also the Totenkopf was used by the Bundeswehr Panzer troops long after the war, at least into the 1980's I'm not sure if it is still in use among German tankers though

 

[PYRATE]

Not saying yours isn't the real deal, but this looks very similar to the dozen or more skull and bones I bought as a little kid back in the 70s

I bought the shiny gold or silver trinkets at flea markets, tourist traps, the mall and gas stations but that gold and silver usually began flaking off within a week or two and ultimately they all ended up looking like the one you found

 

[uglymailman]

Are you near the ocean? Could it be from a Pirate?

 

[hotrod]

cool

 

[CRUSADER]

The British 'Death or Glory' Boys never had a patch on the eye, so unlikely to be British.

 

[Gunrunner61]

As a motorcyclist I feel it's more Biker related than war.........Jmho