Is this ww2 German Lion Head Officers Parade Sword Real ?

[Leo]

Hello. Can anybody tell me please more about this sword? I do not see makers mark on this one and was wandering if it is real!? Thank you.

[Anderson]

Yes, an authentic Third Reich era officers sword. In good condition and with the added bonus of a personal monogram "MH" or is it "HM" on reverse. Some of these swords are without maker marks.

[Neil Hever]

Looks good to me too. It is sometimes referred to as a "Lion's head" sword. If you look up that term on google you can find numerous photos of a similar style sword. Some good things about your example include the condition of the gilt and the wire on the hilt and the fact that it has the original scabbard. It is missing the sword knot but for about 100 bucks or so you can find one for it. Photo shows my example with the NCO sword knot. Despite having no markings, a keen eye here might be able to identify the manufacturer. Some items were contract made and not marked - not necessarily a red flag with these items. It will make a nice display. NH

[Frogprince]

It looks period to me also, but I think that the blade has been shortened and perhaps the scabbard as well? That said, the crossguard eagle is one of the better designs IMO. Best Regards, Fred

[Leo]

Thank you Fred. I think you are right. Blade is only 23" long and I think it should be over 30" long. I wish I noticed that before I bough it. It probably brings down the value significantly, is it? Eagle is nice on this one though, with very tall wings comparing to others I found online. Just wanted to find similar one to figure out the maker but was not able to find anything similar so far. Best. Leo

[rbminis]

Actually, I believe this is referred to as a Panther head sword.
Ralph.

[Neil Hever]

My apologies. Panther or Lion head? The ear and mane was throwing me off in the original posting. Here are some comparison photos. One photo shows Lion and Panther together and the other an example of the Panther alone.

[Anderson]

The Sword tip does show the signs of being shortened. This is a little odd as you could buy swords during the TR of differing lengths to suit the height of the officer. In fact the catalogues of the makers had a "Tabelle fur Sabellangen" showing what length sword to order if you were 175-177 cm tall (98cm) or 190-192cm height (108cm).
In this case possibly it was bought for someone and was found to be too long, so shortened by an armourer.

[Leo]

Thank you Anderson. It is good to know. I wish it was not cut shorter but being only 3/4" (or 20mm) wide It does actually look aesthetically very appealing in this length. Whoever did it maybe did it for this reason as well. It is hard to believe that any collector would do something like that so may be you are right, the original owner may have done that. The question is why the ring of the scabbard have not been readjusted back as otherwise how it can be used without it, unless there is other ways to carry it around without using the ring.

[Leo]

To me it reassembles more of the lion than panther due to the curly hair, but could be ether. But most of the swords with this head I found online being called Lion head swords though. I found other one online that looks actually more like panther to compare.