German Fire Defense Rheinland Fire Department Belt buckle 1919-1933 Officer

Description

During the Weimar era, (Circa 1919-1933), Germany had independent, local Feuerwehr, (Fire Defence), departments located through-out the country. As with most countries, the German fire departments generally consisted of paid personnel in the cities and larger towns and volunteer personnel in smaller towns and villages. The paid fire department personnel were generally financed by the local political municipal councils. Being independent the fire departments had no uniform standards and uniforms and equipment varied depending on the budget allocated by the local councils.
A roughly 48 mm / 2 in diameter, die struck alloy construction, circular belt buckle with darkened silver wash features an embossed, laurel leaf wreath encompassing an embossed, circular centerpiece with the embossed coat-of-arms consisting shield shaped base. The reverse of the buckle is a mirror image of the obverse and has a heavy, soldered, buckle catch and a soldered, closed, prong bar attachment loop intact. Unmarked.