1986 East German DDR Grenztruppen Boarder Guard Officer Visor Cap-Size 58

Cold War-era East German officer’s peaked visor cap issued for the Grenztruppen der DDR, the Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic. These troops were responsible for guarding East Germany’s borders, including the heavily fortified inner-German border and Berlin Wall.

The cap features the characteristic field-gray/green crown with bright green branch piping, identifying it with the East German Border Troops. The front retains its original silver-colored oak-leaf wreath and DDR national cockade displaying the hammer-and-compass emblem. It is complete with the glossy black visor and black officer-style chinstrap with silver-tone side buttons.

The interior is particularly nice and retains its clear plastic maker/date panel. It is marked “MdI 58” along with “1856” and the Roman numeral “I.” The “58” denotes the approximately 58 cm hat size. Based on the markings and construction, this is a late Cold War example dating to approximately 1986.

Overall condition is very good for its age. The cap retains excellent shape and strong original color. The insignia displays nicely, the visor remains glossy, and the interior is substantially intact. There is light age/storage wear, minor surface marks and some aging to the interior sweatband/paper components, as visible in the photographs.

A very attractive and increasingly collectible piece of original East German Cold War militaria, especially desirable for collectors of the Berlin Wall, DDR, Warsaw Pact and Soviet-era material.