This is what Thomas M. Johnson had to say.
July 9, 2007

Dear Rob:

Thank you very much for both your telephone call last week and your follow-up email. You mentioned to me that a Presentation Luftwaffe sword belonging to you was taking some serious hits on the Germandaggers.com forum. I think that this is a classic example of why I (and many others) tend to wonder why anyone takes the time and effort to post a valued piece in his collection on one of the forums. Although, I seldom have the opportunity to look at the forum threads, when I do, I am amazed by the fact that if a piece stays on long enough, regardless of the edged weapon involved, it eventually seems to receive some negative comments. I think this is why many serious collectors and dealers have opted out of participatin g in the forums. Obviously, the negative comments can be caused by a certain sense of jealousy that you own the piece and they do not, or they may originate with collectors who really do not have the expertise to judge the authenticity of a rare piece.

What you have with your Presentation Luftwaffe sword, which appears on page 158 of my Collecting the Edged Weapons of the Third Reich, Volume I is a superb 3rd Reich sword. If memory serves, collector Donald Vernon of New York State had owned this particular sword for some time prior to making the decision to have it pictured in my Volume I, the first edition which was printed in 1975. It is a sword that I was very desirous to purchase for my private collection at that time, but unfortunately, it was not for sale. It is a sword that I would be proud to own and place in my own collection in 2007, as well.

The problem with negative comments that appear on the forum is that it can make you doubt the authenticity of the sword yourself over a period of time, and, it also can have a very negative impact on the salability of the sword, when and if you decide to sell it in the future. Invariably, someone will think at the time of the sale, "I remember reading something years ago about one or more problems with that sword, so I don't think that I am interested". This places you, the seller, at an extreme disadvantage.

I do think that a valid question can be raised about the "1942" date on the Presentation sword blade and the early nickel silver hilt and scabbard fittings, and I posed the same question to collector Vernon in the early 1970's. However, I think that this particular subject has already been explored on this thread. The bottom line, Rob, is that I would be very proud to own this sword today, and I think you are fortunate to have it in your collection.

I am traveling today to our printer in South Carolina to work on the 2007 MAX Program, but if you want to contact me at a later date, I can provide you with even additional information on this magnificent sword.

If you want to post my comments on the forum, Rob, you have my permission to do so, as long as you post my entire email response.



Sincerely,

LTC (Ret) Thomas M. Johnson
President
Johnson Reference Books & Militaria