Original German WWII Army Officer Nr. 22 Lion Head Sword by F. W. Höller with Steel Scabbard

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a somewhat rare Lion Head Sword, made by the firm F. W. Höller of Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in Western Germany. They produced wide variety of different styles, much like Carl Eickhorn's "Commander Series", however they were made in far less numbers, and information on them is scarce, as are the swords. A color illustration of this model of sword appears on page 13 of the 1941 Höller sales catalog as Nummer 22, Der Beliebte Offizier-Lowenkopf-Sabel mit Hoheitszeichen, in Leichter Form, or "Number 22, The Popular Officer's Lion's Head Sabre with National Emblem, in Light Form". It is also described in Swords of Germany 1900-1945 by John R. Angolia on page 93.

This is the first example of this type that we have ever seen, and we understand that this model was popular among SS officers, though that would have been the silver plated version, and this is definitely gilt brass. The sword features a great nickel plated blade, and comes complete with the correct black enamel painted steel scabbard.

The hilt on this example is the classic gilt brass alloy, not the later war plated aluminum, and still retains much of the original finish. It has a great golden color to it with a lovely patina of age. The design consists of a finely detailed lion head cat with engraved backstrap and "P" guard. The Lion is fitted with lovely blood red faceted "jewel" eyes, both of which are in fantastic condition. There is nice detail throughout his whiskers, chin, and muzzle. The handwork is beautifully rendered throughout the hilt. The backstrap and side tabs bear the iconic German "Oak Leaves & Acorns" motif in high relief, which is also present on the guard and grip ferrule.

The cross guard has a open winged eagle which looks to the viewer's left. The breast area of this eagle, as well as the wings, have been hand-enhanced. The reverse has a small plate where a monogram is sometimes added, though this example is blank. The grip is a very nice black celluloid-over-wood base. It is wrapped with a skein of 4 wires, the center two of which are twisted and wrapped with bullion. They show wear to the plating and light oxidation, showing the copper under layer well. The celluloid is still tight to the wood, and is quite shiny, without any major damage, just a few small dents and some crazing / deterioration. The hilt is mostly tight to the blade, with just a bit of wobble in the back strap and guard, while the grip is firm.

The nickel plated blade is 32 7/8 inches long, made of high quality spring steel. The plating is in very good condition, showing some scattered oxidation speckling throughout, along with some light scuffing. The edge is correctly unsharpened with no denting or other damage, and the needle-point tip of the blade is still intact. The original leather blade buffer is still present and in very good condition.

The reverse ricasso is maker marked (partly under the langet) with a "losenge" style trademark logo that reads F. W. HÖLLER / SOLINGEN, surrounding the trademark Höller "Thermometer" emblem. This is a well-known maker from Solingen, the famous "City of Blades" in Western Germany, which produced many fine edged weapons. F.W. Höller, Waffenfabrik (Weapons Factory), located in Solingen, the legendary "City of Blades" in western Germany. During the WWII Period they manufactured many SA and NSKK daggers, both with their "thermometer" trademark and later with the RZM code M7/33. They also produced numerous 98K bayonets and other edged weapons. The firm was founded in 1866, and registered in Solingen in 1883. By 1900 ownership had passed to Emil Höller, and it continued manufacture after WWII, finally closing in 1974. For more information please see J. Anthony Carter's fine work GERMAN SWORD AND KNIFE MAKERS.

The included scabbard is in very good condition, showing no major dents or other damage, just a slight bend towards the middle of the scabbard, which does not interfere with sheathing the blade. The black enamel paint of this scabbard is still in good shape, retained at about 75%, showing wear and oxidation from use and age. There is light checking and crazing throughout, only possible due to years of age, and there are a few areas of lost paint, which now shows oxidation. The scabbard still retains the original hanger ring and flat loop to hook on the belt hanger.

Overall a lovely example of a hard to find German Army Officer Number 22 Lion Head sword by a F. W. Höller, complete with scabbard. Ready to research and display!

Specifications:
Blade Length: 32 7/8"
Blade Style: Single Edge w/ Fuller
Overall length: 37 7/8“
Guard dimensions: 5" width x 5” length
Scabbard length: 34 7/8”

The German Army (German: Heer, was the land forces component of the Wehrmacht, the German armed forces, from 1935 to 1945. The Wehrmacht also included the Kriegsmarine (Navy) and the Luftwaffe (Air Force). During World War II, a total of about 15 million soldiers served in the German Army, of whom about seven million became casualties. Separate from the army, the Waffen-SS (Armed SS) was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. Growing from three regiments to over 38 divisions during World War II, it served alongside the army but was never formally part of it.

Only 17 months after AH announced publicly the rearmament program, the Army reached its projected goal of 36 divisions. During the autumn of 1937, two more corps were formed. In 1938, four additional corps were formed with the inclusion of the five divisions of the Austrian Army after the Anschluss in March. During the period of its expansion by Adolf AH, the German Army continued to develop concepts pioneered during World War I, combining ground (Heer) and air (Luftwaffe) assets into combined arms teams. Coupled with operational and tactical methods such as encirclements and the "battle of annihilation", the German military managed quick victories in the two initial years of World War II, prompting the use of the word Blitzkrieg (literally lightning war, meaning lightning-fast war) for the techniques used.

The German Army entered the war with a majority of its infantry formations relying on the horse for transportation. The infantry remained foot soldiers throughout the war; artillery also remained primarily horse-drawn. The motorized formations received much attention in the world press in the opening years of the war, and were cited as the main reason for the success of the German invasions of Poland (September 1939), Norway and Denmark (April 1940), Belgium, France and Netherlands (May 1940), Yugoslavia (April 1941) and the early campaigns in the Soviet Union (June 1941). However their motorized and tank formations accounted for only 20% of the Heer's capacity at their peak strength.