The sword was the top lot in an auction that saw about 1,700 lots of militaria come up for bid.
BOUCKVILLE, NY –-(Ammoland.com)- A Samurai sword surrendered by Japanese Rear Admiral Nobukagu Yoshimi on the Marshall Islands in 1945, plus an archive of material pertaining to the soldier’s surrender, sold for $7,538 at a live and Internet sale that ended Nov. 16-17 by Mohawk Arms, Inc.
The live auction was held at Mohawk Arms’ Bouckville gallery, in central New York.
Accepting Yoshimi’s surrender was Lt. Commander Wagner Mahlon Dickerson of the USS Baron. In addition to the Samurai sword, the lot also featured a copy of the log of the USS Baron for that day (Aug. 6, 1945), photos showing Yoshimi surrendering to Dickerson, a letter written by Yoshimi in September 1945 offering thanks for food and medical aid, and other items.
Less than 50 people made it to the event in person – fairly typical for a Mohawk Arms sale – but a few made the trip from as far away as Moscow, Russia and Calgary, Canada.
“We may only get 30 or 40 people at any given sale, but I guarantee you every single one’s a buyer,” said Raymond Zyla of Mohawk Arms, Inc. “Many are repeat clients – very serious collectors.”
The major bidding action, though, took place online (with Internet bidding facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com). There were around 450 registered bidders, from around the world, and Mr. Zyla said the phone and absentee bidding component was quite active, too.
“It was a solid auction. Collectors are conservative right now, but if they see a piece they like, they’ll buy it.”
The auction was packed with ethnographic items, headgear, edged weapons, uniforms, swords, art, exotica, Americana, decorative veterans’ flags, military steins, medals, books, pistols and more. A good percentage of the top lots were from the headgear and exotica categories. Of the 25 lots that hammered for $1,500 or more, more than half were from headgear and exotica.
Following are additional highlights from the sale. All prices quoted include a 17.5 percent buyer’s premium (for sales under $2,000), 15 percent (for sales of $2,000-$5,000) or 12.5 percent (for sales of $5,000-$10,000).
A Knights Cross of the Iron Cross – a military award issued by Nazi Germany during World War II – showing a high relief swastika and the date (1939), with black leatherette case, changed hands for $6,750. Also, Japanese Rt. Gen. Hatazo Adachi’s Samurai surrender sword from World War II, made in 1942, with other items relating to the surrender, garnered $6,469.
The Allgemeine SS peaked cap of Dr. Rudolf Jacobsen, Commander of the Totenkopf Division stationed at Dachau, Germany in World War II and a member of the Race & Settlement Department of the SS High Command, fetched $4,945; and a black wool SS overcoat with a twisted wire cord piped collar, in exceptional condition except for a moth hole, realized $3,680.
A World War II German sniper’s veil, a well-made one-piece face mask, possibly one of the first such veils to be made and believed to be from the development and production of face masks in the 1937-38 period, went for $3,975; and a lot of ten medals awarded to Sgt. Daniel S. Steinbach, a 101st Airborne paratrooper who was killed at Normandy Jun. 6, 1944, made $2,875.
One other noteworthy lot from exotica was Adolf Hitler’s proof copy of the large-format pictorial, Deutschland, with the cover featuring Hitler’s personal library bookplate. It brought $2,473. The upper right corner of the flyleaf had Hitler’s abbreviated signature and he personally made 19 corrections and initialed all. Hitler’s anti-smoking views were expressed in the volume.
A collection of 70 World War II awards, badges and insignias, made by the American Emblem Company in Utica, N.Y. (to include a Silver Star, combat rifleman’s badges and Red Cross pins) coasted to $1,763. The top lot of the edged weapons category was a Third Reich high-ranking prison official’s dress sword with an excellent 31 ¾ inch curved blade ($3,082).
On to headgear. A German SS M1935 double decal helmet, pre-war, showing the SS and swastika shields, both of which showed minor wear, plus a leather chinstrap, realized $6,413; and an M1934 double decal SS VT/SD helmet, with the original field gray finish showing some wear and the SS decal and the swastika shield decals subdued from age, hammered for $3,450.
A pair of Third Reich Allgemeine SS M1933 ribbed black wool peaked caps, both with a white piped band and crown, were sold as consecutive lots for $5,400 and $2,703, respectively; and an Austrian Senior NCO 7th Uhlan Battalion bugler shapka (round, slightly tapered brimless fur hat), an officer type with red horsehair bush and black leather body with gold gilt, hit $2,358.
Two lots drew identical sale prices of $1,840 each. The first was an Afrika Corps M1942 helmet, with an aged tan finish (worn away along the base perimeter of the body), an Army decal and folding-type leather framed goggles. The second was an Army AK Mediterranean M1942 camouflage helmet, light mustard green with rust splotch pattern and original tan leather liner.
An Indo-Persian helmet with the basic bowl shape of the kulah khud but with an extra lower section and sloping front and back visors, circa 18th/19th century, profusely chiseled with gold washed figures, brought $3,335; and a 14th or 15th century mid-European “Ritterwschwert” large, flat round pommel and round bar-type crossguard with 30 ¾ inch blade, sold for $1,763.
A uniform grouping related to Panzer Lt. Heinz Rohde, who served in the German 116th Panzer Grenadier division during World War II, plus a brief biography of Lt. Rohde and photos of him, garnered $2,350; and a German Waffen SS M1944 camouflage uniform, size 34, with four-pocket tunic with green and tan splotch pattern on a salmon background, made $1,763.
Mohawk Arms, Inc.’s next big auction is tentatively scheduled for the first weekend in June, although exact times and dates are still to be announced. Watch the website for details as spring draws nearer, at www.MilitaryRelics.com. As with all other Mohawk Arms auctions, the June event will feature quality, collectible examples of militaria, in a wide range of categories.
Mohawk Arms, Inc., is always accepting quality consignments for future auctions. To consign a single item, a collection or an entire estate, you may call them at (315) 893-7888; or, you can e-mail them at [email protected]. To learn more about Mohawk Arms, Inc., and the firm’s calendar of events, log on to www.MilitaryRelics.com. Updates are posted often.