Japanese Samurai surrender sword from WWII brings $7,538 at Mohawk Arms A Samurai sword surrendered by Japanese Rear Admiral Nobukagu Yoshimi on the Marshall Islands in 1945 sold for $7,538 at a live and Internet sale that ended Nov. 16-17 by Mohawk Arms, Inc.
in the 1937-38 period, went for $3,975; and a lot of ten medals awarded to Sgt. Daniel S. Steinbach, a 101st Airborne paratrooper who was killed at Normandy Jun. 6, 1944, made $2,875.
One other noteworthy lot from exotica was Adolf Hitler’s proof copy of the large-format pictorial, Deutschland, with the cover featuring Hitler’s personal library bookplate. It brought $2,473. The upper right corner of the flyleaf had Hitler’s abbreviated signature and he personally made 19 corrections and initialed all. Hitler’s anti-smoking views were expressed in the volume.
A collection of 70 World War II awards, badges and insignias, made by the American Emblem Company in Utica, N.Y. (to include a Silver Star, combat rifleman’s badges and Red Cross pins) coasted to $1,763. The top lot of the edged weapons category was a Third Reich high-ranking prison official’s dress sword with an excellent 31 ¾ inch curved blade ($3,082).
On to headgear. A German SS M1935 double decal helmet, pre-war, showing the SS and swastika shields, both of which showed minor wear, plus a leather chinstrap, realized $6,413; and an M1934 double decal SS VT/SD helmet, with the original field gray finish showing some wear and the SS decal and the swastika shield decals subdued from age, hammered for $3,450.
A pair of Third Reich Allgemeine SS M1933 ribbed black wool peaked caps, both with a white piped band and crown, were sold as consecutive lots for $5,400 and $2,703, respectively; and an Austrian Senior NCO 7th Uhlan Battalion bugler shapka (round, slightly tapered brimless fur hat), an officer type with red horsehair bush and black leather body with gold gilt, hit $2,358.
Two lots drew identical sale prices of $1,840 each. The first was an Afrika Corps M1942 helmet, with an aged tan finish (worn away along the base perimeter of the body), an Army decal and folding-type leather framed goggles. The second was an Army AK Mediterranean M1942 camouflage helmet, light mustard green with rust splotch pattern and original tan leather liner.
An Indo-Persian helmet with the basic bowl shape of the kulah khud but with an extra lower section and sloping front and back visors, circa 18th/19th century, profusely chiseled with gold washed figures, brought $3,335; and a 14th or 15th century mid-European “Ritterwschwert” large, flat round pommel and round bar-type crossguard with 30 ¾ inch blade, sold for $1,763.
A uniform grouping related to Panzer Lt. Heinz Rohde, who served in the German 116th Panzer Grenadier division during World War II, plus a brief biography of Lt. Rohde and photos of him, garnered $2,350; and a German Waffen SS M1944 camouflage uniform, size 34, with four-pocket tunic with green and tan splotch pattern on a salmon background, made $1,763.
Mohawk Arms, Inc.’s next big auction is tentatively scheduled for the first weekend in June, although exact times and dates are still to be announced. Watch the website for details as spring draws nearer, at www.MilitaryRelics.com. As with all other Mohawk Arms auctions, the June event will
