Description:

Pair of sterling silver dinner knives believed to have been owned and used by Nazi Party ideologue, Reichsminister Alfred Rosenberg. The knives, each 10 1/4" long overall, bear silver handles with a beaded edge. Each bears fanciful "A R" engraved initials on the handle, just beneath a static swastika. A band about the handle is purity-stamped "90" but bears no other marks. Both blades were once apparently corroded but have now been polished clean and are as a result quite sharp. They bear "J. A. Henckels" maker's marks contemporary to the time. The knives are accompanied by copies of the original ca. 1960's letter of provenance from a U.S. Army lieutenant colonel. He claims that while stationed in West Berlin in 1968-69, he acquired these knives from a German neighbor "...who was the niece of an Italian woman who had worked as a maid [for Rosenberg]...They were pilfered from his quarters by the maid, who passed them on to he niece, who passed them on to me..." There is also a signed typed note from the niece, a "Fr[au] H. Von Bulow", Dec. 11, 1968, who attests that her aunt had obtained the six knives from the residence of Rosenberg. We can find no examples of any pattern of Rosenberg's silver, certainly not such an early pattern, neither online nor in the definitive Yannes references, therefore sold as-is.

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July 30, 2019 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $20
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 + $10,000