{"product_id":"original-german-wwii-excellent-army-heer-officer-dagger-by-alcoso-with-scabbard-circa-1939-1940","title":"Original German WWII Excellent Army Heer Officer Dagger by Alcoso with Scabbard - circa 1939 - 1940","description":"\u003cp\u003eOriginal Item: Only One Available. This is an excellent condition circa 1939-1940 example of the typical German WWII Army Officer dagger with its original scabbard made by the Solingen-based firm of \u003cem\u003eAlcoso-Werk GmbH\u003c\/em\u003e. The fittings of this dagger look to be early solid nickel alloy, which was then silver plated, and oxidized over time leaving a lovely tarnished patina. It comes complete with its original scabbard, which matches it perfectly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe pommel of this dagger is in good condition, showing wear around the rim, which has exposed the nickel base metal. The balance of the pommel retains the tarnished plating well, and the standing oak leaves and acorns on the sides are crisply detailed and have good darkened backgrounds. The crossguard also shows much of the original silver plating, with wear through to the base metal on the sides. The details throughout the eagle are good throughout the head, breast and wing feathering, talons and wreathed mobile swas, showing only light wear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe celluloid grips of these daggers often fade over time, sometimes to a dark orange color. This example however is still the original ivory white color, with just a bit of staining in the recessed grooves and elsewhere. There is a bit of light scratching, but no cracks or chunks missing. The plated steel ferrule is intact, and in very good shape, still retaining the original plating very well. The hilt is overall a bit loose on the tang due to the grip shrinking.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe carbon steel blade is in truly excellent condition, with nearly full factory final polish crossgrain, and virtually no oxidation we can see, just some scuffing from cleaning. This texture is iconic, and is the definitive identifying characteristic for a real WWII German Blade. The edge has correctly not been sharpened, and the needle like tip is completely intact! We haven't seen a blade in this great condition in some time! The leather blade washer is still intact and in place inside the crossguard.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe reverse ricasso is etched with the trademark Alcoso used in 1939-1940. It depicts the scales with the firm's initials, \u003cstrong\u003eACS\u003c\/strong\u003e interspersed. Above is the firm's name, \u003cb\u003eALCOSO\u003c\/b\u003e, and below the town of business, \u003cstrong\u003eSOLINGEN\u003c\/strong\u003e, the legendary \"City of Blades\" in Western Germany.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAlcoso\u003c\/b\u003e was originally a trade name of Alexander Coppel \u0026amp; Co. KG, Stahlwarenfabrik, located in Solingen, the legendary German \"City of Blades.\" 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. For more information please see J. Anthony Carter's book, \u003cem\u003eGERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe silver-plated steel scabbard is a typical Alcoso type, having the distinctive rounded shape to the shell, and shows a great tarnished patina and most of original plating intact. There are no dents or bends in the scabbard body that we can see. The sides have very crisp, finely pebble-grained panels. The alloy carrying bands have a pattern of overlapping oak leaves and acorns, with hand enhancing evident on each of the leaves. They do show light wear and denting from service. The throat is the wider style, retained by a single flush mount screw on the rear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOverall a great example of a German Heer Officer's Dagger with scabbard, from a maker with a somber back story.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpecifications:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBlade Length: 10\"\u003cbr\u003eBlade Style: Spear Point Dagger\u003cbr\u003eOverall length: 14 1\/4“\u003cbr\u003eCrossguard: 2 3\/4”\u003cbr\u003eScabbard Length: 11 1\/8\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe German Army (Heer) first carried a dagger beginning in 1935. The weapon was worn in lieu of occasions not demanding the wearing of a more formal sword. The dagger design was quite attractive featuring silvered heavy fittings with white or colored grip. The crossguard depicted a Wehrmacht open-winged eagle clutching a wreathed swas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe pommel depicted oak leafing around the outer circumference. The scabbard had panels of pebble designs. Later produced examples were plated with nickel, and late war-made pieces were unplated, finished in a gray color metal. This early war version is quite nice, and in great shape.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Original Items","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45237163262021,"sku":"ONJR26JURA022","price":895.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1524\/1342\/files\/EA9BC7E4-F7A5-4841-9C67-30CB965210E5.jpg?v=1782920412","url":"https:\/\/www.ima-usa.com\/products\/original-german-wwii-excellent-army-heer-officer-dagger-by-alcoso-with-scabbard-circa-1939-1940","provider":"International Military Antiques","version":"1.0","type":"link"}