Ratisbon’s 47th Contemporary History Auction

The next Ratisbon’s auction starts accepting online bids from 27 March and runs until 3 March. Remember, you’ll need to add 22.5% Buyer’s Premium to all final prices. So, without further ado, let’s have a look at what’s up for grabs. Here’s a Kriegsmarine officer’s dagger with hangers and portepee, made by Carl Eickorn, Solingen. It comes with a nice etched blade to two sides showing naval motifs. ‘Eickhorn’ maker-marked. White handle with intact wire wrapping. Small crack on the top of the handle. It has a so-called Blitzscheide lightning scabbard. Made from brass. Some small dents. Including the original hangers. A matching pair. All snapclips are fully working. Bidding starts at £420.

Next is another dagger, this time and early NSKK service dagger with the maker’s mark for Daniel Peres, Solingen. The blade has the etched motto, ‘Alles fur Deutschland’, along with rust stains. There’s the brown wooden handle with inserted SA roundel and eagle. No chipping. Early nickel fittings. ‘Nrh’ (Niederrhein) stamped. Overpainted steel scabbard with nickel fittings. Rust stains. All four screws in position. Get bidding at £168.

If you want to start collecting in a hurry, then a job lot is the way to go. Not sure how much interest there’s going to be in these Russian medals given the atrocities in Ukraine, but there are a lot of them here, mixing authentic medals with reproductions. Starting price is £336. Same concept with the next lot as well, except that they are medals from the USA. There looks to be well over 70 of them in this huge lot which has the same starting price of £336. And if that’s not enough, there’s also a collection of Italian medals, with over 40 of them in a lot that has a starting price of £252.

Some uniforms now, and an Oberstleutnant’s parade tunic from the Heer Inf.Rgt.53. This has a typical design with dark green collar and cuffs. No pockets.

The insignia are attached quite sloppily and were most likely added postwar. It does have a very nice and accurate officer's breast eagle, silk lining and is in good condition. Bidding starts at £294.

Expect there to be keen bidding on the next item, a rare Luftwaffe Paratrooper Badge, cloth type. Hand embroidered with aluminium wire threads for officers, in good condition. This was predominantly for members of the Luftwaffe, but any service member of the armed services or reserves who completed the paratrooper training course, passed the necessary tests and six qualifying jumps could receive the Luftwaffe Paratrooper Badge. Bidding gets underway at £252. Another hard to find cloth item is this Heer General’s breast eagle. Nicely worn, it’s a fine handstitched golden bullion eagle. With dark green cloth, it was taken off a tunic and is in good condition. Bids open at £126.

Now, we have a feature on the E-Boat War Badge in this very issue and here’s a 2nd pattern example, and being late war it’s made from zinc. It has a ‘RS’ maker mark on the back for Rudolf Souval though note it has a vertical pin rather than the more usual horizontal fastening. Bidding gets started at £126.

Finally, here’s a Hitler Youth buckle with belt. The buckle is made of steel and is a one piece construction. Still in good condition and very shiny. There are two markings for ‘RZM’ and ‘M/4/23’. The belt's leather shows signs of wear and age, a bit dried out and measures around 99cm. There are no stamps but it is marked with ‘Alois Mühlbauer’. Bidding starts at just £50.

■