Hidden Gems - Homework Pays Off!

[hucks216]

Every now and then collectors find themselves in the right place and the right time to bag a bargain for their collection. Sometimes it is finding something at a flea market or sometimes it is because a dealer hasn't quite done his homework and doesn't realise what he has as he is busy getting things ready for an update. Recently, in my case it was the latter.
A few weeks ago after a dealer update I saw a set of citations for sale to a member of the 'German C.I.D' (dealers words), or the Gestapo to you and me. The set consisted of two citations for the Police Service Awards III & II Class, a citation for the 1 Oct 1938 Medal and a citation for the 1st Oct 1938 Spange as well as a Promotion citation and an official letter to go with it. The asking price was 235 Euros which I thought was quite a decent price anyway for a set to a Kriminalsekretär in the Gestapo based at Regensburg. However, it was only after scrolling down the page that I, almost absent-mindedly, noticed that the signatures on the Promotion citation & letter looked very familiar. Not quite believing they could be hand-signed due to the low price I quickly checked the item description but there was no mention of who it was and I also did a double take of the asking price thinking I must of mis-read it, but no - 235 Euros it was. Still not 100% sure the 2 signatures were hand-signed (even though I already have 2 examples on a similar promotion citation & letter and haven't seen a stamped variety) I managed to snap the set up.

Today it arrived and there is no doubt about it, the two signatures are hand signed and a set that should of cost somewhere in the region of £1500 due to the two examples of the signature only cost me the equivalent of £207!

I'll leave the 2 specific items in question until last, but first up are the citations for the Police Service Award III & II Class...


Next, the citations for the 1st October 1938 (Sudetenland) medal and the Spange...


And finally the two pieces of paperwork in question. A give-away as to the signers identity is where the letter originated from, seen at the top right of the letter: Prinz-Albrecht-Straße 8.

The promotion citation looks cropped but that is just due to it being slightly too big for my scanner.


The signer of those two pieces of paper is none other then the Butcher Of Prague - Reichsprotektor Bohemia & Moravia & Chairman of the Wannsee Conference, Reinhard Heydrich.
He died of injuries received during an attack by British trained Czech agents on 27th May 1942 during Operation Anthropoid.
His signature is very rarely seen on the market - Himmler's & Hitler's are more common - and fetchs a high price when it does so I was thrilled to be able to grab them for a phenomenally low fee.


And here is another example of a similar letter from another large grouping in my collection to a member of the Stettin SD...

[Walkwolf]

Great score. It is true - we sometimes find a bargain.........!

[Woolgar]

What a feeling it must have been when the identity of those signatures dawned on you !

Great finds

Nick

[MD Helmets]

Pays to be vigilant. Great documents for any collection! Great job!

[hucks216]

What a feeling it must have been when the identity of those signatures dawned on you !

Nick

I couldn't order it fast enough when I woke up to who they belonged to. I had scrolled down the page looking at the various pieces thinking "It's ok, but nothing I can't live without," got to the bottom and cast an absent-minded glance at the 2 pieces in question and started scrolling back up again and it was only when I got half way up the page that the lightbulb in my head went on and I actually said out loud "Hang on a F****** second!" and rapidly scrolled down again!!

[Bill T]

WOW! What an awesome score. Shows once again how knowledge is indeed power. A keen eye sure does help too tho! Nice work man. Not only did you get the signature, but some very nice docs too

[Paul D]

Nice result Hucks and thanks for posting i don't think we have had an example of Heydrichs signature posted before.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Fantastic deal! I am really pleased for you.

Cheers, Ade.

[sandgroper]

Fantastic mate! As soon as I saw the scribbly signature I could see it was heydrich, well done, his is hard to find and expensive!