Saddam Hussein shoulder boards & cord,real or fake?

Yesterday a friend of mine gave me these objects belonged in his opinion to know well the Iraqi dictator.Were given to him by an officer of US Marines who have taken in 2003.Now,I'm not able to say whether they are good or not,so I was wondering what do you think.The photos I made with the mobile phone and are not the best.The base of the straps is made of cotton while the band is in purple velvet cloth.I ask if he can serve the rank and unit of the Marine who found them.Thanks in advance,Alan.

Iteresting.... but is it of republican guard?

No,Saddam Hussein personal shoulder boards,if original!?

They have a similar design to the ones Saddam Hussein used...I've done a quick research, and it exists some models and variants on official pictures.









http://www.manions.com/priceguide/realize1.aspx~id~6048729

Based on the pictures I posted, the construction of your shoulder boards looks different so they are not original in my own opinion. But I seriously doubt you'll have a confirmation one day that they are an original (or not) pair of Saddam Hussein personnal Shoulder Boards...This is the kind of items that had been intensively reproduced and sold a souvenir in many bases. Some Iraqi stuff had been reproduced (including the Fedayeen helmets, insignia, medals,...), so you can't be sure.

Thank you so much for the information and pictures posted.I'll try to give me the straps again to take pictures with the digital camera.In the meantime,I can tell to the officer of the the Marines who took them.Thanks again P-E.

Any personal belongings to Saddam Hussein are generally not able to be conclusively verified unless you have rock solid provenance. I think of it as being kind of like something related to Hitler, there's a lot of it out there but it is still faked quite a bit. Just based upon visuals, I would say no to the shoulder boards, and as for the lanyard I really am not sure.

I hope this helps!

Many thanks for your answer!

Also if you compare your set to the pictures I think the wreath around the crossed swords on your pair are too narrow compared to the pictures. One other thing that sticks out (to me) is the set up have does not seem to be good enough quality. A dictator like Saddam is going to have higher quality uniforms, boards, hats and so on. I just dont see him having a set like this; I could be wrong but I have handled enough high end stuff to know that dictators, generals and so on have high quality uniforms. My opinion only of course. Thx

I have the same opinion Zeked!

While some goods points have already been made, the most glaring error has been totally overlooked here. The shield in the Iraqi coat of arms has either three vertical (pre 1991) or three horizontal (1991-2003)stars. The boards shown here have only two like Syria... Scott

Great catch Scott!! I did not even think to look at those details. Thanks for pointing that one out!

No good. Heck... if there are stars present on the crest of the eagle, there should be three, not two. These are made like known reproductions.

Thanks again guys,I have already returned to the owner.
Regards,Alan.