German Belt Buckles 1845–1945 by Peter Nash – Schiffer Reference Volume

This hardbound Schiffer reference volume presents a comprehensive, photograph-rich study of German belt buckles and associated equipment spanning a full century of military, political, and civil organizations. The exterior shows the well-known Schiffer gloss finish with Nash’s cover design featuring both Imperial and Third Reich enlisted buckles. The book retains its original dust jacket, which remains clean and fully intact.

The interior photos confirm a meticulously structured reference work. The contents pages illustrate the scope: early belts and belthooks, construction methods, detailed typology of SA buckles, an extensive chapter devoted to the Imperial and Reichsheer buckles through 1916–1918, and dedicated studies of buckles for Württemberg, Hesse, Saxony, Bavaria, Prussia, and Mecklenberg. The Wehrmacht chapters cover both aluminum and steel buckles, including early die-struck examples, late-war simplifications, tropical variants, and the full range of manufacturing differences observable between Linden & Funke, Juttner, Assmann, Aurich, and other known makers.

Nash’s treatment extends well beyond the Army buckles into specialized formations: Luftwaffe, RAD, TENO, OT, SS (nickel, aluminum, steel, and RZM-marked variants), Hitler Youth, Police, civil organizations, naval service, Red Cross, veterans’ associations, Reichsbahnschutz, and numerous smaller entities rarely documented in other volumes. The chapters on RZM codes and manufacturer identification remain among the most valuable tools for collectors evaluating authenticity. The book’s photographic plates are crisp, with reverse images, prong construction, die characteristics, and wear patterns documented in high resolution. The inclusion of design drawings, construction comparisons, and period regulations greatly strengthens the collector’s analytical framework.

Condition-wise, the binding remains strong, pages clean, and edges sharp. There is no evidence of water damage, page warping, or writing. The dust jacket shows light handling but no structural flaws. For collectors of Imperial or Third Reich buckles, this text is one of the essential modern references, providing both visual documentation and detailed typological breakdowns unavailable in earlier works.