Original Item: Only One Available. This is an original German WWII Metropolitan Police long dress, or “walking out,” bayonet by Alexander Coppel of Solingen, complete with its black leather scabbard and an attached black leather frog. The scabbard retains the unit marking S. Kg. 1138 for the Königsberg Metropolitan Schutzpolizei, while the frog is faintly dated 1938 and marked LBA, indicating Luftwaffe issue. The bayonet itself features stag grip plates, aluminum police insignia, nickel plated brass alloy fittings, and a bright nickel plated blade.

The hilt is constructed from nickel plated brass alloy and features a decorative Bird’s Head pommel without a functional bayonet slot, appropriate to a dress or walking out pattern. The upswept crossguard is decorated with oak leaves. The grip scales are genuine stag horn with an aluminum police insignia firmly mounted to one side. They are secured with solid aluminum rivets and remain tight with no noticeable movement.

Both the crossguard and Bird’s Head pommel remain in very good condition with much of the original nickel plating intact. There is finish wear at the end of the crossguard, plating loss on the rear of the hilt, and additional wear through the nickel along portions of the pommel edges.

The reverse of the crossguard originally carried a unit marking, but this has been removed, exposing the brass base metal beneath.

The reverse of the scabbard still retains the unit marking:

S. Kg. 1138

This marking indicates issue to the Königsberg Metropolitan Schutzpolizei, with 1138 representing the individual weapon or personnel number within that district system. Königsberg was the historic capital of East Prussia on the Baltic. Following WWII, the city and surrounding region became part of the Soviet Union and the city was renamed Kaliningrad.

The nickel plated steel blade measures approximately 33cm, or 13 1/8". It is of the cut down style with the fuller extending almost to the point. The blade remains bright and retains more than 80% of its original nickel plating. There is scattered oxidation speckling and localized finish wear. The final approximately 3" of the blade shows more noticeable plating loss and surface wear from repeated contact with the scabbard throat and from past cleaning.

The ricasso is maker marked:

ALEXANDER COPPEL
SOLINGEN

in arcs surrounding the firm’s scales trademark, with the initials ACS incorporated into the design. The opposite side of the blade carries a larger version of the scales trademark. This type of trademark was used on Police and other dress bayonets during the Weimar republic and up into the beginning of the NSDAP era, up until around 1940, per J. Anthony Carter's work GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS.

Alexander Coppel & Co. KG, Stahlwarenfabrik, was 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.

The scabbard is constructed from black leather with heavily nickel plated brass alloy fittings. It remains in very good service used condition. The leather has become stiff with age and shows substantial finish loss, giving portions of the surface a brown appearance. The nickel plated fittings show minor wear and localized plating loss but remain well preserved overall.

The attached black leather frog is an early military style example secured with aluminum rivets. Its stitching remains intact and the leather is in very good condition overall.

The reverse of the frog is faintly marked:

1938
LBA

The LBA marking identifies Luftwaffe clothing or equipment acceptance. This indicates that the frog itself was originally Luftwaffe issue rather than purpose made for Metropolitan Police use, and it should therefore be regarded as an associated period accessory rather than assumed original to this police bayonet from initial issue. The maker marking on the frog is too faint to identify.

With its Alexander Coppel ACS scales trademark, stag grips, aluminum police insignia, Königsberg S. Kg. 1138 scabbard marking, bright nickel plated blade, and complete leather scabbard and frog, this is a particularly appealing Metropolitan Police dress bayonet. The removed crossguard unit marking, plating wear, oxidation speckling, stiff scabbard leather, and 1938 dated LBA frog are all fully disclosed. It would display especially well in a German Police edged weapon, Königsberg Schutzpolizei, Alexander Coppel maker, or advanced German WWII dress bayonet collection.

Specifications:
Blade Length: 13 1/8"
Blade Style: Single Edged with Fuller
Overall length: 17 1/2”
Crossguard: 2 1/4”
Scabbard Length: 14 3/8”