"Authentic" vs. "Reproduction" can take another twist: I had a friend here in LV that was what I deemed a "fanatical craftsman". He was an artist, then an upholsterer, then an Aircraft A&E Mechanic. He got interested in the issue equipment the average German Soldier had to work with while in Africa. He collected as much as possible but could never come up with a real Overseas Field Cap. He researched thru friends in Germany and found the actual company that made the Feldgrau Twill. He obtained all sorts of pictures. He found a German made thread that was all but the same as the original. He went to work and made one. He sent it to some people very active in the Battle Reenactment crowd. They wanted 40 or 50 of them. He made about 60. I was going to a gun show locally as a seller and he asked if he could sit in and try to sell the extras. He put one on the table and put a small card beside it that said, "Reproduction German Heer/Elite Enlistee M40 Field Cap" and the price. A small thin bald gentleman stopped and looked at the cap. With an accent, he asked if he could pick it up and examine the cap. My friend said, "Yes". The old gent took a good long look and then put the hat back down and said, "You are asking far too little for this cap as it is a new original." My friend said, "No sir, it is a reproduction." The old gent grew a little hostile and told him, "I was a Quartermaster for Rommel". I know for a fact that is as original as they come.". My friend said, "Thank you for the compliment. I made that hat from scratch." The old gent wasn't ready to accept that. He pointed out that the Twill was the German Twill, the thread was correct, the sewing with the thread was spaced correctly and even the size tab was correct and in mm. My friend said, "Yes, I made sure of all that by doing a lot of research." The old gent finished by saying, "Well, you could sell them to me as original all day long." And with that he walked off but not before giving my friend a salute (not the Nazi salute). ........... Big Cholla