Most collectors, and dealers alike, feel that these Gau marked crossguards are fine.
However, there is also a very large group of people that thinks otherwise and say that they are simply "part daggers".
Whatever the opinions, if I had the opportunity to buy a non-Gau marked versus a Gau marked crossguard, I would take the one without the Gau marked and I feel that 99% of us would.
Why buy a controversial piece when you can buy a textbook original for the same price ?
One thing I've also noticed, every Gau marked SS Chained dagger that I've seen,
ALWAYS had extremelly poor fittings ( crossguard to grip ), for this reason alone, I would pass my turn but that's just my opinion.
