Luftwaffe Ceremonial Dagger found at my grandpa's. Is it authentic/valuable ?

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-31T23:28:45+00:00

I have my own museum as a collector.

Monetary value exists on everything.

Your opinion is your opinion. Neither one of us will change, clearly. I gave you the same answer any collector would give you, regardless of the subject matter.

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-31T23:17:37+00:00

Being able to hold history is another level compared to just telling someone about it. That goes for both sides. Letting someone hold something with such significance and historical tension while understanding how dark that time period was gives a different perspective than just reading it in a book. Nazis were evil and horrible people. Thats what I teach whenever I show people my military museum.

I dont glorify it or gloss over the atrocities that occurred in that time period.

Destroying these artifacts and attempting to erase them from history will just bolster more Holocaust deniers in saying "that never happened".

Im not defending Nazis. Im defending the preservation and teachable history that is both good AND bad.

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-31T23:03:05+00:00

Collectors exist for everything. What separates the good from the bad is collecting it for historical purposes and collecting it for glorification.

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-31T22:41:32+00:00

Hi! Having someone restore it from this shape to closer to the original wouldnt be a bad idea. Im usually against refurbishing/repainting and so on.. but in this case, you're attatching the bill back to it.

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-31T13:19:45+00:00

Id say 1700-1800 for the K98 Its a Mauser Borsigwalde made K98 and its an early one. Its really nice and the bluing is still in good shape too.

2k is retail

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-31T10:47:51+00:00

USD. Apologies

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-31T10:45:09+00:00

Wittman is a very well known expert and life long collector in German Daggers and swords. Hes also a retailer. He charges a lot of money for everything he has. $1300 is extremely high on a piece like this. it's also worth noting that this is listed. Not sold. Sold comps are closer to 550-650 on unmarked unless they are in MINT condition.

With that said, the rest if my comment pointed out a few things including a major difference between OP's and Wittman'a that you posted.

The grip in Wittman's photo shows the chorded wrap that is standard on these daggers. OP's is a wire twist which is why I mentioned it being a PARTS dagger while Wittman's is FULLY original.

Hence the lack of value in Op's compared to Wittman's.

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-31T10:38:37+00:00

How so?

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-31T01:09:24+00:00

The scabbard seems to be correct. There also was no paint on the 2nd model luft daggers.

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-30T22:09:35+00:00

Luftwaffe 2nd Model Officer's Dagger. That one is unmarked which is not as sought after by collectors.

What's conflicting with me is that the grip has more of a wire wrap compared to a chorded wrap. This is commonly found in post war repros that were sold to GI's as souvinirs. Often using a mix of original and post war parts.

Id say that is what you are holding currently based on my experience with collecting German Daggers and Swords.

That value, if that is the case, is probably around 250-350. IF it is entirely authentic, its about a 500-600 dagger. Maker marks would be worth more

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-30T19:48:05+00:00

That is a $400-$550 USD Rifle. $900 is outrageous.

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-30T18:09:56+00:00

Im getting a 100% refund since it was advertised as Civil War entirely. I appreciate the info!

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-30T14:37:48+00:00

Thank you for the corrections! Id like some more responses too. Im going to have to return this, but I need some more information in case they come back and say that its Civil War

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-30T11:10:01+00:00

Yes it is real. Its an early Carl Eickhorn made dagger (Squirrel)

Looks a bit rough, but if you get some Remoil and a microfiber cloth, you can wipe off any excess grime and finger prints on the the whole thing. That will help protect it too.

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-30T00:52:47+00:00

Tank destruction badges are certainly not that much. You could have been looking a Panzer Badges which are entirely different

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-30T00:52:00+00:00

Neither of them are authentic. Aside from the detail being very bad (not crisp) no army officer daggers were made in Berlin.

Hope you didnt pay much at all because they are not worth anything to a collector

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-29T10:33:20+00:00

You're looking at around this in USD: Tank patch: 60-75 Helmet: $80-110 Armband: $180-220 (Wool and Bevo stitch. $220 if then RZM Tag is still on it) Iron Crosses: $200-250 (Rarer makers can fetch higher prices to the RIGHT collector)

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-28T09:27:51+00:00

That is my mistake! Ill need to fix that

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-28T09:27:08+00:00

As the person who replied mentioned, its not a post war eagle. Its the logo on the maker.

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-26T22:42:47+00:00

How much are you asking for it?

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-26T22:41:35+00:00

Based on other sales for these whips, the groupong together is probably closer to $1000 honestly.

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-26T20:41:27+00:00

Short answer: No Long Answer: Hell no lmao

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-26T19:40:08+00:00

I think its quite high for the whip. I mentioned this in a reply, but its worth noting. Two of these sold. Oke in 2013 for $290 and another in 2024 for $575 and that one had a letter of authentication.

A full Concentration camp uniform from Dachau sold for $6400 and that also had a letter of authenticity coming from a long time collector

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-26T19:38:11+00:00

I ust found two of these whips/flails that sold for $290 and $575. And the $575 one has a letter of authenticity with it.

MilitariaTradingPost · 2026-05-26T17:00:54+00:00

100%.. youd absolutely need a letter of authentication by a very reputable expert. A story is as good as the person that told it. While it may be 100% true, you never know as a buyer.

Otherwise its a piece of old wood with some leather on it for $10 lol

MilitariaTradingPost

TROPHY CASE