Prussian Schirmutze for a Reserve Officer 2. Leib-Husaren-Regiment Königin von Victoria von Preußen Nr 2

We recently acquired a fabulous group of four schirmmützen from a very advanced collector. We were thrilled that he made them available to us. Three are for officers and one is for an NCO.

The first we will describe is a schirmmütze for an officer who served in 2. Leib-Husaren-Regiment Königin von Victoria von Preußen Nr 2 as a Reserve Officer. This is a very rare bird indeed as we will explain after we describe it.
2. Leib-Husaren-Regiment Königin von Victoria von Preußen Nr 2 was one of the very elite Husaren-Regiments that served in the Prussian army. Generalfeldmarschall August von Mackensen served in 2. Leib-Husaren-Regiment Königin von Victoria von Preußen Nr 2 both during and after the Franco-Prussian War where he was awarded the 1870 Iron Cross 2nd Class. In the 1890's he served as the Brigade commander of 1. Leib-Husraen-Regiment Nr 1 and 2. Leib-Husaren-Regiment Königin von Victoria von Preußen Nr 2. Both of these regiments were created in 1741 and were garrisoned at Danzig-Langfuhar where there were attached to the Prussian XVII. Armeekorps. His stern visage was most often seen wearing the busby of one of his regiments.

The main color of the cap is black. There is a narrow white band above and below the central black band of velvet. There is one more narrow black band at the very top of the cap. A small silver totenkopf is seen in the center of the cap. Above the deaths head we see a Reich officer kokarde. Directly below the totenkopf we see a Reserve Officer kokarde for Prussia. A fine black visor is also seen. As to condition of the exterior we would rate it as very good. There are some limited signs of moth tracks on the top of the cap. We see two areas of moth tracks and two small moth nips. When displayed it would be quite difficult to see them.

The interior of the cap shows a well-used dark brown leather sweat band. The name of the firm and location are seen in silver on the liner which a rough silk and is complete and shows the normal wear of a cap that has seen extensive service. There are also two marks in black which are on the liner. We feel that these are after the cap past from the original owner and into a collection or museum.

We said that this was an extremely rare cap and please allow us to explain. First the obvious point is that this cap is for a Reserve Officer. There were always fewer Reserve Officers in any elite regiment such as this. This chap must have had some friends and money (This cap was of the highest quality and materials.) To be able to gain entry into this regiment which had such strong legend of service in many of Prussia’s wars.

Second is any headdress from 2. Leib-Husaren-Regiment Königin von Victoria von Preußen Nr 2 is rare. While we have had several examples of headdress from 1. Leib-Husaren-Regiment Nr 1 (We actually currently have two very nice officer busbies from that regiment on offer at this time.), we have never had a busby from 2. Leib-Husaren-Regiment Königin von Victoria von Preußen Nr 2. The difference between the two is that 2. Leib-Husaren-Regiment Königin von Victoria von Preußen Nr 2 has a black kolpak while 1. Leib-Husaren-Regiment Nr 1 is red. We really don’t have a good reason why we haven’t seen a busby from 2. Leib-Husaren-Regiment Königin von Victoria von Preußen Nr 2. But we may have an answer for the schirmmütze. In talking to another collector he tells me that in more than forty-five years of collecting he has only seen three schirmmützen from this regiment. At first thought one would say if the busby is so scarce, then it is logical that the schirmmütze would also be scarce. But our dear readers there is another reason according to Brian. Some of the schirmmütze were converted by collectors to use for the SS which increased the value greatly. 

So we can safely say that aside from schirmmützen that we have had that were identified to members of royalty or nobility this is without a doubt that rarest cap that we have ever offered. This would truly be a highlight of any collection.