Mystery Sword. No mark.

[Swordfish]

Luke my man-
The pic didn't post. The joint is actually cast integrally when the P-guard/quillion assembly was cast, although I can see how it looks stamped.

[LMG 1]

Sorry chaps did my pic post now? Maybe its by a completely different manufacturer?

[Neil Hever]

I have been told Army sword prices are not in the stratosphere charged by certain on-line dealers. I would say your example falls within the $500 to $650 range. But that may be affected by markings or other anomalies that a more expert collector would know about. I recently picked up an Army sword in slightly lesser condition and value it at $450.
Your example is nice - more than $300 for sure but less than $1K most likely. What did you pay for it? NH

[Frogprince]

Tom,

Thank you for identifying the sword as a Voos. I've had it a very long time. And what you are seeing I think is where the celluloid "skin" was scraped/damaged a little, taking away the glossy appearance at the surface. And I've never made an effort to polish it out, or otherwise fool around with the sword.

Thanks again for your help.

Best Regards, Fred

[Swordfish]

Fred-
It's funny how photos often do that with celluloid- I would guess due to the glossy appearance of the grip. Any surface variation appears quite funkafied in pics. I've experienced the same with some photos i've taken of various sabers I own.

Really nice example. I've never seen this pattern in person. I suspect it's not a very easy pattern by Voos to find- and most of all, it's a looker. Super nice! What's kinda' funny is that most Voos Heer sabers have a Voosesque look to them, often we see the recessed round dot in the center of the swastika created during the casting process, or a few other little peculiarities associated with Voos. This piece doesn't have any of those characteristics, and I really like the example.

Keep me in mind my friend when the time comes .

Neil- your assumption is correct. In the past 24 months, saber prices dipped with a sluggish global economy. Naturally, I heavily took advantage of the cooler market, in the process hitting some very scarce and incredibly conditioned pieces for 50% of what they would have sold for 3 years ago in a collector to collector forum transaction. Dealers- currently a bit overpriced for the current market conditions IMHO. All this said, the market has been warming up significantly. There's been alot of foreign interest (I should say foreign to Americans) especially from the East. Prices will continue to climb, though a bit slower than the precipitous increases seen during the period from 2003-2007. I dislike publicly assigning values on the forums any longer due to misquotes, etc., but I feel in general, the average Heer saber in decent shape is valued at around the $500 mark. Of course prices and value vary based on the totality of circumstances regarding pattern scarcity, condition, completenes w/accoutrements, etc.

Below a couple National Socialist era produced oak-leaf style "roon-esque" Heer sabers. All 3 are devoid of any NS symbolism and only utilizes the traditional oakleaf sprigs and acorns as hilt embellishment. This style of sabers rank amoungst my favorite design, and are not easy patterns to find in great shape. During the reign of the Reich, I believe demand for this style saber was significantly lower than their eagle and swastika embossed counterparts. 1 of the examples below is an exceptionally difficult pattern to find in excellent shape. I don't want to name any numbers, but since it's relative to the discussion above, I will say that on average I spent about 35%-40% of the going rate. I was clearly fortunate since a collecting goal over the years has been to amass 1 of every oak leaf styled Heer saber produced 1933 onward. To date, I probably have roughly 12 and I believe there are still 1 or 2 more examples out there from manufacturers.

The message to my saber collecting brethren: it's still a great time to buy. It's still a buyers market and there are still some exceptional deals to be had...it's a matter of finding them. However, as I eluded to, it's starting to change and the market is starting to neutralize and will continue to climb after that. Buy, buy, buy, buy!

Tom

[MrFaulkner]

thanks for all the info..thats cool..