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GESTAPO WARRANT DISC
(Geheime Staatspolizei Dienstmarke)

Warrant Discs
(Dienstmarken)
of the
Third Reich Police
Presented by
DON BIBLE

The Dienstmarken (Warrant Discs) of the local and state criminal police, (Kriminalpolizei or Kripo), and the secret state police (Gestapo), of Nazi Germany, are among the least-known of all Third Reich relics.

The Dienstmarken had existed in Germany since the early 1800s, and were used as the official identification for plain-clothes police officers over most, or all, of the German states. In 1934, the state of Prussia, then under the leadership of Hermann Goering, adapted the first warrant disc bearing the swastika…the symbol of the new Nazi regime. That disc was die-struck by the Prussian state mint. It was produced in both bronze and German silver. The German silver disc was issued to officers of the rank of Kommissar or higher. The bronze disc was issued to officers of lower rank. There were also two versions of the disc. One carried the wording “Preussiche Gemeinde Kriminal Polizei”, which was for officers of the local criminal police. The other disc read “Staatliche Preussiche Kriminal Polizei” which was carried by the state criminal police. Both discs were exactly the same, except for that wording difference. Both the local and state criminal police discs were given a city of issue designation. The local police disc had the city name stamped in. On the State Kripo version, the city name was actually die-struck onto the disc, during the minting process. A police officer number was later stamped into the disc when it was issued. It was customary to issue disc number “1” to the highest ranking officer in each criminal police, local or state office. In 1937, after Heinrich Himmler had wrested control of all police in all German states, from the former leaders, he decreed that new police discs were to be issued. The former discs were supposed to be melted down, but we know that a few examples survived the melt-down order. Those are now very valuable to collectors.

The new discs which were created by Himmler’s decree, were of three types. One was die-struck in a silver-colored metal, for the secret state police (Gestapo). The reverse side carried the wording “Geheime Staatspolizei”, and an officer’s police identification number. A disc was minted in bronze for the state criminal police. It carried the wording “Staatliche Kriminalpolizei”, and the officer’s number. The third type discs struck were for the local or communal criminal detectives. They were minted from a very high iron content metal (magnetic) and were then plated or anodized with a brownish or copper-colored surface which wore away rather quickly, leaving them usually a mixed grayish-brown color, after some use. This disc carried the wording “Gemeindekriminalpolizei”, and an ID number for the officer. All German police warrant discs were normally carried on a chain, which was not covered by the regulations. It was the officers choice.

When the war in Germany ended in 1945, many of the police discs were discarded by their owners, along with the official police identification card which carried the officer’s photograph and also his ID number.

This page is dedicated to my Militaria Collector friends around the world, who have so generously shared their knowledge and photos of police discs with me, over the years. It has been through that sharing of knowledge, that we have all benefited. It has made it much more difficult…and far less rewarding for those in our hobby…who would wish to make material gains by selling counterfeit pieces to others.

( Click on each photo to see a higher resolution image)

PRUSSIAN CRIMINAL POLICE DISCS
1934-1937

On the LEFT, an ORIGINAL Prussian Local Criminal Police disc (Preussiche Gemeinde Kriminal Polizei). Stolberg/Rheinland. Bronze version for lower ranks.

On the RIGHT, an ORIGINAL Prussian Local Criminal Police disc (Preussiche Gemeinde Kriminal Polizei). Hoya an der Weser. Neusilber version Kommisar rank.

On the LEFT, an Original Prussian State Criminal Police disc (Staatliche Preussiche Kriminal Polizei). Wuppertal. Bronze version for lower ranks.

On the RIGHT, a Fake Prussian State Criminal Police disc…made in Poland about 1994. Excellent fake. All known examples marked “BERLIN”. Also struck in Bronze for lower ranks.

WARRANT DISCS OF THE GESTAPO & KRIPO

1937-1945

On the LEFT, an Original Secret Police disc (Geheime Staatspolizei) GESTAPO early non-magnetic version.

On the RIGHT, a Fake Gestapo disc produced in Poland, about 1994. Excellent high-quality fake. Difficult to identify without good magnification and knowledge of originals. There are a number of other types of reproductions of the Gestapo disc. Many have the stamped code M 9/86 under the eagle. Originals never had anything stamped under the eagle.

On the LEFT, an Original State Criminal Police disc (Staatliche Kriminalpolizei). Always struck in bronze.

On the RIGHT, an Original Local Criminal Police disc (Gemeindekriminalpolizei) always struck in copper-colored iron.

CUSTOMS INSPECTION SERVICE DISCS

An original warrant disc of the Third Reich Customs Inspection Service (Zoll Fahndungs Dienst) for the city of Magdeburg. This disc is very rare. There are twelve examples known…with each being from a different city or customs district. At the risk of reactivating the counterfeit production ring of the British-Polish “enterprise” of 1994, I will state here that there are no presently known fakes or reproductions of this type disc.

The Fake Discs from Poland

Full set of the FAKE Third Reich era German police warrant discs
produced in Poland in 1994, and sold as “original” pieces. They were
sold for thousands of dollars each, before the truth was learned.

Obverse