Gas Mask canister questions

[Deleted]

Well, I recently got a gas mask and canister on ebay. It had a number of differences from my other canister, so I figured I'd ask you guys whether it's just a different model, a fake, or something else entirely. I don't feel it's a fake since it had a spare set of lenses in the lens holder and the gas mask looks like wartime German ones, but I figured I'd ask the experts.


The canister on the right, the spare lens packet, and the gas mask are the ones I am asking about. The other canister is there for comparison.

Slightly shorter than my other canister

Has a clasp as compared to a spring pull on the other.

Lens containers are pretty much the same. The ring that holds on the lid is a bit smaller than on the other one.

The outside indents can be seen on the inside of the can. It's a bit thinner than the other one too. All around, it's a fair amount lighter too.

The bottoms. Pretty much the same, but this one is absent of any markings, where my other one has a stamped 'D' and '601' painted on.


The mask

Here's the first of the two marks on the mask. It's on the rubber next to the left eye.

The only other mark on it. A2B 112, on the section where the filter screws into.

Thanks for your help guys, I just figured I'd ask you to help me clarify a bit of the history of this.
-Andy

[jaeger]

That is a Spanish gas mask canister. The Germans produced/designed them for the Spanish nationalists during the civil war there. To confirm this, you can usually look at the spare lenses and the writing should be in Spanish (if it isn't, then the lenses were not originally issued with that can). Two other dead giveaways are the shorter height of the can and the clamp-style locking mechanism as opposed to the spring-type seen on most German cans. In addition to this, the mask is considerably different as well. Ima Usa has a nice brief description on their history:
www.ima-usa.com/product_info.php/products_id/2219
As a side note, you will notice that the can shown on the IMA USA site has a slightly different style clamp from yours. I also own a Spanish can exactly like yours with the same locking mechanism. In my experience, I have come across Spanish cans with both clamp styles. I am not exactly sure about the history behind which style clamp came first or why. It may have something to do with the differences between cans supplied by German manufacturers versus those produced by Spanish factories using the German design. I have come across alot of people trying to either sell these as the German early war short version of the gas mask canister or West German post war. I made one guy look like a fool once when he tried to pull that on me. He said German, I said Spanish... Long story short, I pulled out the Spanish spare lenses from the can and asked him if that looks like German to him. Needless to say, he was a bit red in the face. These cans and masks are unique and nice/collectible in their own right, however, they are usually not suitable for German reenacting purposes. I guess it depends on how strict your unit requirements are. At any rate, nice find!

Nick

[Deleted]

Thanks! I'm not too overly worried since I've already got the German canister. I ended up getting this one for $21 shipped, so it works. I'm pretty sure it is Spanish though, the lenses have what appears to be Spanish on them. I appreciate that though. Any idea if this is worth anything? I'd been thinking of selling it...
-Andy

[jaeger]

Well, to put it to you this way, I bought my spanish can (lenses included) for $10. I don't think that they are exceptionally valuable at this point. I mean, IMA USA is selling theirs for around $70, but honestly, that seems a bit much to me. $21 shipped is a pretty good price, but I can't truly say you could get a whole lot more for it than that. It is a quality item, but I would see you at most getting $30-$40 for it. I just don't think that there is too much demand for them. I just bought mine for laughs. It's likely that with time their value will increase, but I can't guarantee that either... Also, I just modified my initial post, because I wanted to add a note about the two different clamp styles.

Nick

[Deleted]

Thanks! It's appreciated.
-Andy