Original Item: One of a Kind Set. This is a fantastic and extremely rare Zollgrenzschutz Land Customs Official USGI Bring back set, consisting of a dress dagger, belt hanger, collar tab insignia, and even a cuff title, signed Tim Shields on the inner side. We assume this is the name of the soldier who brought it back, and then mounted it and the other items inside a display box decades ago. This box unfortunately was in poor condition, and more importantly, the red felt backing used actually reacted with the metal components of the set, resulting in oxidation on the reverse of most of the items. It even oxidized the pins holding the insignia in place, which had to have the heads snipped off to avoid damaging them. Definitely an interesting set with a lot of history!

The Zollgrenzschutz (ZGS) was an organization under the German Finance Ministry from 1937 to 1945. It was charged with guarding Germany's borders, acting as a combination Border Patrol and Customs & Immigration service. It originated in the early 19th century as a tariff enforcement unit of the Prussian government. Reorganized in 1919 under the Weimar Republic following World War I, it gradually became more militarized and transformed into a paramilitary force, also due to the economic woes of blockade, inflation and Great Depression.

In NSDAP Germany it was reformed again in 1937 by Fritz Reinhardt, a State Secretary of the Finance Ministry. It came to comprise about 50,000 officials. The Border Police (Grenzpolizei), which had the tasks of passport and border control, was different from the Customs Border Guards (Zollgrenzschutz).

Heinrich Himmler tried to bring the Zollgrenzschutz under the control of the Schultzstaffel (SS), which was unsuccessful at first. During the war, the units were used in occupied territories outside of Germany. A significant portion of younger officials were recruited to the Wehrmacht, leaving the Zollgrenzschutz with older men. After the 20 July 1944 assassination attempt on AH, the units were taken out of the control of the Finance Ministry and placed under Amt IV (Gestapo) of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA). It was deactivated at the end of World War II in Europe when Germany was partitioned.

The Dress Dagger in this set was produced the well-known firm of Alcoso-Werke in Solingen, and is a very nice lightly patinated example. It looks to have a mixture of zinc alloy and aluminum fittings, which have been plated and silver washed. They show wear and some oxidation, particularly on the reverse where they were in contact with the red felt mounting. The design is for the most part the same as the Army Officer dagger, with a Reichsadler Eagle cross guard and pommel with the usual twelve standing art deco style oak leaves around the edges. Both do show damage, with the zinc alloy showing cracks on the base of the pommel, and the wreathed swas at the bottom of the eagle broke off, and was then reglued with a piece of wood or cardboard on the back.

The grip is wood covered in fine dark green Moroccan leather. This leather remains in very good condition, tightly wrapped with twisted plated steel wire. There is just a bit of finish loss, and no exposure of the wooden under layer, just some discoloration where it contacted the red felt. The wire binding has lost most of the plating, and how shows overall oxidation, particularly on the reverse. The hilt fittings are still tight on the tang, though they were probably removed at one point when the cross guard was repaired, and were then fitted on the blade backwards.

The blade on this example is in very good condition, with the factory final polish grind cross grain present in many areas, though it is worn away in others. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. It looks like the blade had staining in various areas, not uncommon on the bright steel, and then was cleaned to remove this, making the cross grain faint. The needle-like tip is still intact, with no bending, and the edge is still nice, with no chips or sharpening.

The reverse ricasso is stamped with the trademark Alcoso used from 1936-1940. It depicts the scales with the firm's initials, ACS interspersed. Above is the firm's name in an arc, ALCOSO, and below the town of business, SOLINGEN, the legendary "City of Blades" in Western Germany. This is unfortunately difficult to see and impossible to photograph, as the cross guard is now on backwards, and the eagle is in the way.

Alcoso is a trade name of Alexander Coppel & Co. KG, Stahlwarenfabrik, located in Solingen, the legendary German "City of Blades." Per J. Anthony Carter's work GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS, the company was a major manufacturer of edged weapons and tools from the end of the 19th century up until the WWII period. Unfortunately, as NSDAP-control increased, brothers Carl Gustav and Dr. Alexander Coppel, the Jewish owners of the firm, were forced out. In 1936 the firm had been "Aryanized", and started using the name ALCOSO to hide the Jewish family name. By the end of 1936 the brothers were ejected from their Solingen offices, and by 1940 the brand trademark initials ACS were changed to AWS to reflect the change in ownership and name: Alexander Coppel Solingen to Alcoso-Werk Solingen. Carl Gustav Coppel committed suicide in Solingen in 1941, and Dr. Alexander Coppel was arrested in 1942 and sent to Theresienstadt Prison camp, where he died August 5th 1942. The factory itself was destroyed by Allied bombers in November 1944.

The scabbard shell is straight throughout, covered in matching dark green Moroccan leather and fitted with plated brushed steel. It is in very good condition for the most part, though as with the dagger, the reverse was in contact with the red felt, which resulted in plating loss and oxidation on the rear of the fittings. These mounts are retained by flush mount side screws and are styled with decorative lines on on the front side only.

The dagger comes complete with original hangers that are in very good condition, looking to have seen only light use. It does appear however that these are probably army officer dagger hangers, which had the stripes colored green to look like they are for a customs official. We assume this was done during the period, as the color has how faded. The hardware is a mixture of aluminum and plated zinc, however as with the other items the rear of the top box buckle and the spring clips was in contact with the felt, causing oxidation and loss of plating.

The end clips are the more complex and desirable sliding type, and one is marked with the "barred A" trademark, of F. W. Assmann & Söhne of Lüdenscheid, a large maker of belts, buttons, and other accouterments. The velvet backing of the hanger is mostly intact, though there is wear at the edges. The straps are also a bit stiff, as it appears that the set was stored in a relatively damp environment for a long time, which resulted in some oxidation in the aluminum. The spring clips are also frozen for this same reason.

The included matching left and right set of Land Customs tabs are quite luxurious looking and are of a very high quality. They are made with the correct lacquered buckram internal stiffeners, and wrapped with a fine green felt background. The silver flatwire embroidery is exceedingly well executed, and shows just a bit of oxidation on a few strands. We can see a few remaining stitches around the edges, so they do look to have been installed at one time. We have compared them against many period originals, and they are 100% correct. There is just a bit of mothing on the tabs, and the buckram also is a bit warped due to moisture exposure.

The last item in the set is a lovely service used Land Customs / Border Police green cuff title, which features silver bullion embroidery. It has silver on the edges, and there is a Reichsadler Eagle in the center. There is definitely wear to the edges and the exterior, which is darker than the interior, where it is signed Tim Shields. It measures 14 1/2" x 1 1/4", and really looks the business.

This is a truly remarkable set with a scarce dagger from the Land Customs Officials of WWII Germany, complete with other associated items and insignia. Comes ready to research and display!

Dimensions:
Blade Length: 9 3/4”
Crossguard Width: 3”
Grip Length: 4 1/2”
Total Length: 14 1/2”
Scabbard Length: 11 5/8”