THE GERMAN CLOSE COMBAT CLASP OF WORLD WAR II - 2ND EDITION

by Thomas Durante, 464 pages

The German Close Combat Clasp of World War II is the 2nd edition to the first printing more than 11 years ago. It is a complete book on the Close Combat Clasp, including every individual clasp maker and all their variants. No unique die characteristic or reverse hardware setup change was too small; each has been categorized and examined in great detail along with an explanation of what sets that variant apart from other clasps. Several "Quick Reference Charts" have been added to all chapters for quick and easy identification of each maker and each clasp variant. This will be a big help in sorting out the many variations of AGMuK clasps, among others. This 2nd edition is 464 pages and includes all the information from the first book, along with all the additional maker variants. A large and extensive chapter on the Golden Presentation Close Combat Clasp is also included, with several examples of each pattern being shown, along with their respective cases. There are many nice groupings in the book, but also Award Documents have been broken out separately and given their own chapter which will make them easier to identify and search. Cartons, packets and cellophane bags have also been shown in a separate chapter with all the variations found with each example, and what sets them apart from reproductions. And last but not least, a full chapter on all the most recent and dangerous fakes on the market. More than 11 years have past since the first printing and unfortunately the fakes have gotten better and harder to detect so I feel a dedicated chapter on the best reproductions to date is an important aspect to any collector book. Over 460 pages and 1,350 high quality, color images in 7" x 9.5" format.