Faked Marshal USSR Dagger

[new world]

Three days ago Soviet dagger to Marshal of the USSR was sold on eBay for $2,400:

"Soviet Russian Marshal of the Soviet Union Presentation Dagger. This stunning boxed dagger was presented by the Soviet Minister of Defence to the former Chief of Staff of the USSR, Marshal of the Soviet Union Sergei Akhromeyev. The dagger and the presentation box (made of wood) are in excellent condition. The inscription on the handle reads: “To Marshal of USSR S.F. Akhromeyev on his 60th birthday from the Minister of Defence 1983.” This is an extremely rare example of a presentation dagger, the rank of the Marshal of the USSR was bestowed to a handful of Soviet commanders. Marshal Akhromeyev was a military adviser to President Gorbachev; he later joined the unsuccessful coup attempt against Boris Yeltsin and committed suicide shortly thereafter. The dagger is guaranteed to be authentic. "

[Nota Bene]

New World,

I will be my usual skeptic again. I know that the so called Marshal daggers are currently made by a factory in Moscow. Besides I believe the original Akhromeyev dagger would still be in his family. For me to be convinced that a dagger like this is genuine it needs to have some genuine wear, especially on the box, some genuine patina, and some marks on the blade left bt the scabbard.

Alexei

[new world]

Alexei,

I agree with you 100%. I would never buy something like this dagger unless it came from the Marshal's family.

The only distinction that is supposed to lead us to believe this one belonged to Akhromeyev is the plate on the handle. For what I know - there used to be a small shop on every busy corner in the USSR where one can make all sorts of engravings on watches, rings, and various gift plates.

I'd like to see some sort of material proof and cheap plate with engravings isn't going to be sufficient to shell out $2,400.

Buyer beware!!!!

[Nota Bene]

I have forwarded these scans to a friend of mine in Moscow, who collects edged weapons. According to him this is a combination of a souvenir dagger (blade and cross guard) that can be easily purchased in two shops in Moscow for $45, and engraved scabbard from a regulation officer's dagger. The plate is of course a fake.

Here's an original presentation dagger for a Marshal from one of my books. It's an ugly scan, but you can still see how different it is.

Alexei

[Tal Inbar]

I hope that the buyer ($2400.00!) will be here soon.

[fdslavik80]

Hey Guys, I'm new here what do you think about this little guy?
How do you post the pics here seems it always fails then I'm trying to do it:(Wanted to show you something different here