Reichswehr helmets bore hand-painted crests in the colors of the province in which they were garrisoned.  Instituted in approximately 1923, the shield-shaped insignia (Wappenschild) of the Reichsheer was painted on the left side of World War I helmets used during this period. Beginning 26 January 1924, the Reichsmarine adopted a similar concept by employing a gold and white shield with anchor devices on the left side of the helmet.  On 14 March 1933 a National tricolored shield of black, white and red was adopted for all helmets.  This new insignia superseded all of the previous shields depicted below.  While the majority of insignia was hand painted or stenciled, in some rare cases decals were produced.