I'm thinking about bidding for this item and have asked the owner several questions. Now I'd like to hear the opinions of you other serious collectors here on the board. As we all know, there are a lot of looneys and fakes out there. Especially you military buffs: Can this piece be the real McCoy?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...7500806050&rd=1 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=197&item=7500806050&rd=1)

Roland,

You are the one we look to for advice on these things - I would guess that's why you haven't gotten much of a response here - lots of looks, though.

Remember that guy in southern California, from whom you bought all those books (books from the Duke's personal library, if I remember correctly)? I spoke to that guy on the phone, and he told me he had worked around John Wayne's Newport Beach home for a couple of weeks, installing some sort of a security system. If you still have his contact information, maybe he might remember having seen something like that.

Sorry we can't be of more help (if we have been any help) :rolleyes: .

From another perspective, it's "only" a few hundred Euros - why not
go for the gusto :lol: ??

Chester :newyear:

Well, I figured maybe our military buffs would have some clou about the RANGER on the knife. Tomorrow's the last day, so I'll have to make up my mind fast.

:cowboy: Hi Itdo. I don't know if i'm a military buff but if I am considered so, it is to do with Imperial and WWII German Militaria as that's the only area I study and collect at this time.

Now coming from a long time collector's point of view, I am naturally VERY suspecious of this item. This item is a prime item to be faked and fakes these days are almost identical to the real thing. It's getting scary when collecting WWII stuff.

The other day I was looking at a WWII German M-35 combat helmet. The thing had been stripped of original paint after being sent to a person who is well known for "restoring" WWII German helmets. This person uses the EXACT same kind of paint thta was available to the Germans during the war. He has a supplier out of Austria that gets him the paints he needs and a supplier out of German who constantly makes exact decals using the original machinery.

It takes him on average about three weeks to "redo" a German steel pot. When he is done, this looks exactly like one that was period painted as well as having the decals placed on them before painting. These helmets are so well done that you cannot tell them apart from period painted pieces to the ones done today at his workshop which I think is located in Illinois?

Because of fakery like that, I cannot give an honest opinion on that letter opener. One thing though, pay attention to the price. If it seems to good to be true--you can bet your boots that it is. However, just to throw in amonkeywrench on this, I have myself found some fantastic items for next to nothing to cheap.

For example:

A few years ago at a gun show, I bought a 3 place ribbon bar (bandespange) for $30.00 from a dealer from San Antonio. As I am a ribbon bar collector, I liked it immediately. This 3 place ribbon bar told me a lot of things. 1) It told me that two of the ribbons on it were some I never encountered before and were VERY rare awards to recieve. At that time I did not have the knowledge that I do now, to know what awards they represented. I soon found out by doing some research in period rangelists and I came up with several names of awardees. The names belonged to Dukes, Barons, Knights (Rittmeisters etc) Princes and a King. By finding out what all three awards were, I found only one person of the aboves, had been awarded all three awards. Only members of the immediate family or the immediate Royal inner circle, would be eligable for two of three of those awards. To make a long story short, only one man had been awarded the three awards that are on the ribbon bar. That man was Friedrich Wilhelm von Preussen II. Koenig von Prussen (King of Prussia) This ribbon bar dates back to 1870.

I have another ribbon bar which is 7 places long, and it was traced back to The Duke of Mecklinburg/Schwerin Franz Friedrich von Grossherzog IV. This one I paid about $40.00 for.

Lastly, I own a mint pair of 5th Uhlan Kavallerie Regiments Hauptmanns Shoulderboards. Well, these boards can be dated because of the style they were which means they were made in that style for only 10 years. That narrowed my search down considerably. What I did was search to see how many men served in that Regiment in the time period that these shoulderboards were used. That narrowed my list to about 12 men. Several of these men either died of natural causes, or in duels or from accidents. That left me with some 5 men to research, three of which were of Royal Blood and were Rittmeisters instead of Hauptmanns. (Rittmeister and Hauptmann are the same rank which is Captain)

Then I did research on where the unit was stationed and when and where they had seen some action. I did this because these were wartime style of shoulderboards which at that time were different than peacetime boards. This meant that these were dated to 1915. In 1915, only one man in this regiment at that time, had seen any frontline service, this man was Rittmeister Ewald von Kleist. He was better known as Generalfeldmarschall von Kleist during WWII. I got these for a mere $40.00.

The reasons I got these so cheap was because the seller did not take the time to do research. I'd estimate that at the time of purchase, that I made about a $500.00 profit on the Kaisers 3 place ribbon bar. I made about $250.00 on the Dukes ribbon bar, and I made about $600.00 profit on Ewald von Kleiste shoulderboards.

So you see, collecting simply aint just buying.

best regards--C.

Ringo, thanks for your trouble. You certainly know your stuff when it comes to military! I know a Swiss military collector. He is in a bunch who every 6th of June helps stage the army camp and exhibition in Normandy. You would like that: in his home, he has the biggest army collection I've ever seen - though I haven't seen too many - yet he beats some of the museums I know in France or Holland. About every type of uniform and weapon and gear used in WWII is displayed to full effect. He told me the same story about military collectibles and fakes - there are so many D-Day fakes out there you could stage the full invasion twice.

:) Hi Itdo, your quite welcoem and your collector friend is quite correct. Recently I saw an ""Original"" 101st Airborne Div paratroopers helmet which had it's regimental insignia painted on its sides. Its insignia is one of the suits from a deck of cards being the Clubs. This regiment used that insignia in Holland and also at the Battle of the Bulge (in Bastogne) The 101st para lids are some of the most faked of American lids. This helmet was on ebay awhile back and though several collectors contacted the seller and pointed out that it was not an original 101st para regt lid, the seller left it on ebay for sale and got $1,400 ++ for a fakery. The helmet was an original WWII G>I. steel pot but it had been repainted w/ regimental insignia added, then touted ar the real thing.

The worst fakery I have seen is to do with German items from WWII. Strangely enough, the Imperial is not as heavily faked-----yet. Next heaviest faked is Russian items.

I have two friends locally who have huge collections as well. One of them has 15 full mannequins out-fitted with Generals uniforms and political uniforms. In his closet if about another 50 or so complete German uniforms with all accessories down to original socks, ties and suspenders.

A good friend of mine in Washington state, though not wealthy, has about 15 or so complete uniforms. In fact, as soon as I can, I plan on buying a Jager Officers tunic off him to add to my Artillery Majors tunic. Collecting this stuff is addictive but fun as well when you do research on them.

My artillery majors tunic is to a man who earned the Iron Cross 2nd & 1st classes in WWI and then earned both again in WWII. Just from looking at his tunic told me that he was a retread, and had served on the Eastern Front. This man had also been wounded in the shoulder and armpit. What I don't know is if he was later killed or if he survived the war.

Get this, his tunic was tailor made by a tailor in Berlin. The name of his tailor was Franz Teufel. Teufel means Devil, in German. :fear2: