Original Item: Only One Available. We received this dagger as part of a small collection purchased from a retiring collector. It is a fine Solingen-Produced totally original WWII German 2nd Model Naval Dagger by ALCOSO, complete with a nice "lightning bolt" style scabbard.

This 2nd Model Naval Dagger was almost certainly purchased by a high ranking officer early in the period as the pommel is a 1938 changeover type. It has very deeply inset wings and an impressive vault wreath. The details to this bird are also choice, with a striking eye, beak and breast. The crossguard is a standard naval type, with a nice patina of age. Scabbard locking button is fully functional, and also in great shape.

The grip is in excellent condition, with just a small chip near where the wire wrap inserts near the pommel. It has however faded to a pumpkin orange color, which happens often due to the unstable nature of the celluloid plastic used. The wire wrap is excellent, and there's just a bit of staining on the grip.

The lightning bolt scabbard is mostly straight, with some denting on both sides, though it does not appear to have been bent. The scabbard is stamped with well-defined palmettes around the bands and lightning bolts, ermine feet and acanthus leaves down to the chape. The bands feature overlapping oak leaves and acorns. The ring ferrules are the triple serrated type, and the rings are still present.. The throat is retained by two dome head screws, which do not appear to have been removed. The finish overall is mostly faded aged brass, as the gold plating was the type that "evaporates" easily with cleaning and contact to air. There is still a bit left around the fittings.

The blade is an very nice example, with a high quality plain steel finish and an excellent fouled anchor etch. The etch is beautiful, retaining 90% of the frosted backgrounds. There is a bit of staining in areas, and overall there is a bit of an oxidized patina, typical of plain steel blade. No edge nicks, though there is a tiny bit of tip damage.

The reverse ricasso is stamped with the trademark Alcoso used from 1937-1939. It depicts the scales with the firm's initials, ACS interspersed. Above is the firm's name, ALCOSO in an arch shape and below the town of business, SOLINGEN, the legendary "City of Blades" in Western Germany.

Alcoso is a trade name of Alexander Coppel & 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.

Overall a nice example of a German Naval Dagger, from a maker with a somber back story.