Mint RCC Dated M3

[SKIPH]

Just found this one on ebay. This is one to follow. We have a mint, RCC dated M3. This is the finest one I've ever seen. Blued blade, original factory edge. WOW! Ebay item # 180554688870. No scabbard listed. I'm druling as type. Check it out. SKIP

[elbertson]

Just found this one on ebay. This is one to follow. We have a mint, RCC dated M3. This is the finest one I've ever seen. Blued blade, original factory edge. WOW! Ebay item # 180554688870. No scabbard listed. I'm druling as type. Check it out. SKIP

 

Here's a link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...%3D1&_rdc=1

It sure looks sweet!

[SKIPH]

Thanks Elbertson, I never think to put the link in. Isn't it a nice one? I've got a used RCC dated, in a Barwood M6, but it does'nt look like that. SKIP

[doyler]

Skip

 

Does youe RCC have this thin of a cross guard???Just curios as it looks thin to me and I havent had a real RCC in hand before to compare.Were the RCC all this thin or is it a illusion caused by the camera and photo angle??

 

 

Here are the pis from the auction before they disappear and others may see what your post is about.

 

 

[SKIPH]

doyler-The top pic does look a little thin, but the second looks more normal. Might be just the angle, or light. I don't know. Mine looks as thick as any other maker. I have a hard copy photo of mine, I'll try to post tommorrow. SKIP

[Misfit 45]

Yes, I know, I don't collect m3s, but doesn't there seem to be something wrong with this picture. This knife doesn't look like it was made yesterday, it looks like it was made an hour ago and is ready to put in the box. How does a knife sit idle for 67 years and not have the slightest storage wear. No rubbing on the cross guard, or pommel edges. I've seen M4 bayonets come straight out of the box and have rub marks them. Where's the dried grease stains? Then, there's the color, why is it sooo black..??..., like it's been painted? I just wouldn't put down the hundreds or thousands of dollars this would command based on what I see in these pictures. It just doesn't look right!!

Marv

[SKIPH]

Hey Gang! The biggest thing that sticks out in my mind, is the handle looks more like the ones RCC put on the undated blade marked. My dated has the long thin washer right behind the guard. RCC only made 36,000+ M3's, at what point did they change the handle design? Just checked Coniglio & Laden. The photos in their book show the guards looking exactly like this one. Maybe we can get Frank or Gary to chime in. I still think it's a good one. But, who knows> SKIP

[bayonetman]

Don't expect me to say anything about something like this. Way beyond my experience, I have never had the opportunity to handle many M3s and certainly not something like this. One of those "looks too good to be true" pieces, but that certainly doesn't mean it isn't good.

[dogfacedsoldier]

Hello all,

 

Looks like a repro I saw recently. The lettering is large, the stamp on the handguard looks strange, I seen it somewhere else, a company logo. I have two repro M-3's, and they both look better than this. I saw one similar to this a month or two back on ebay being sold as a repro. Finish looks applied recently, like one said, an hour ago.

 

Jon

[Dave C]

skip behave its junk ,aint it?

[SKIPH]

I don't know guys. The stamp on the guard is correct., the lettering looks right, the color is blue-black looking, RCC made them that way. If I recall, I heard (Not verified), that CASE did the blueing, and buffing. The handle is exactly like the later RCC blade marked undated. Til I see a bonified RCC fake, I'll stick to my guns on legitimate. I have seen, and own mint M3's out of the box. Some are in pristine condition. We've had RCC blade marked on here, in like condition, and they were not questioned. We shall see. Keep in mind on the blade color, if oiled these really shine up. SKIP

[SKIPH]

Keep in mind the RCC is not one of the G.R.C.C. 1943 dated repros, that look interesting, but were designed as such, w/ the stampings on the wrong side of the blade. (forgot exact name, sorry). SKIP

[tsellati]

I don't know, I am probably the odd-man-out here, but, I always am a little leery of firearms or in this case knives that look too good for their supposed age.

 

I guess that is why I lean towards collecting firearms, edged weapons and other militaria with that "been there and done that" look. That 'look' is hard, though not impossible in some cases, to reproduce. I also tend towards the well-used 'warhorses' because to my warped way of viewing this RCC M3 the only provenance it has is having been made in 1943. That is about the extent of its participation in the war - it looks like it spent the entire war sitting on the Quartermaster's shelf. Perhaps not even that, maybe it found its way out of the factory where it was manufactured, in which case we would not even consider it issued.

 

What then distinguishes this knife from the tens of thousands of other knives manufactured in 1943 that never were used by servicemen? Is it really a piece of WWII militaria? Just playing devil's advocate here and do not mean to offend - just want spur some discussion.

 

Tim

 

P.S. - I also am not making any statements regarding the authenticity of the M3 one way or another - I am insufficiently knowledgeable to comment on that matter.

