The Fantasy Olympic Knife
First some facts.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
In order for anyone to use the Olympic Symbol on any kind of product they intended to sell, they would have explicitly needed a “Antrag auf verwendung der Olympischen Symbole”. This was mentioned over and over from both the RZM and also mentioned in the UM from December 1935 onwards. (see UM 1. Dez 1935 page 2.)
The above is backed up in particular on pages 177 & 178 of the August 1936 UM, in the Special Olympic article that they feature. (see screen shots below, or see/download the Complete issue mentioned
here) They do not only mention and picture many Olympic items, they also go into great detail concerning “Fake-Bogus-Dodgy” items that were seized, or items made without a permit. On Page 178 there is mention of
Haar und Kopfschmuck that bore the Olympic logo, that was all seized, as well as mention of Fake Olympic Stickpins, that were thankfully seized before the Olympics.. And mentioning that Any item whatsoever that is Not standard may be seized and destroyed by the Police. The list of items is long, and they are mentioned in detail..
All the UM and RZM articles before and after the 1936 Olympics make no mention of any Daggers made, no mention to any knives being made, no mention to any Daggers or Knives seized, no mention of anyone who had applied to make Daggers or Knives. They do however mention every other small item like the puny Olympic Stickpins, and in fact go into great detail about them.
There is no mention whatsoever in any Period 1936-1945 publication mentioning these Knives at all.
There are no Period shop window display photos that picture anything remotely similar to these Knives. (The UM series contains at least 50 Period show window photos, as well as many more known in Private collections.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The makers mark on these bogus daggers is by a Maker who produced daggers long after the 1936 Olympics. If the sellers theory that They were never authorised for issue is true, then this raises a few questions.
• They were made without a permit, and emblazoned with the makers details, not something any maker would have dreamt of doing in 1936 if he knew he had no permit, or was producing something that he was no allowed to, or was of abysmal quality.
•They were confiscated by the Authorities as being non regulatory.
If this were the case, they would be mentioned as the other non regulatory items were, and The maker would most certainly have been reprimanded, if not had his RZM number taken away and/or imprisoned/executed/Sent to Gulag.
Can the seller back this up?
"The result is they sat in a warehouse till after the war and then discovered and brought home."
No, of course he can not, it is just his opinion.
Analze this:
"is some controversy surrounding this one. Some people feel they are post-war production since we have no period pictures of this in wear."
No, there is no controversy, the Historical facts show us that they were not around in 1936. We don’t needs to go on „no period photos...“ that is a lame excuse, and should of course never be used to Authenticate or dismiss any item. The facts should always come first, Period info, History before opinion or assumption.
Most believe, as I do, that these were all produced for the 1936 Olympics
No, this is a cheap sales gag and misleading tag line. If going by any knowledgeable posts on Forums both in Europe (MFF) and the US, Most believe that they are post war Fantasy items. That’s the truth, for anyone who dared to research and read a bit before blindly believing any Dealers sales pitch.
The only way this dagger has sold, is because the person who bought it, has no intention of learning anything, and just wanted a cool dagger at a cool price. If the buyer does believe that it is real, then he has been Hook-line and sinkered by the Sellers Reputation, and his lack of willing to research he collects, and turn to facts first before reaching any assumption.. that’s all.
Anyone is entitled to an Assumption, but when the Assumption is backed by nothing other than credentials, then it`s a sales-pitch based on ones Reputation or standing within the community. You only have to look at Good sites, like they used to be, for example Ruptured Duck, Beck Militaria, Collectors Guild etc etc, all gone downhill over the past years and listing more and more Unique pieces of Sh1t based on Opinion, and totally ignoring common sense and proven, researched factual History first.
When you only have a „
it is my opinion“ to defend an Item like this, then the seller has only his reputation to rely on, and knows it.
Do you want one? Even cheaper ?
There are a few models as well, and even a few different makers and maker-marked bags, and different versions, different etchings, different colors.
Millshop will always have a Box of them at the German Fairs. You will see him at Cassel this year selling more. Another German small time Dealer,
Mr Haas sells them all the time, and strangely does not allow anyone to discuss any item of his on any forum, he will threaten Legal action against anyone who mentions his name.
On Militaria-Company they can always be had from a seller known as Mr Sager. And on Best-Aniques.com they are also a frequent guest-Star.
Pic below are screen shots from the above mentioned sellers auctions/websites.
Sometimes, when you can follow a particular item back to the same few people, and especially if you know anything about these certain people, then that alone is enough to just walk away and smile. Save yourself the 500 that one of these will cost you, they are Post war Hokus Pokus, backed up with not a single incy wincy bit of period information, no mention, not a whisper, and you know why? Because they have nothing to do with the 1936 Olympics or the TR era.. Thats my personal opinion, based on the Research that i have done into these particular Daggers, as well as the 1935 Reichsparteitag Dagger engraved in a similar way, and also found in abundance by the same sellers in mint condition with bag as well as experience based on meeting, knowing and dealing with the sorts of people who always sell these.
Why Lakeside Traders believe that they are real? Why would they need to turn to a Theory and refuse to acknowledge the Period facts, and History. I don't know? i would have thought that any Reputable dealer would prefer to back a Unique item item up with Facts rather than just what he thinks? Maybe they really believe that "
most" think they are real? maybe these Reputable Dealers are just so far out of contact with the Real collecting community today, and stuck inside their own little dealer-friend bubble, that they only exchange thoughts amongst each other, and evaluate their items within there small circle? i dont know, and i dont care, truth is that facts top anyone's Opinion, and in this case, the lack of, coupled with everything mentioned above about where they come from says enough.
Edit: This is a very good example of how the community has split in recent years, and cliques of "Dealers" have formed on both continents. We have a few bad German names, who always seem to have the best and unique-est items, always, ramming their opinion and reputation down our necks and force feeding us into swallowing their assumptions. The same can be said of the USA clan of 10-15 "Dealers" who do the same. These "Dealer" clans are trying to gain the upper hand on the TR market and open the gates for plain fantasy cr4p that will help them into Pension in the next 10-15 years, because they do retire at 45-50 and get out of the business, this has just happened in Germany with D.N. These Clans have lost all contact with Reality when it comes to the collector on the street, who is starting out, and using these Trusted names as some indication that everything they say and offer is Gospel, Stone cold Mint ! It`s called,
Changing History to suit Financial gain.
You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.
You don't have permission to view attachments.