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Tank destroyer grouping including european souvenirs


Fratlanta
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this grouping is my most amazing find so far.

Went to an estate sale recently where I first found four swords on a bed and a dog tag in a jewelery box. Based on that, I assumed they must be some uniforms somewhere and started to dig. Finally, I found hidden in tin bucket in the basement what I was looking for: a Ike jacket with a tank destroyer pin, bars, medals and 1st army tank destroyer patches, honorable discharge documents, garrison hat, another jacket, several shirts with and without patches, several pants and long johns. Story does not end here because, I went back upstairs and found on a shelve a pair of German binoculars..

Once I got home, I realized that one of these sword was french (model 1862?), two were ww2 germans (easy to date if you look carefully, :) ) and the last one was also german (even though it looked older (WW1?)). Based on the marking on the box, I also realized the binoculars are clearly germans .

 

couple of questions though:

- Can I assume that he brought these sabers and binoculars as a souvenir from his "trip" to europe?

- are these long johns issued clothes?

 

 

Finally, I am no swords expert so any comments about them will be appreciated.

 

 

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,

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Killer group! Any idea what Tank Destroyer unit he was with? Also looks like your guy must have started out in the MP's because of that 1st Army patch with the MP branch colors. Just a great group with some nice bringbacks.

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I think you will find that you did considerably better than you might believe. The three sabers with black scabbard are Third Reich era. In the three, you are probably looking at approximately $800. The binoculars are complete, and much in demand--another $150. - $200. The TD grouping is certainly an added bonus to your purchase. My values on TR items are probably a bit low as I've been out of this area for the past 15 years.

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Killer group! Any idea what Tank Destroyer unit he was with? Also looks like your guy must have started out in the MP's because of that 1st Army patch with the MP branch colors. Just a great group with some nice bringbacks.

Company A

661st TD battalion

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Three of the swords are TR Heer officer swords; 2 X "lion head" and 1 X "dove head". The nickel one is a TR Heer NCO sword. There are different patterns of officer sword, and some are far more valuable than others. I think the swords are probably around $1K total unless one is a desirable pattern. The binos are a super example and very desirable in that condition and with the bakelite case. My guess would be more like $500 for them...

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Three of the swords are TR Heer officer swords; 2 X "lion head" and 1 X "dove head". The nickel one is a TR Heer NCO sword. There are different patterns of officer sword, and some are far more valuable than others. I think the swords are probably around $1K total unless one is a desirable pattern. The binos are a super example and very desirable in that condition and with the bakelite case. My guess would be more like $500 for them...

because of the markings on the nickel sword, i am confident it is french and not german

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thanks for all your comments

In summary, the 4 swords are worth about $1ooo and the binoculars about $500.

what about the rest then ?

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Thanks guys for all the personal emails but this group is not for sale. I am just trying to get an idea of it's value since I've never had anything like this in hands

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