GERMAN WWII LARGE SHIELD with SKULL and BONES, 1942
German WWII large shield with a skull and bones motif. This item features an unusual design and may have been used for night operations against the enemy. It's considered trench art from 1942.
CONDITION: The item is in very good, used condition. For additional information, please refer to the pictures.
PROVENANCE: 1. From an old, large collection in Trenton, New Jersey, USA, 1956-2015; 2. eBay, USA, January 31, 2017, Lot 292009097956 (the winner will receive this information); 3. Our sale of this item adds another layer of provenance (please print this page). History of sale is very IMPORTANT for serious collection.
ESTIMATED PRICE: $50 - $300 (significantly lower than today's market price).
HISTORY of SALES: A few years ago, the same item was sold on eBay for $345 - please refer to the screenshot for details.
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HISTORY: Totenkopf (i.e. skull, literally dead's head) is the German word for the skull and crossbones and death's head symbols. The Totenkopf symbol is an old international symbol for death, the defiance of death, danger, or the dead, as well as piracy. It consists usually of the human skull with or without the mandible and often includes two crossed long-BONES (femurs), most often depicted with the crossbones being behind some part of the skull. It is commonly associated with 19th- and 20th-century German military use. In the early days of the NSDAP, Julius Schreck, the leader of the Stabswache (Adolf Hitler's bodyguard unit), resurrected the use of the Totenkopf as the unIt's insignia. This unit grew into the Schutzstaffel (SS), which continued to use the Totenkopf as insignia throughout its history. According to a writing by Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler the Totenkopf had the following meaning: The Skull is the reminder that you shall always be willing to put your self at stake for the life of the whole community. The Totenkopf was also used as the unit insignia of the Panzer forces of the German Heer (Army), and also by the Panzer units of the Luftwaffe, including those of the elite Fallschirm-Panzer Division 1 Hermann Goring. Both the 3rd SS Panzer Division of the Waffen-SS, and the World War II era Luftwaffe's 54th Bomber Wing Kampfgeschwader 54 were given the unit name 'Totenkopf', and used a strikingly similar-looking graphic skull-crossbones insignia as the SS units of the same name. The 3rd SS Panzer Division also had skull patches on their uniform collars instead of the SS sieg rune.

Used