Original WWII German Army (Heer) GRADE ONE MARKSMEN’S LANYARD. (Schützenschnur) Certified

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Original WWII German Army (Heer) GRADE ONE MARKSMEN’S LANYARD. (Schützenschnur) Certified. Originally German army marksmen were distinguished by a series of sleeve stripes that were introduced on January 27TH 1928. These sleeve stripes remained in use until newly designed marksmen’s lanyards were introduced on June 29TH 1936. The lanyards were issued in twelve ascending grades with grade one being the lowest and grade twelve the highest. The grades were originally differentiated by a silver colored shield with a Wehrmacht eagle for grades one through four with an additional acorn device for each successive grade, a silver colored shield with a Wehrmacht eagle, crossed swords and a oak-leaf wreath for grades five through eight with an additional acorn device for each successive grade and a gilt colored shield with a Wehrmacht eagle, crossed swords and a oak-leaf wreath for grades nine through twelve with an additional acorn device for each successive grade. On January 9TH 1939 the first pattern lanyard shields for grades one through four were replaced with the silver colored shield with a Wehrmacht eagle, crossed swords and a oak-leaf wreath that was slightly smaller then the first pattern shields for grades five through eight. The lanyards were awarded to qualifying EM/NCO’s and were accompanied with an award certificate. The lanyards were worn suspended from under the right shoulder strap and attached to the second top front closure button of most uniforms. Award of the marksmen’s lanyards was discontinued on February 14TH 1941 to be reinstituted at the successful conclusion of the war. Second pattern grade one marksmen’s lanyard consists of a heavy, twisted, interwoven silver/aluminum braid with buttoning loops to both the top and bottom ends. The reverse of the braiding has a protective, pale grey, rayon strip of fabric neatly handstitched in place to prevent chafe wear on the uniform. The top of the lanyard has a stamped, alloy, construction, vertically oval, embossed, oak-leaf wreath with a Wehrmacht style eagle with down swept wings, clutching a canted swastika in its talons, positioned to the top center encompassing crossed swords which are superimposed on a shield shaped base with a subtly pebbled background field. The shield device is attached to an interwoven silver/aluminum braid rosette with a protective wool backing handstitched to the reverse to prevent chafe wear to the uniform. MAKER MARKED ON BACK!  Issued example  in good condition .  A nice quality example.  Gettysburg Museum Certified (COA) provided. Rare 100% Guaranteed to be authentic. Brought home by a U.S   Veteran as a trophy of war. Sold for historic purposes only. See our other pieces on our web site.  Also note when browsing our web site there are several pages of items, at the bottom of the list look for other page numbers. . Do not miss this one! NICE  EXAMPLE! RARE ! Don’t Miss it!