Imperial German Grenadier 4 Frederick the Great Hauptmann Shoulder Board Pair

A matched pair of original Hauptmann’s silver-cord shoulder boards (Schulterstücke) of Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 4, the König Friedrich der Große (3. Ostpreußisches) Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 4 (King Frederick the Great Grenadier Regiment, 3rd East Prussian, No. 4). The reverses carry collection labels reading “Fig. 6.1 – Gren. R. 4.” Each board bears a gilt crown above an interlaced “FR” cypher with a pair of gilt rank stars; the two stars denote Hauptmann.

Each board is built of flat braided silver cord worked in the herringbone pattern and turned at the rounded head, mounted on a white wool underlay. The lower field of each carries a gilt crown above an interlaced gilt “FR” cypher, with one gilt six-pointed rank star (Stern) set above and a second below, the two together denoting the rank. Button slits are worked at the heads, and the squared bases terminate in cut cord ends.

Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 4 bore the honour-name of König Friedrich der Große — Frederick the Great — and carried his “FR” (Fridericus Rex) cypher, among the most storied of all the honour-names in the Prussian order of battle. The pairing of that cypher with the captain’s two stars, surviving as a matched set, makes this a particularly attractive grouping.

The crowned monogram is the interlaced “FR” cypher of Frederick the Great, the regiment’s royal namesake; the crown marks the regiment as one held under a royal chief, and the two gilt stars on each board are the rank distinction of a Hauptmann.

Condition is very good across the pair. The silver cord retains strong braid definition with the expected tarnish, and the crowns, cyphers, and all four rank stars are present and secure. The white underlays are sound, with cut cord ends at the bases in the manner normal to the unfinished tuck ends. No restoration is evident in the provided images.

A matched captain’s pair from the Frederick the Great grenadier regiment unites several strong threads — the matched-pair format, the captain’s rank, and one of the most celebrated honour-names in Prussian military tradition — making it a desirable anchor piece for a grenadier or named-regiment collection.