SS Dagger Opinions

[bertastan]

This dagger is being auctioned off. These are the only pictures I got. Based on these any opinions?
Thanks

[bertastan]

2 more

[Br. James]

Dear bertastan,

First let me say that I am certainly not a "dagger guy" and have never claimed to be; having said that, and from the photos you provide, my original thought was that I liked this piece -- with the caveat that almost no detail is visible in the photos. Hammesfahr was one of the original makers of the 1933 pattern SS dagger, so that's a plus. And in the photo of the reverse crossguard there appears to be a Roman numeral stamped there -- perhaps II or III, it's unclear -- thereby indicating that this piece was part of the early bulk orders placed between 1933 and 1935 for the first SS daggers -- the Roman numerals indicating one of the three original SS districts. That is also a plus. Then I did a bit of research on the SS member's number as stamped onto the underside of the reverse crossguard -- 257134 -- and here I came up emptyhanded, meaning that the owner of this dagger probably never held an officer's rank. But even so, this SS number is certainly within the range of numbers issued as early as 1934, so this too means that this dagger appears to date from the period when SS-Nummer 257134 was actually serving in that body.

Even with all of these pluses, I would encourage you not to move on this piece without written approval for return FOR ANY REASON. Who knows what the actual relic may look like when you have it in your hands?

Best of luck,

Br. James

[JR.]

Photos are limited............ under a gun I would say a period Hammesfahr.