SS skull

[Don Bible]

I am not a skull collector, but bought this one in a grouping that I plan to keep. The other items I know more about, and have no doubts about. I would like to hear comments on this skull from those who have experience in this area.

[Niederlande]

Good eagle Don, but you mentioned a skull

[PMan]

Skull

Good morning Don!

[Don Bible]

Thanks for the correction. I was still half asleep when I posted this. Also thanks for your reply.

I do have one skull brought back by a veteran friend. He gave it to me many years ago. It is a 499/41. Unfortunateky both prongs are missing. He hurriedly removed it from a hat which he threw in the fire in the middle of a Frankfurt street, when they were cleaning out an area in the I.G Farben building just across from the Hauptbahnhof. Makes one want to cry.

[SScollector]

Real

[Don Bible]

Thanks for the opinions on the eagle that I called a skull ! I forgot to ask who the maker is on this eagle.

[Niederlande]

RZM M1/17; E. W. Assmann & Söhne

[Don Bible]

Niederlande, thank you for the information about the maker of the eagle.
This is an all new field to me, although I am a long time collector of TR.

[Don Bible]

Niederlande and SScollector,
Both of you gave the OK on the M 1 /17 eagle that I posted this morning, and later today Niederlande gave me the maker information as E.W. Assmann & Sohne.

With this information I searched all the old threads on this subject and was surprised to learn that the general opinion of the M 1 /17 eagle in 2003 was that it should be avoided like the Bubonic Plague.

Several times I read in the 2003 era threads that there was no known example of an M1 /17 eagle being acquired from a veteran source.

This is probably old news by now, but the M1 /17 eagle I posted today, came from the grandson of a veteran, who was given the contents of his grandfather's packed boxes in the attic, by his grandmother.

In addition to the eagle there were three other pieces---the most important being a German police warrant disc for the GEMEINDEKRIMINALPOLIZEI. This type disc, though not as valuable, is much rarer than the Gestapo version. The disc is an unquestionable original, with what I believe to be the original chain.

As I progressed through the many threads, I could see that the M 1/17 by Assmann was eventually added to the "GOOD" list in 2005, yet I was never able to determine from the threads just how that change of opinion came about.

Can either of you tell me in a few words just what brought the change about--or can you refer me to some other information that I can read for myself.

Thanks to you both for helping me along in a field in which I am thoroughly unfamiliar.

[SScollector]

Before I was even in the picture, most collectors had deemed the M1/17 marked eagles fake. I don't know why, but it took me a while to help fix this mistake.

In 2005, I acquired one directly from a vet and for the first time, I was then able to examine one closely. I found that it was the same exact eagle on the front side, as the 155/36 marked Assmann eagles. After that, there were other vet acquired eagles that showed up from time to time, and now they are just as well known as any of the original birds. Congrats!

Chris

[Don Bible]

Chris, thank you for taking time to tell me how the M1 /17 Assmann eagle was finally determined to be original. I am very pleased to learn that the eagle I got in the grouping with the police warrant disc was also original. I don't often throw the dice on a piece which I know nothing at all about, but I knew the disc was an original and I felt like the eagle was also, but really had nothing to go on except the company it was keeping.