The only thing that I purchased at this past MAX show was an autographed picture (done like a postcard) of General of the Panzer Troops, Hasso v. Manteuffel, a card de visit (also autographed), the mailing envelope, and the most important piece, a very nice silver bullion Heer Officers eagle which suppossedly belonged to, and had all reportedly been sent to an American collector in 1974.
I asked the seller how long he had these items in his possession and he assured me that this little group was "as found" when he purchased it along with a large collection of very fine early American/European military headgear from an older collector, and that this prior owner had sworn the group was exactly as he received it with nothing changed, altered, or added.
At the time I of course accepted what he told me but wondered why (if from a General), was the eagle in silver wire instead of gold, but concluded (as did the seller and the original owner) that if v. Manteuffel’s, then it must have come from a uniform he had worn as a Major, Lt. Col., or Colonel.
I reasoned that given the quality of the wire embroidery it could very well have been his but primarily bought it all for the autographs.
Given all of the above I sought this "old time" collector out (he's 74) and found out that he had moved from Connecticut to Maine and was lucky enough to find and make contact with him.
First of all he was pretty surprised with my contact but DID confirm that all the items shown here were absolutely gifted to him in 1974 from v. Manteuffel, that he had sold everything over 20 years ago from the fellow I bought it all from, and that he was willing to give me a brief description of how he received them and that he would have his letter (and picture of the items) notorized for me in a sworn affidavit.
Now my current order of business is finding photographs of General v. Manteuffel as a junior officer WEARING this eagle,....so. if anyone out there has photos of him which clearly show this breast eagle in wear I would very much like to know about it.
Can anyone help me out (my thanks to Akira already!!).
Regards,
Chuck
I asked the seller how long he had these items in his possession and he assured me that this little group was "as found" when he purchased it along with a large collection of very fine early American/European military headgear from an older collector, and that this prior owner had sworn the group was exactly as he received it with nothing changed, altered, or added.
At the time I of course accepted what he told me but wondered why (if from a General), was the eagle in silver wire instead of gold, but concluded (as did the seller and the original owner) that if v. Manteuffel’s, then it must have come from a uniform he had worn as a Major, Lt. Col., or Colonel.
I reasoned that given the quality of the wire embroidery it could very well have been his but primarily bought it all for the autographs.
Given all of the above I sought this "old time" collector out (he's 74) and found out that he had moved from Connecticut to Maine and was lucky enough to find and make contact with him.
First of all he was pretty surprised with my contact but DID confirm that all the items shown here were absolutely gifted to him in 1974 from v. Manteuffel, that he had sold everything over 20 years ago from the fellow I bought it all from, and that he was willing to give me a brief description of how he received them and that he would have his letter (and picture of the items) notorized for me in a sworn affidavit.
Now my current order of business is finding photographs of General v. Manteuffel as a junior officer WEARING this eagle,....so. if anyone out there has photos of him which clearly show this breast eagle in wear I would very much like to know about it.
Can anyone help me out (my thanks to Akira already!!).
Regards,
Chuck
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