Germany, Heer. An Officer’s Dress Dagger, by F.W. Höller

(Heer Offiziersdolch). An extremely well-preserved Heer dress dagger, measuring 40 cm in total length when inserted into the scabbard. It features a 26 cm-long nickel-plated magnetic steel blade with a sharpened tip and edges. The blade is plain with the exception of a maker’s mark on the reverse ricasso reading “F.W. HÖLLER, SOLINGEN”, circumscribing the firm’s thermometer logo. The blade sits firmly within a nickel-silver upper crossguard, the obverse of which bears a raised Wehrmacht eagle clutching a wreathed mobile swastika, with the seam covered by a fully-intact brown leather buffer pad. The handle grip is composed of a single piece of ribbed light brown celluloid, and the dagger completes with a flattened, nickel-plated pommel bearing raised oak leaf designs around the exterior circumference. Wrapped around the upper crossguard is a matching portepee, consisting of a stylized silver aluminum wire acorn suspended from a cord of identical construction. It is accompanied by its original scabbard, constructed of a pebbled, nickel-plated magnetic metal shaft. The upper third of the shaft features two integral bands which bear raised oak leaf designs around the outer circumference, each completing in integral loops for the accommodation of a hanger. The throat retains a functional spring catch, firmly holding the dagger in place during storage, and is secured together with dual side rivets. Minor issues consistent with age and wear are evident, and include minor running marks and tarnishing to the blade, with additional tarnishing of the nickel-silver and plated features, as well as slight fatigue to the portepee. The dagger remains in an extremely fine condition.