Prien Signed Autograph : Any Opinion ?

[TH0791]

Hello,

Please give me your opinions about the following allegedly autograh of Guenther Prien

Thank you,
T.

[billcarson]

Hiya,
Here is a good one for you to compare it with.
Cheers Bill.

[TH0791]

Hello Bill,

Can you please post a close scan of the autograph on the postcard ?

Thank you,
T.

[Eric JB]

Teeeee,

I see some differences between the two Günther Prien versions.
The G, t, h, and P.
Note that the surename Prien isn't too hard to be done by a faker, and that there are many bad Prien signatures around.

yours friendly

Eric-Jan

[TH0791]

Hi Eric-Jan,

Actually the "Guenther" looks ok to me if I compare to other pieces(not this!)

Thanks,
T.

[max history]

I think the 1940 signature on the postcard is a definite fake.
The other one is genuine.
Max.

[stgeorge64]

T

In my honest opinion, the example of a Prein signature you posted on the Willrich card and dated 1940, is a fake.

There are a myriad of Prein signatures on the market at this time, and in my book that example is a poorly executed fake among a sea of other suspect pieces.

Here is an example of a Prein signature which I believe to be totally genuine.

Regards Richard.

[Bootmanager]

G.Prien

I will continue my search.

it is really

[Bootmanager]

G.Prien

I only have 1 x prien in my u-boot collection.


but none of the shown here


is identical with my.(1940)



and I am happy not to purchase must.


Question,how high is the price for an original ?

Regards

[Der Freiwillige]

T

In my honest opinion, the example of a Prein signature you posted on the Willrich card and dated 1940, is a fake.

There are a myriad of Prein signatures on the market at this time, and in my book that example is a poorly executed fake among a sea of other suspect pieces.

Here is an example of a Prein signature which I believe to be totally genuine.

Regards Richard.

Hi Richard,

I noticed this thread and want to chip in with my penny's worth.
I add three of the 5 autographed Prien card from my collection, and also one reference pic. from a recent auction at Hermann Historica. Interestingly, Prien's first name asthey appear in the pictures from my set are very similar to the HH one, of which the genuine character is undisputed.
Most of my collection stems from a big "Nachlass" left by a German lady from Karlsruhe.
Here are the three cards from my collection, followed by two auctioned by Hermann Historica. The similarity of the way the first name is written is striking and therefore a pretty good reference to use.










Best regards,
Der Freiwillige - Flanders, Belgium

[Der Freiwillige]

I only have 1 x prien in my u-boot collection.
but none of the shown here
is identical with my.(1940)
and I am happy not to purchase must.

Question,how high is the price for an original ?

Regards

Hi Bootmanager,
Any chance posting that Prien photo you have in your collection?
I have followed the price evolution on originally signed postcards (Hoffmann, Bauer Verlag, Ross, etc...) and it appears that the price for Kriegsmarine ones, especially those concerning RK holders who were KIA during the war, are pretty high, and still rising. Better investment than the stock mark these days...
Anyway, for genuine Prien autographs you will easily get between 400 and 550 Euro, depending on the condition of both card and signature. Those with both first and surname will fall in the higher price category.
This of course in the assumption you sell to a private person. If you sell to a dealer you must count to get 20 to 25% less.
Cheers,
Der Freiwilige - Flanders

[Der Freiwillige]

Prien, once more

Hi, I am adding two more Prien autograhps from my collection, but this time only with surname, which was most common. Cards like these, in near mint condition are valued at 400 Euro for a Willrich one and 450 Euro for Hoffmann Photocards.

As always, and I keep repeating this to fellow autograph collectors, one should never forget that were often signed with the chap in question not sitting at a comfortable table. Therefore going over 10 same signatures with a magnifying glass to check for disimilarities or to check whether certain letters are exactly the same length is outright ludicrous and a source of pointless discussions. I myself learned a lot from the website of a South African graphologist who pointed out what exactly to look for in autographs. Anyway, at the end of the day the final repsonsability to buy or not to buy is with the buyer. If one doesn't feel 100% sure then it best not to buy, logic isn't it?

Here are two 100% correct and genuine Priens:





Cheers and happy collecting!
Der Freiwillige

[Der Freiwillige]

Prien, once more...!

Hi everyone again,

I order to provide as much reference material as possible, let me add yet another few pictures from the "Prien-archive" to this discussion.
One can't have enough stuff to compare but again, in my opinion, it is not reasonable to take the old ruler out and start measuring the exact size of each letter. How many of us are capable of signing 10 documents in one go and each time in exact the same way?
Anyway, here are some interesting Prien Willrich postcards. It would indeed be a bold person who could find some oddities in these signatures... By the way, have a close look at the word "Günther" in Prien's personal letter to his sister (see my other contribution). That's the best yardstick to compare the pictures in this thread with. Especially the form of the G is interesting!

Happy comparing!









For good measure, here's a detailed scan of the above mentioned letter (presented at recent auction in Germany) as well as Prien's personal signed copy of the standard manual each selfrespecting U-Boat commander should have learnt by heart before getting into a U-boat...




(front cover of book written by Ir. Max Bartsch)



Prien's "owner's signature" in the top right hand corner of this book, with "Kapitänleutnant" underneath his full name. Here too, take a good look at the first letter of his first name...

Cheers!

Der Freiwillige - Flanders