Imperial German Leib Grenadier 8 Oberstleutnant Shoulder Board Crown Cypher

An original Oberstleutnant’s silver-cord field-officer shoulder board (Schulterstück) of the Leib-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 8, the König Friedrich Wilhelm III. (1. Brandenburgisches) Leib-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 8 (Life Grenadier Regiment King Frederick William III, 1st Brandenburg, No. 8). The reverse carries a collection label reading “Fig. 6.0 – LGR 8 – Lt. Col.” The round interwoven braid with a single rank star denotes Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel).

The board is built of round interwoven (plaited) silver braid — the construction reserved for field officers (Stabsoffiziere) — mounted on a red wool underlay. The lower field carries a gilt crown above an interlaced gilt cypher, with a single gilt six-pointed rank star (Stern) below, marking the grade. A vertical button slit is worked at the head, the reverse is faced in red, and the squared base terminates in cut cord ends.

The Leib-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 8 was a household, or “Leib,” grenadier regiment of high standing, bearing the honour-name of König Friedrich Wilhelm III and quartered in Brandenburg. The “Leib” designation marked it among the sovereign’s own bodyguard regiments, a distinction that placed it well above an ordinary line grenadier regiment in prestige.

The crowned monogram is an interlaced cypher of the regiment’s royal chief, King Frederick William III; the precise letters are not cleanly resolved in the provided images and are therefore left unattributed. The round interwoven braid marks a field officer and the single star denotes the grade of Oberstleutnant.

Condition is good. The interwoven braid is intact with strong plaiting, with some wear and loose threads toward the head. The gilt crown, cypher, and rank star are present and secure, the red underlay is sound, and the collection label is intact on the reverse. The base shows cut cord ends in the manner normal to the unfinished tuck end. No restoration is evident in the provided images.

A field officer’s board of a household (Leib) grenadier regiment, complete with the crowned royal cypher and the lieutenant colonel’s rank, combines the prestige of a bodyguard regiment with senior rank, making it an attractive and substantial piece for a grenadier or Prussian-Guard-adjacent collection.