Need help identifying two daggers

[FNG]

I inherited these dagger quite recently. They are clearly of Nazi origin, however, I have 3 questions.. Are they even authentic, what exactly are these (I believe them to be Officers daggers), and even though I'm not interested in selling them, how much would these two go for?

Information

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[Flying10uk]

Going by the patina of them from the pictures I would say they look genuine to me but I stand to be corrected.

[browningautorifle]

I agree but they bear close examination. Price depends on area too. There are maker marks that also have a bearing on things...standard army daggers too unless I missed something.

[FNG]

Are any additional photos needed to help determine what these are? Also, I looked everywhere and cant find who the makers of these blade are which is the reason I thought these may have been fakes.

[Patrick Chadwick]

FNG, there are so many fakes out there that one can buy books on the subject. Except in the crudest cases, it is hardly possible to go by photos alone. Get a book on NS-fakery and conduct a real eyeglass-level examination, and you will learn more than by relying on our guesswork - and maybe save money in the future!


A couple of cynical guidelines:


"If it looks to good to be true, it probably is."


"If it's so rare and valuable, why isn't it being sold at one of the prominent auction houses?"
Cynic's answer: because then real experts could make a hands-on examination.


"Why are the photos so fuzzy?"
As a friend found out, the expensive way: so that you can't see the tell-tale signs of refinishing and rust-pitting.

[browningautorifle]

Markings are at the base of the blade on the flat. They etched them in and should still be visible. As pointed out, fakes are prominent.

[Flying10uk]

Most likely there would have been more than one maker who produced this style of dagger. An "expert" once told me that if a W.W.2 era German ceremonial knife/dagger/bayonet was chrome plated it was most likely a fake but if it was nickel plated it would probably be genuine. He didn't state that this was true in every case but I got the impression from him that it was a general rule of thumb. I have not heard this rule confirmed by any-one else which I would like before taking it as red.