SS Alpacca Silver Cigarette Case

[Martin Harding]

Hello, I would very much appreciate opinions on what this SS Alpaca Cigarette case might be worth. It is in original condition and although the Case appears not to have been cleaned it still retains all of it's original Silver finish underneath the patina.

SS Alpacca Silver Cigarette Case

[Martin Harding]

SS Alpacca Silver Cigarette Case
Obverse

[Martin Harding]

SS Alpacca Silver Cigarette Case
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[Martin Harding]

SS Alpacca Silver Cigarette Case

[Gaspare]

It's either silver or alpaca,,they are 2 different things. Any markings?

You can never prove an item like this unless there is some sort of provenance..

The mans name initials are E. L.

,,,,,but on the cases corner it is engraved S O ,or O S. [?]

[Vid]

G,

Why would someone engrave a name different than the initials on the front?. I have seen some pretty bad items like this but its a simple case with what appears to be nice engraving.

I don't do silver so don't know, its curious though.

[bwanek1]

Erdter Lehrgang is not a name, it is German, which roughly translates to "first course of instruction." The inscription is supposed to indicate that this item was given to someone as a gift upon completion of his initial training.

That being said, it looks like a standard East European honked-up POS to me. It is almost certainly just another low-grade antique with a bogus inscription to try to increase its value to an unsuspecting buyer.

[Vid]

Seems pretty straight forward to me.

[birdie]

So it it not real beacause?

So you are saying it is fake because there is no provenance? Seems like if someone was going to fake it, they would put an inscription that was a little more sexy than completion of training in 1935........Yes/no?

[bwanek1]

So you are saying it is fake because there is no provenance? Seems like if someone was going to fake it, they would put an inscription that was a little more sexy than completion of training in 1935........Yes/no?

No.

I have seen all sorts of fake engraving on all sorts of items. Some get ambitious and try to fake exotic presentation items to known, high-ranking individuals to shoot for big bucks in a single score and others go for mundane items to anonymous, low-ranking individuals to try to be more convincing (like yours) in order to more easily turn of a modest profit on a higher volume of items. They span the entire range.

[sgstandard]

Cigarette Case

Your reasoning that the item may be authentic because the inscription is plain, may be sound. Unfortunately, fakers will do ANYTHING. There are so many non-military related silver items with fake SS dedications floating around, that even authentic items are sometimes rejected by experienced collectors. This is because there's no way to prove WHEN the engraving was done. Here's a rule of thumb: If the "i"s are dotted with hearts, or the inscription includes a "happy face", it's most likely post-war engraving.

[sgstandard]

Case

Remember - Just because your item is met with cynicism, does NOT mean it's not authentic. I forgot to make that point. Problem is - you'll never really know for sure, and the item will then become a thorn in your collection.

[Gaspare]

Yes, there is probably a half ton of humped up fake engraved cigg cases and watches etc.. Usually way overdone. SS runes a flying,,skulls etc.

- pretty cool,though that its a early date 1935 and non runic SS.. And, very nice engraving..

With the engraving being explained its entirely possible it is a good piece.. How can you prove it? You can't unless there was some sort of provenance... If you really got to have it try and not pay a lot for it.. Under $100. would be fine for most that just have to have it..

[Vid]

I am going to hip shoot and say I like this. The value would be low regardless.

[birdie]

In review...pretty interesting

By asking the question i did, i see we slowed down and reexamined this piece.....I know the intial knee jerk reaction is bad bad bad...but after slowing down and examining the subtleties,, it looks pretty good......