UBB.threads Forums Edged Weapons Army, Navy, and Luftwaffe Forum Newbie needs help! Found Navy dagger -- I think.

Hi, all!

I am new here. The reason I have joined is that my father, a World War II U.S. Army G.I., had a great collection of German war souvenirs that he personally obtained in Germany, Belgium and france, but he donated them to a local museum long ago. He thought that if his kids were ever interested in obtaining them that the museum would return them, as they had promised to do.

Well, guess what? The museum isn't even answering our letters! (I know now that the museum probably sold his memorabilia).

Well, being the stubborn sort I am trying to recreate to the best of my ability his collection. (I cannot believe how pricey this stuff has become, though, so it will take me a while). Plus, I now find myself fascinated by these daggers! I think I am hooked, even though I probably shouldn't be due to the expense involved.

My father had a mint dagger of some kind. When I first began looking online I knew it had had a golden eagle on the one end. I thought it was just the head, but after looking at the only dagger with a golden eagle head I can't say for certain that that is the one he had. Maybe it had the entire golden eagle perched on its end.

Since I'm not sure, I've decided to just shop around and find a representative, authentic German dagger -- one that I can afford -- and add that to my collection (which has very few items right now).

I found what appears to be a Navy dagger of some type with portepee intact, but I am so clueless that I am not sure it is real. I found it in a really rat hole of a shop, buried under about 100 other knives and blades, all dusty and dirty. The only reason I saw it at all is that I could see the knot of the portepee sticking out.

It has no scabbard, the fire ball attachment is off of the end and stripped so it can't be fitted into the handle, and the hilt wrap (I think) is missing. The price is $125.

I could see the marks -- Solingen and Holler (is that right?), plus I think it had the squirrel mark. (My husband was with me and he thinks I'm an idiot to be interested in this stuff, so I couldn't take as much time as I really wanted to examine it).

The blade etching looks to be perfect, although I think there might have been some use marks on the blade from being inserted into the scabbard (don't know if that is what they are called).

The only red flag that I could see was the anchors which might not have been as crisp as those I've seen on other Navies online.

I plan to go back and take photos to post here, but I am afraid that will let the guy know that this might not be an ordinary piece (although with a price of $125 he might already be aware of it).

How would you advise me to proceed? I admit, I am as green as spring grass when it comes to this subject, but I am willing to learn from the masters here.

Well, I just looked at the Dagger Maker Marks, which are posted here, and it doesn't look like the squirrel (Eichhorn) would be on a blade with the Holler and Solingen markings.

I will have to go back to the place and look again. Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me -- or maybe it is a bad fake.

Hello Kathy,

Welcome

I would be paying a visit to that museum if I were you and if you have any kind of letter or receipt I would take legal action if the items are or cannot be returned.

With that out of the way i would say that by looking at the sites of good reputable dealers and viewing the discussions on a forum like this you will get a good feel for what may or may not be correct.

Collecting antiques (which these are now) has always been an expensive past time. If you go for the best condition it is more costly but you would find it easier to re-sell. If all you want is little pieces of history and condition is not so important to you then it can be a whole lot cheaper if you stick to the most common daggers like the SA and Army types. try wherever possible to buy from other honest collectors. Most of the dealer prices are 30% - 50% over market and one or two even more so!

You will get plenty of help here if you need it & good luck!

So, where would I find an honest collector to buy from?

Also, I have some photos of that dagger, which I guess is probably authentic but in not very good condition. the blade is great. There are no scabbard marks like I first thought. But my camera couldn't get really great shots in the store because of all the lights and glare. I'll try to post them anyway. The maker's mark is Holler-Solingen, with no Eichhorn squirrel.

I've got to figure out how to post photos and then I'll be back. . .

By the way, my father, as far as I know, had no receipt.

I will try to add these photos. I apologize for the quality, but this is as good as I could get them given the circumstances -- and camera used.

You would always be better taking your photos in narural sunlight with no flash also the macro function is best used on the close ups............. Hope this helps

The shop owner wouldn't allow me to take the dagger outside, which really limited me. I have a great Nikkor macro lens for my Nikon camera, but I thought this camera would do the job in a pinch. I was wrong. (It took a sample photo of a close-up of a McDonald's cup quite wonderfully, but the glare from all the glass and lights in the shop really impeded it from doing its job. Plus, I guess it was selecting a low shutter speed which meant that camera shake was in play (although the little Nikon (which I used) has image stabilization, so go figger!)

I'm thinking that for $125 maybe I should find a collector, like someone suggested, and just buy a nice representative sample of an Army dagger (which is what I am certain my Dad had).

If I knew this was real, then I might spend $75 for it, but I know I will have to get better photos, somehow, to post here to be sure. Still, it is pretty dirty and has some repair issues, so it might not even be worth $75.