The cap that started this post does not display any indication of being a reproduction.Everything that I viewed(with possible exception of the eagle)appears proper and correct for this period of production and particular manufacturer.The stitching,grommets,sweatband,visor,interior,soutache and from what I can see of the manufacturer stamp all look as they should.If in fact this was the cap on ebay...I wish I had seen it.Listing an item on Ebay or anywhere else and labeling it as repro.....dosent nesscessarily make it so.That is an example of one person with a lack of knowledge taking advice from another with an equal amount of knowledge.As far as the eagle is concerned.....from that photo....I cant determine anything....I am amazed anyone else can.No original tropical cap eagle(ofcourse I am generalizing according to the 6 in front of me...and those I ve seen) have a black detail line as this one does in the photo.However...I credit this to a poor photograph.So with that in mind I couldnt say for sure one way or the other whether this eagle is period or repro.BenVK....where did you acquire the knowledge that the "Feldmutze mit schirm"..."Tropenfeldmutze"...or "Afrikamutze"(the Germans never called these caps M40s or M41s)was introduced in 1940.The first units of the AfrikaKorp didnt arrive in Africa until feb.1941....and they were issued Tropenhelms(that would be the M41 pith helmet in collector terms).The soutache remained on the caps until late 42.
