Help with collection/estate of 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf member

[S.R.]

Hello community!

My father (he died in early 2002 as I was 17) was a member of the 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf and we (I and my mother) are in possesion of his military belongings which contain:

2x Totenkopf cuff title
1x belt buckle
2x medals
Various documents
A photo album
POW stuff from Camp Glasenbach (selfmade memorial medal, a letter home to his parents, a handwritten booklet which contains lyrics and musical scores to a song called "Glasenbacher Lagermarsch" and some "funny" rhymes written by the Austrian humorist/author Franz Resl who was also at Glasenbach).

Complete collection is to see here (the text which is censored on the documents is our home address where we still live) http://s86.photobucket.com/user/Ramminger/library/

We ask us now what is actually the value of the complete collection? (I suppose medals, cuff titles and belt buckle are authentic? I know that photos quality is not so good. made it with mobile phone) Cause we have zero knowledge about this things.

Thanks alot in advance! I really apologize me if my thread should be against any board rules!

Greetings from Austria
Sabine Ramminger

[C. Betz]

SS Items

The images contained in the link are too small for any evaluation of the items. Join as an Associate Member ($35/year) and you can post pictures directly.

Or, perhaps an Associate Member will post them for you if you PM a request for help.

Charles Betz

[lassefinn]

Totenkopf

Hallo Sabine,
ich habe dir eine Nachricht geschickt,schau mal in deinen Posteingang,
LG

[coogan]

I'll post a couple for now but the pictures need to be better for proper evaluation

[Ric Ferrari]

Buckle is a late war one by Overhoff

Ric

[Gary B]

Sabine,

I would recommend going to Weitze.com to look up some of your items. Generally speaking prices are dependent on condition and whether or not they were manufactured early in the war or late war. Assuming they are all original here is an estimate:

2x Totenkopf cuff title 3000 - 4000 Euros each

1x belt buckle Approximately 400 - 500 Euro

2x medals About 40 Euros each

Various documents In my opinion the documents to the above medals are worth a few hundred Euros each (SS documents bring a
premium)

A photo album Depends on pictures/content. Can't tell by the photos on the link, but from what can be seen probably under 1000
Euros in the mid to upper hundred Euros)

POW stuff from Camp Glasenbach (selfmade memorial medal, a letter home to his parents, a handwritten booklet which contains lyrics and musical scores to a song called "Glasenbacher Lagermarsch" and some "funny" rhymes written by the Austrian humorist/author Franz Resl who was also at Glasenbach). Probably a couple/few hundred Euros.

Gary B

[Duff]

"Weitze.com" - probably the worst place to acquire realistic pricing or in some cases original items to compare....

[Gary B]

Weitze’s prices are in line with most dealer prices. His prices are a good bench mark for items using a 1:1 USD/Euro conversion rate.

Gary B

[Robert H]

just give it to a good auction house.
Save your time listening, oh its not worth the money ....
Its hard to split a group but we see a spliited group gets more money.

[o.r.k.]

As it is part of your family history I would at leat keep the personal things and album. It surely is an interesting personal piece of history. Once sold it is gone forever.

[CPB]

I don't know your personal financial circumstances obviously, but I can't believe you want to let this stuff go from your family.

[Daniel.S]

"Weitze.com" - probably the worst place to acquire realistic pricing or in some cases original items to compare....

I agree...

he should be careful if Weitze offers him an amount...

[S.R.]

I don't know your personal financial circumstances obviously, but I can't believe you want to let this stuff go from your family.

That has nothing to do with my financial circumstances. Main reason is that we only can store his things in a cupboard cause in Austria it's not allowed by law to display such kind of WW2 items where other people could see it.

I certainly wouldn't think about to let go his stuff when I could put his belongings in a nice frame as decoration on the wall as example. But if you do that here then you are at high risk to get a visit from the Austrian intelligence service/Verfassungssschutz cause one of your friends or relatives was not able to keep shut and started to gossip around "....has lots of "nazi stuff" in her house!" till the wrong person get it to hear.

thanks to "coogan" who posted bigger pictures and to everyone else who did respond. For to make better pictures in high quality I must organize a real camera the mobile phone made ones are not good.

[coogan]

Mobile phone ones are ok , you just need to be closer. Don't worry about showing the whole cuff title at once , instead do several shots of the material close up as your phone will allow you to focus . Concentrate on the Totenkopf lettering and bands near the edge.

That isn't a lot of material to make a small display , just keep it in your home somewhere that visitors don't see.

I wouldn't trade my fathers things unless I really needed the money. Once its gone you will never get it back.

[CPB]

That has nothing to do with my financial circumstances. Main reason is that we only can store his things in a cupboard cause in Austria it's not allowed by law to display such kind of WW2 items where other people could see it.

I certainly wouldn't think about to let go his stuff when I could put his belongings in a nice frame as decoration on the wall as example. But if you do that here then you are at high risk to get a visit from the Austrian intelligence service/Verfassungssschutz cause one of your friends or relatives was not able to keep shut and started to gossip around "....has lots of "nazi stuff" in her house!" till the wrong person get it to hear.

thanks to "coogan" who posted bigger pictures and to everyone else who did respond. For to make better pictures in high quality I must organize a real camera the mobile phone made ones are not good.

Hey, it's your bat and your ball. For me, I'd sooner have it and not display it, than scatter it to the winds and never see it again. You have to do what you have to do, of course