Ratisbon’s 48th Contempory
Unusually, Ratisbon’s latest Contemporary Auction wasn’t held in Germany, but was in the USA, with overseas bidding welcome. Now, we covered the 1936 Berlin Olympics in the last issue and as luck would have it, there were a huge number of medals, badges and items from it in this auction. So, let’s start with the very first lot, a participation badge. These badges showed the Olympic rings above the Brandenburg Gate, with a colored rosette for the different participants. It was blue for the International Students Camp, salmon for the Gymnastics Demonstration Team, green for the International Youth Camp, and for the Encampment of the German Fachämter (specialised offices) it was yellow for the first week and a dark red for the second week.
This one was a salmon coloured badge (there were lots of the other ones too) which sold for £64.39 (includes Buyer’s Premium of 22.5%). Another participation badge was for taking part in the actual events. Here the Olympic rings are mounted above the Brandenburg Gate and the colour of the ribbon dictates what event it was for. This one was blue, for swimming. It sold for £330.75.
Even the tickets for the 1936 games were produced with an eye to be collectable. Here are five entrance tickets with metal top parts so they could be pinned to clothing. This set were for the Winter Olympics of 1936, which took place after the summer ones. The events on the tickets were for the Bob Sled (two days), Men’s Slalom, Women’s Slalom and Downhill Skiing for men and women. The group sold for £121.95.
There were also lots of different medals, including this commemorative one for the opening ceremony where thousands of pigeons were released. Consequently, the medal, bronze, with designer mark to ‘Otto Platzek’, features a large pigeon on the obverse. Now, at the time of writing, this was still available to buy from the Ratisbon’s website, with a price $100 plus 17.5% BP.
On to more usual NSDAP militaria now, starting with a flag pole finial. The pole top was made from solid aluminum. The obverse illustrated a spread-winged eagle, the eagle slightly arched forward, its talons enabling it to stand upon a wreath of oak leaves encompassing a black swastika. The tube was marked with the RZM (Reichszeugmeisterei) mark and the RZM number ‘M 3/40/38’. It sold for a hefty £829.21.
Let’s round things off with a HJ dagger now. This was an early model 1933 Hitlerjugend Fahrtenmesser by Carl Heidelberg, Solingen. The thin blade on this looks great with the acid-etched ‘Blut und Ehre!’ motto and ‘Carl Heildelberg Solingen’ maker mark. The crossgrain remains visible in the light and while the blade showed use, overall it was in good condition. The original black leather buffer was intact and the black enamel painted scabbard had 85% of its original paint intact. This sold for £448.75. ■