Original Cold War Era East German DDR General Officer’s Dagger Set With Presentation Case Presented to Nicaraguan Sandinista Leader with Wax Seal Award Note
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Original Item: Only One Available. This is a nice example of an East German National People's Army (NVA) General’s Dagger with the correct scabbard, hanger, and presentation case, which was presented to Compadre Enrigo Covaltes of the Sandinista People’s Army of Nicaragua. The generals/admiral daggers of the DDR were adopted for wear in 1960. They made their first public appearance during the May Day Parade of 1961. The majority of these daggers are identical in appearance, being of lacquer-coated polished brass. However, some presentation daggers were gold-plated and this one appears to be an example of one. This gold plating was discontinued after 1983.
These gold-plated presentation daggers were boxed in white goat skin-covered cases, with a gold colored DDR crest, with the motto “For the Defense of the Workers and Peasants Power”, embossed on the lower right of the case lid. Some were also found being presented in cases similar to this blue velvet example.
Some of the gold dagger scabbards were engraved and some were not like this example. The only two types of engravings now known to be legitimately documented and accepted for DDR daggers are “Presented by the Minister for National Defense of the DDR”. Regular officers' daggers are also documented as having these same presentation inscriptions from the minister of defense. Some of these were engraved after the collapse of the DDR. An example of this post-collapse engraving would be an inscription with a West German Spelling. Fortunately as this was presented to a military leader of an allied country, it was not engraved and instead was issued with a small award certificate, which reads:
BERLIN-STRAUSSBERG den 5.08.1989
EHRENGABE (GIFT OF HONOR)
COMPADRE ENRIGO COVALTES
SANTINISTISCH VOLKSARMEE NIGARAGUAS
The small 4 x 6” certificate has a red wax seal authenticating the award, and the back is a “Guarantee Certificate” with a 12-month warranty on the dagger in case of issue. Interestingly, the certificate incorrectly lists the serial number as 05093, when it’s actually 06093.
The blade ricasso bears no manufacturer marking but does have the serial number 06093 present. In a sense, these daggers have dual history showing how hard it was for people to recover after the fall of the Berlin wall and the reunification of Germany.
The overall condition is quite nice and definitely displays in the case quite nicely with great contrasting colors. The case itself measures approximately 17"L x 6 3/4" x 2". Comes more than ready for further research and display.
Specifications:
Blade Length: 9 3/4"
Overall length: 14 1/4"
Crossguard: 4 1/4”
Scabbard Length: 11”
The Sandinista National Liberation Front (Spanish: Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) is a Christian socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto César Sandino, who led the Nicaraguan resistance against the United States occupation of Nicaragua in the 1930s.
The FSLN overthrew Anastasio Somoza Debayle in the 1979 Nicaraguan Revolution, ending the Somoza dynasty, and established a revolutionary government in its place. Having seized power, the Sandinistas ruled Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, first as part of a Junta of National Reconstruction. Following the resignation of centrist members from this Junta, the FSLN took exclusive power in March 1981. They instituted literacy programs, nationalization, land reform, and devoted significant resources to healthcare, but came under international criticism for human rights abuses, including mass execution and oppression of indigenous peoples. They were also criticized for mismanaging the economy and overseeing runaway inflation.
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