Newsletter No. 219 September 5, 2016
More fantasy pieces for fun and profit
by Harry von Johnston. PhD.
This is a piece that shows imagination but little historical knowledge. It is the so-called “Hitler Youth Danzig Olympics dagger” dated 1936.
Danzig was a free city in 1936, officially not a part of any country, and did not have representation at the 1936 Olympics, ergo they did not have a “honor dagger.”
This piece was made in India and the company made twenty pieces for an American dealer.
The dealer sold at least seven to his trusting customers and the rest to fellow dealers.
This farce was “authenticated” by several well-known experts (who also sold these. Was there a Certificate of Authenticity accompanying it? So many fakes have to have these now to keep the boobery happy)
And a technical note here. All scabbards for the original Hitler Youth knives had no bordering at the top of the scabbard. A scabbard with a border strip at the top is a recent fake.
English (United States) 
German
2 thoughts on “Newsletter No. 219 September 5, 2016”
It never ceases to interest me how easily most people are self-deluded. The German militaria market is an excellent example of this.
Original pieces from a war fought 70 years ago are mostly in collections or destroyed but where there is an interest, there is always a market and when there is a market, there is always a merchant to work it.
And these silly forums seem to be full of unknowing but hopeful collectors who use forums to bolster their lack of knowledge and those who seek comfort and reassurance in the company of other hopefuls.
Those silly SS buckles are an example.
And this dagger is a fake but I will bet the Big Dealers sold quite a number of them.
The dealers whom you have exposed as merchants of fraud and the collector/victims really loathe and despise you for exposing frauds.
Screwed collectors ought, by rights, to hate the dealers who shoved fakes off on them but human nature being what it is, they all will hate you.
Keep it up, I say, and have some of your people go to the big shows and take pictures.
I am sending you hundred of pictures I have harvested from the internet that I am sure you can put to good use.
Misha
It’s the envy of Sisyphus, trying to push the cart uphill but I keep at it.
The forum types hate me, I agree, but I would ask if they were anybody in particular?
Barely literate, rude, opinionated and wrong they are but they do damage to the legitimate collectors in that they endlessly jabber about what is fake and what is not.
They attack original pieces as fake because they have fakes and they praise fakes as original because they just bought one.
These are not collectors in any sense of the word but equal to little girls comparing Barbie dolls.
When the fakes are exposed and the weekend collectors find better things to do, the collecting world will return to normal and we won’t have to hear about how many pebbles are on an SS uniform button or learn that this or that prestigious auction house has the Rommel Honor Dagger coming up in its next auction.
And thank you for the many pictures.
I assure you I will use them.
ADR