[SKIPH]

Tim- I like the question you brought up. I have no problem buying used blades, or new. Now, as far as the knives go, they were made during WW2, for WW2. Even thogh a lot were sent overseas for military assistance or, Korea & Vietnam. Now, let me throw a twist in here. Is it not true that if you served in the US military between Dec 7, 1941, and Aug 1945, you are considered a WW2 veteran. Regardless if you served overseas, or not. Never heard, (and could be wrong), the term "WW2 Era Veteran", applied to anyone. Unlike, "Vietnam Veteran" vs. "Vietnam Era Veteran". I don't recall hearing Gulf War Era vet, or War on Terrorism Era Vet. At least not yet. Anyway, I'm rambling a little. I have seen M3's that were made in WW2, that were finally issued, as military aid in the late 1980's. So, is it WW2 vets still serving? This has the potential for some great responses. SKIP

[tsellati]

Tim- I like the question you brought up. I have no problem buying used blades, or new. Now, as far as the knives go, they were made during WW2, for WW2. Even thogh a lot were sent overseas for military assistance or, Korea & Vietnam. Now, let me throw a twist in here. Is it not true that if you served in the US military between Dec 7, 1941, and Aug 1945, you are considered a WW2 veteran. Regardless if you served overseas, or not. Never heard, (and could be wrong), the term "WW2 Era Veteran", applied to anyone. Unlike, "Vietnam Veteran" vs. "Vietnam Era Veteran". I don't recall hearing Gulf War Era vet, or War on Terrorism Era Vet. At least not yet. Anyway, I'm rambling a little. I have seen M3's that were made in WW2, that were finally issued, as military aid in the late 1980's. So, is it WW2 vets still serving? This has the potential for some great responses. SKIP

 

 

Skip,

 

Ah yes, that is a very interesting twist indeed. I'd love to play chess with you some time . But, to the point you raise, you are absolutely correct that there are no 'era veterans' just veterans. By extension, perhaps a wartime-manufactured, unissued/unused weapon has no less provenance than one that saw use in the field. Nor should the field of use, here in the U.S. or overseas, factor into the collector-value attributed to the item.

 

Tim

[SKIPH]

Tim- It probably boils down to the "eyes of the beholder", or in our case the owner, or potential buyer. SKIP

[Dave C]

A fool and his money is easy parted.

Get to exited and pay.Skip he gives one day inspection period.?Thats no time to do jack sheeeet.

8 steps back and look really closely.

dave

[Dave C]

That blade looks hand ground its wonkey.

Aint it ?

dave

[SKIPH]

Hey Gang! Well, the RCC is down to 2hours. I know some of you are still a little hesitant on the legitimacy of it. So, I'll pose a little logic. How many have we seen on the market? If it was a repro, certainly ebay would be flooded w/ them, like all the other repros out there. Secondly, for what ever it's worth, "How many worn out originals have we seen?" Maybe a handful. I don't think I've seen 6 originals in any condition since I got a computer. I'm still convinced it's real. Bids are low. I suspect it will have a high reserve, we shall see. Dated RCC's are hard to come by. SKIP

[SKIPH]

Well, top bid was $260, Reserve not met. It will probably show again. Who know's? It went no where near it's potential. SKIP

[bayonetman]

As I said above, I really don't know enough about these to offer an opinion. I MIGHT venture an opinion if I were able to examine the knife hands on, but even then I have not had enough experience with these to be comfortable evaluating it.

 

But it is quite obvious that most of those who viewed it on eBay had reservations. This is one of the least common M3s and many serious collectors would love to have. The fact that I sold a common Utica blade marked but not dated in decent condition last year for nearly the same money indicates that this one simply did not look "right" in some way to most collectors. Normally you would expect to see a RCC 1943 to break well into 4 digits. The last one I have a record on (and I stopped sometime back keeping records of sale prices) sold for $1170 and it did not appear as nice as this one.

[Misfit 45]

Well, top bid was $260, Reserve not met. It will probably show again. Who know's? It went no where near it's potential. SKIP

I honestly think the smart money sat on the sidelines.

Marv

[SKIPH]

I kinda lean toward the fact that due to the lack of availability of not only mint, but any dated RCC's , there is a built in air of skepticism. We just do not see enough of them to accumulate the knowledge to judge. Think of this! We've seen folks pay $10,000 for V42's. For a knife that had a production figure of 3600, there seems to be a lot for sale, and a bunch of known reproductions. RCC, M3's , there were over 36,000 made, yet we see very few blade marked, and literally no dated. I own one, but can't get it sized down to where I can post it. If someone can do that I'll email the pic. Didn't use anything to highlight the RCC, but you can see it w/ a magnifying glass. This has actually turned into an interesting thread. SKIP

[Dave C]

Hey Gang! Well, the RCC is down to 2hours. I know some of you are still a little hesitant on the legitimacy of it. So, I'll pose a little logic. How many have we seen on the market? If it was a repro, certainly ebay would be flooded w/ them, like all the other repros out there. Secondly, for what ever it's worth, "How many worn out originals have we seen?" Maybe a handful. I don't think I've seen 6 originals in any condition since I got a computer. I'm still convinced it's real. Bids are low. I suspect it will have a high reserve, we shall see. Dated RCC's are hard to come by. SKIP

 

Skipp not on here much now but as for your post above?

Fakers do not fall for that anymore flooding market .They release high top end fakes very slowly so alarms do not ring.Lets see haw many crop up in the next few years.They drip feed market naw mate.Another point if this was original there would be a buyer privately not on evil bay.

dave

[Dave C]

I also stick to my guns on m3 camillus undated blade marked knives.Some of the fonts are not correct imo.

dave.