Imperial German Mecklenburg Field Artillery 60 Leutnant Officer Shoulder Board

An original Leutnant’s officer shoulder board (Schulterstück) of the 2. Großherzoglich Mecklenburgisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 60 (2nd Grand Ducal Mecklenburg Field Artillery Regiment No. 60). The reverse carries a collection label reading “Fig. 10 – FAR 60.” The crowned cypher on the face and the scarlet underlay identify the regiment and its branch, while the absence of rank stars fixes the wearer’s grade at Leutnant (second lieutenant).

The board is built of flat braided silver cord laid in parallel runs and turned at the rounded head, the metallic ground now oxidised and darkened to a tarnished gold-brown and shot through with fine soul threads (Seele) in red, yellow, and blue. It is mounted on a scarlet wool underlay — the branch colour of the field artillery — that frames the cord on the face and forms the full backing across the reverse. The lower field carries a gilt crowned cypher, a royal monogram set beneath the Grand Ducal crown. A vertical button slit is worked at the head for attachment, and the squared base terminates in cut cord ends that would seat beneath the shoulder seam.

Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 60 was the second of the two field artillery regiments raised by the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, providing divisional gun support within the Mecklenburg contingent of the Imperial Army, brigaded in the IX Army Corps. Scarlet was the universal branch colour of the German field artillery, carried here in the underlay, while the metallic cord and royal cypher marked the wearer as a commissioned officer of a regiment held under the duchy’s sovereign house.

The crowned monogram is the cypher of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and appears to read as the interlaced “FF” of Friedrich Franz — the dynastic name borne by the duchy’s sovereigns — though the detail is partly obscured and the specific Grand Duke is therefore not asserted. The presence of both crown and cypher marks the regiment as one held under a royal chief.

Condition is honest and shows notable age. The silver cord is intact and retains good braid definition but has darkened and tarnished overall to a warm gold-brown tone. The crowned cypher is present and secure. The scarlet underlay remains strong, particularly on the reverse, where the collection label is intact. The base edge shows wear and loss with the dark backing exposed and some fraying. No restoration is evident in the provided images.

Mecklenburg artillery insignia is sought within the collect-by-state framework, and an officer’s board carrying the crowned Grand Ducal cypher and the correct scarlet branch underlay stands well above a plain or numeral-only strap in desirability. The complete cypher and the secure regimental and branch attribution make this a representative anchor piece for a Mecklenburg or Imperial German artillery collection.