This appeared on ebay today: Enigma . Top photo appears to be an original enigma. But, am I wrong, the detail photo only shows 3 rotors while the top of course shows 4???? Zero feedback seller and private auction. Maybe he should go buy some feedback for a penny.
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I'm thinking if this was real it might have been "looted" from a museum in the former Soviet Union.
But I agree the zero feedback and private auction seem like red flags. Almost like the seller had loads of negative feedback and just decided to start a new account.
I also like that the supersizing of the picture doesn't really do anything.
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Enigma Machine.
Might be wrong but I believe that there was a comercial version of the enigma machine used post war.
This may not be an actual wartime machine , seller does not actually say that it is of 39-45 vintage .
The no feedback / private sale issues.....something eBay can't really say is "safe"..........no way of seeing anything which seller does not want you to see and no way of knowing who you are buying from.
The change of I.D. why do eBay allow it ...is it "safe" if someone with a poor track record can take on a new I.D. ?
Have asked eBay this before but starngely they didn't want to answer.
Not casting any shadow on this seller ....just doubts I have about the eBay system in general....there are some good genuine sellers / traders who use eBay but the system itself leaves much to be desired...private sales and I.D. switching is not user friendly.
Would be interesting to see a close up of the ink stamps on interior face of the lid.......I completely agree that the nature of the jpegs gives little away.
I have found that geting answers from eBay is a little like
your head against a brick wall.
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Questions ?
Have asked the seller of the machine some 's.
Again a little like , he must be
Wonder what it will go for.......sooner buy from Bill Shea if I had a few $'s to spare !
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I also asked some questions. Specifically whether they would consider using Ebay's escrow service for a purchase. No reply.
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Some thoughts.
First and foremost: The rotors should have letters; not numbers.
The rotors should have a cover, not be exposed as they are in the pictures.
There should also be a "removable" rotor; the keying one, and I don't see one in the pics.
The older Enigma's were 3-rotor, a fourth being added later for extra security.
The front panel should be on a hinge to expose the plugboard.
Read "Seizing The Enigma" by David Kahn (Houghton-Mifflin 1991) for more info.-Ralph AbercrombieComment
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Enigma ?
I hope the folks who have placed almost £2,000 in bids have had better luck when asking for information , I think in the absence of answers I would be staying well away from this one.
Just love the Smile of the "banghead"!!!!!
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Enigma
Looked at Kahn's book and Jak Showell's U-Boat Command......some differences between the machines shown in their books and the one on sale.
Would like to see better images of the ebay machine and its keyboard surface etc as outlined earlier , as much for my own education as anything ..although similar I would have some reservations as to the machine being 39-45 vintage.
Surface wires shown on lid and keyboards are certainly different.Comment
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