UBB.threads Forums Edged Weapons SS Dagger Forum SS ceremonial chained dagger

Hi, my grandfather was in the Corps of Engineers during World War II in the European theater. He landed on Omaha Beach on D Day, was at the Battle of the Bulge and also was there when Buchenwald was liberated. He told me that when SS officers surrendered, they would come out in their full dress uniforms and he got a ceremonial chained dagger off one of them. I'm not sure if he got it at the Battle of the Bulge or at Buchenwald but whoever he got it from also had a Eastern Front campaign medal and a 12 year service medal. I was just curious about what it's worth and where I might find the history of the dagger. Unfortunately I don't see any serial numbers or anything that identifies it. Any info on where I could find information about it or some of his other memorabilia would be greatly appreciated. He also ended up with a Nazi flag and swastika flagpole topper he got in Paris, a Hitler profile plaque, several other medals, a couple of Nazi youth lapel pins and a Todt Organization badge.

You need to post photos for an objective evaluation. Some of the items you mention are quite collectible and could bring nice prices. The dagger, if authentic and in "good" condition, or better, could be worth several thousand dollars. Like most antiques and collectibles, authenticity and condition are highly important in determining value. Posting photos here may give you an approximate idea as to value, but a "hands-on" examination by someone truly knowledgeable and qualified would be needed for a more precise figure.

Thanks for the quick response. I've taken some pictures but I'm not sure how to post them. I've seen in some of the posts where people have embedded photos but I can't seem to figure out how to do it myself.

Here we go:

According to the notes left by my grandfather, this was liberated from a house 5 kilometers south of the Remagan Bridge



And this and a flag came from a library in Paris:

The dagger appears to be 100% authentic and in very nice condition. In better times (economically), it could bring $7500, or better, depending upon a personal examination. These days, unfortunately, the higher priced items tend not to sell well at all. You might want to wait a while before considering selling it, if you wish to do so, so the market will pick up. The other items posted also appear authentic, but I have no idea as to their values. Perhaps several hundred, but someone more knowledgeable than I needs to price them for you.

JMO , items like these owe you nothing (you didn't buy them) they were your Grandfathers war trophies so hang on to them as long as you can.Once sold they are gone from you and there may come a day you will regret it.But then if thing aren't sold we collectors would have nothing.

I'm not really interested in selling them but now that I have all this stuff I want to make sure it's insured. After all, if I'm sitting here with a dagger that's worth more than my car, I'd hate for it to get lost in a fire or stolen and not have it covered.

Nice dagger, its great to see this stuff passed on like this.

Dave you have an excellant SS dagger one to be proud off your grandfather done well gettin a hold of that baby & yes get it insured for $10,000 to be on the safe side....regards scott.

YOUR DAGGER WAS LIKELY SURRENDERED AT BUCHENWALD. THE DAGGERS WERE CEREMONIAL AND WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN CARRIED IN COMBAT CONDITIONS SUCH AS THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE. YOUR HITLER PLAQUE IS THE TYPE OF ITEM FOUND IN MANY GERMAN HOMES OF THE ERA. THE OTHER PIECE IS FROM THE DEUTSCHE ARBEIT FRONT OR GERMAN LABOR FRONT, THE NAZI PARTY RUN GERMAN LABOR ORGANIZATION. IT IS POSSIBLY A FLAG POLE TOP BUT IS NOT MADE IN A TYPICAL MANNER OF SUCH. THESE ARE MORE COMMON ITEMS AND WORTH BETWEEN $100-$150 EACH.

Good luck finding a company to insure the dagger. If you do, read the exceptions and exclusions to coverage carefully.

I have heard zero complaints about CIA, Collectors Insurance Agency.

Mark

Thanks for the advice. How do I go about getting these things officially appraised. I'm sure the insurance company would need that before they did anything. Also, how common are the Todt badges? It actually has a number on it, 369887, so is there somewhere that lists who that number would belong to? I was thinking I might find out if the person is still alive or find his family and return it to him/them.

Hello,

I am an insurance adjuster for one of the largest insurers. In the U.S. There should be no problem insuring your items. You must ask your agent to have the item "scheduled" with a "replacement cost value." This can be endorsed on any standard homeowners policy.

If you do not own your own home, a person can obtain a contents or renter policy that is very inexpensive.

This lists the item in writing on the policy and has a stated value. You must be sure to keep up with prices and change the value upward as needed.

When a loss occurs you can collect up to the insured amount. The best method is to get an appraisal and some photos to justify the value and the piece. Just because it is insured for say $10,000.00 does not mean you will get that amount back.

As noted by one of the other members as prices change so does the value. For example if the item was scheduled for $10,000.00 six months ago based on value, a loss occurs today the value may only be $7,500.00 and thus that would be the payment.

The opposite can also happen. Same example, item scheduled for $10,000.00 but now replacement is $15,000.00. A person could only collect the $10,000.00 scheduled limit.

Hope this helps...

I'm not positive, but I don't think CIA Insurance requires an appraisal. You can search for them through Google, etc. I think they have changed their name slightly, but you should still be able to find them. Many collectors are insured through them and most, if not all, seem to be reasonably satisifed.

info@insurecollectibles.com. Try this. It's Collectibles Insurance.

As Bob mentioned, the item with the swastika and the threaded end is indeed a pole top for a DAF flag.It is the earliest of the pre-RZM types and is often found in solid bronze with either a Bren-laquer silver or silver/nickel plated finish

It is missing two components however, the top and bottom decorative flange which hides the threaded portion where it joins the pole.

Does the flag you acquired follow the motif seen in the design of the pole top? DAF area flags have a cogwheel design with a square canton patch in the corner with the name of the village, town, city, area it came from..