$22,500 to start the bidding

UBB.threads

Interesting looking sword. I don't know if it is worth $30,000 as he says....

Anyone know?

http://cgi.ebay.com/WW-ll-Dress-Sword-Lions-Head-Name-O...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

"You are bidding on a WWll authentic German Dress Sword. The sword is personalized with a German Officers name in a raised inscription on the blade. This artifact has been in my family since WWll. My father served in the war for the U.S. and was given the sword by a German prisoner. I was told the name on the blade was one of Hitler's higher ranking officials. i was also told at one time it had been appraised around $30,000.00"

Posted By: Grumpy Re: $22,500 to start the bidding - 11/26/2006 03:25 AM

Although von Papen is an interesting figure in the history of the Third Reich, I don't see his sword (assuming it is authentic, which it appears to be) is worth anything near the starting price. Von Papen did serve as Chancellor of Germany in the early 1930's and later as Vice Chancellor. He apparently barely ecscaped being murdered in the 1934 purge of Rohm and others, although he had given only lukewarm support to the Nazis and had, in fact, mildly criticized them. Whether because of his noble background, political connections or otherwise, he was made ambassador to Austria ,and later Turkey, under Hitler. He was charged as a war criminal after the war, but he was not convicted. He was more of a statesman and diplomat than a devout Nazi. He really had a more or less marginal role under Hitler and managed to survive where others did not. Certainly, his sword is of historical significance and should bring well above what a run-of-the-mill sword of the same type with no such provenance would. However, it is a pre-Third Reich example and, for me, is worth no more than a few thousand dollars, at most.

Posted By: Dwight Pruitt Re: $22,500 to start the bidding - 11/26/2006 06:48 AM

Grumpy, I'm pretty sure that was Franz von Papen. The presentation is by Ernst v. Papen, and I don't have any idea who he was.

Posted By: Anonymous Re: $22,500 to start the bidding - 11/26/2006 07:25 AM

I wonder why they removed that auction, it wasn't really even a Nazi sword? JohnJ

Posted By: Grumpy Re: $22,500 to start the bidding - 11/26/2006 04:46 PM

Dwight, you are right. I stand corrected. Wrong von Papen! That should make the sword worth no more than any other named sword of that era, unless Ernst has some significant claim to fame. The sword appears to have been relisted with no reduction in price.

Posted By: B�rse Re: $22,500 to start the bidding - 11/26/2006 05:47 PM

Yup - back at $20,000 opening bid now, but free shipping!

http://cgi.ebay.com/World-War-2-German-Dress-Sword_W0QQ...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Posted By: Fred Prinz - FP Re: $22,500 to start the bidding - 11/27/2006 06:16 AM

A reasonably decent example of a personalized Imperial era cavalry officer�s dress saber, not WW II era as the seller originally stated, although it could easily have been brought back after the end of the war as a number of others were.

Franz von Papen was born in 1879 and by 1914 would have been 35. The point being that there is no way that this sword was his. It�s worth something, but absent some noteworthy provenance the seller may have to wait a while before he finds a buyer - most likely at a very deep discount (I don�t think that free shipping is going to be the "deal maker" ). FP