DDR Officers dagger

[HARRY THE MOLE]

A nice example... and getting to be quite rare.

[Watchdog]

Here is the General officers variant.

The main difference in the dagger which has a gold finish like the Volksmarine version is that the pommel has the DDR Staatswappen.

The brocade belt is obviously different in colour and style of brocade though the backing is the same grey as the Heer version.

The hanger has an airforce blue backing whilst the Heer is red, the navy is dark blue and I believe that there is a green version for the Grenztruppen. I am sure I have seen them but they do not seem to appear in reference material for some reason (any ideas?).

The last picture is a standard Heer officers version but shows the difference between early and late patterns of finishing. The pointed end is early and the square is late.



regards

Mark

[Blitzvogel]

Here is the General officers variant.

The main difference in the dagger which has a gold finish like the Volksmarine version is that the pommel has the DDR Staatswappen.

The brocade belt is obviously different in colour and style of brocade though the backing is the same grey as the Heer version.

The hanger has an airforce blue backing whilst the Heer is red, the navy is dark blue and I believe that there is a green version for the Grenztruppen. I am sure I have seen them but they do not seem to appear in reference material for some reason (any ideas?).

The last picture is a standard Heer officers version but shows the difference between early and late patterns of finishing. The pointed end is early and the square is late.

regards

Mark

Bravo Mark, you've photographed these beautiful items very well! The Keubke-Kunz DDR uniform reference book has photos of the differently colored generals daggers (except for the green one for Grenztruppen, but I have seen a couple of them for sale on Ebay).

[Watchdog]

The Keubke-Kunz DDR uniform reference book has photos of the differently colored generals daggers (except for the green one for Grenztruppen, but I have seen a couple of them for sale on Ebay).

Thanks, yes I have that book and it was when I noticed the green hangers were not shown that I realised I had not seen reference to them in other books.

I have seen them on Ebay too I think but I definately saw them on fleamarkets in Berlin when the wall came down and the place was awash with this stuff. I actually held them in my hands but wasn't too interested in the daggers then (we all know that feeling!!).

I wonder if these were "semi-official" items and that is why they do not appear in references that deal only with the "Government Approved/issued" items? Or maybe just fantasy items (I find that hard to believe, they were seen far too soon after the border opened)?

Does anyone know for sure?

Regards

Mark

PS The six digit serial number on this one seems to be in two parts; two digits then four digits. Could that be significant or just a random inconsitency?

[Blitzvogel]

This one is currently on sale at a Finnish auction site (Huuto.net).



-Joel

[Watchdog]

This one is currently on sale at a Finnish auction site (Huuto.net).



-Joel

Hi Joel,

In that pic it looks very tidy.
I had a look at the site but as I don't speak a word of Finnish I couldn't find it. I worked out the "antiques" section but after that it got a bit difficult!

As I say, it looks pretty good from that one pic. What is that on the front of the scabbard though, is it a sticker?

Are you thinking of buying it?

If you are and you need a brocade belt, send me a pm and I will see if I can help.

Regards

Mark

[HARRY THE MOLE]

I would be interested to know how much it is going for. My wooden cased, and velvet lined presentation dagger with inscription, cost me £125 about three years ago.

Cheers,
Steve

[Blitzvogel]

Here is the link, forgot to add it earlier: Upseeritikari ex. DDR Huom! EI KOPIO - Huuto.net

It has a buy now price of 250€. Seller describes it as having discoloration and small cracks, and he says he acquired it from Dresden in 1990.

It is a bit pricey and since I specialize in dress uniforms and insignia, I'll pass on it. It might be there for a while though, Finnish collectors don't really care for DDR stuff (Except me of course )

[HARRY THE MOLE]

They can go for more on eBay de...