German Fernglas 08 Binoculars & Case – Ernst Leitz Wetzlar – 1916- Review please.

[muzrub]

Hi guys,

I recently bought these but I know very little about them. The optics are good, the lenses have no scratches and the case is in pretty good condition.
It also came with a leather strap for the binoculars.
Any info would be awesome.
Essentially, are these WW1 binoculars & what is their true value??? I bought them at auction and have no idea of real value.

Thanks

Cheers,

Jamie

[muzrub]

More pics

[muzrub]

A few more happy snaps

[muzrub]

A few pics of the case, in case

[muzrub]

The case opens too

[muzrub]

Thanks for your help, case closed

[muzrub]

Case reopened.

Any thoughts- is this a matching grouping?

[Sgt Bilko]

They're both from WW1 but the case is a Busch one and the binocular Leitz. Normally the maker of the bino is the same as that stamped on the case. But who's to say how things were issued back then in the jumble of war? I like the unit markings though - something for you to research!

[muzrub]

They're both from WW1 but the case is a Busch one and the binocular Leitz. Normally the maker of the bino is the same as that stamped on the case. But who's to say how things were issued back then in the jumble of war? I like the unit markings though - something for you to research!

Are you refering to lll 55 R?

Thanks for the reply.

cheers,
jamie

[Mikedenmark]

Bino was accepted in may 1916. V.16

lll 55 R would be 3rd battaillon, of infantry regiment 55.

To me it doesn´t really look prussian, so perhaps IR55 came from one of the smaller states. Seems it was part of the Bundeskontigent from Lippe. One of the smaller german states.

http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/IR_55

Whenever surplus equipment was picked up and returned for future use, bino´s and the case´s could be seperated. Then stored seperately, and when ever anyone was issued with a bino, the guy in the depot simply took out a bino and a case. Or, once a bino was dropped or lost, a new one was issued, and as an 08 is an 08, then maker markings meant little.

It is nice if one find matching sets, but mixed ones should be expected.

[Sgt Bilko]

Great info Mike and a good explanation for the mixing of binos and cases. Too often "mixed" sets are written off in forums as being non original. I have a bek marked 6x30 Dienstglas in the civilian Hensoldt marked case it came in. According to some - an impossibility. But the British officer who picked it up from the El Alamien battlefield knew best!

[muzrub]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the info--- A big thanks
Is it rare to have unit markings??? Sorry, my knowledge on binoculars is nil- I just happened to stumble upon these. I'm not at all surprised to find out that these types of items were mixed and matched, to me it adds to the genuineness of the items. So much better than finding matched items mashed together to maximise profit.

Thanks,

Jamie

[Mikedenmark]

Lippe Detmold is a fairly small part of the german army, so markings from them could command a premium.

Personally, I find unit markings very interesting, and as they are rare on some equipment, they tend to be a bit more pricey.