Original German WWII Army Officers Lion Head Sword by "Siegfried" E. Pack & Söhne of Solingen with Monogram & Scabbard

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a beautiful classic Lionhead German WWII Army Officers sword, made by the well known firm of Ernst Pack & Söhne of Solingen, Germany, complete with its original scabbard. The hilt on this example is the classic gilt brass alloy, not the later war plated aluminum, consisting of a finely detailed lion head cat with engraved backstrap and "P" guard. The Lion is fitted with blood red faceted "jewel" eyes. There is nice detail throughout his whiskers, chin, and muzzle. The handwork is beautifully rendered throughout hilt. The backstrap and side tabs bear lovely foliate designs, with an art deco style, showing what look to be acanthus leaves. This grip ferrule displays some art-deco style oak leaves, while the guard has the iconic German "Oak Leaves & Acorns" motif on the bow in a very high relief design.

The chappe/langet has a closed wing art deco style 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 langet has an oval field for initials, and as a real rarity, this example is actually marked with an interlocking K K monogram! We have only ever had a handful of these swords that have been initialed. The original gilding on the hilt is almost completely gone, probably mercury gilding, which "evaporates" over time, and now displays a lovely matured brass patina.

The grip is a very nice black celluloid-over-wood base, bound with a skein of 6 wires, arranged into twisted pairs, with the center pair being thicker. The wrapping is still mostly tight, though there does look to be a bit of pulling of the wires. The celluloid is still tight to the wood, and is quite shiny, without any cracking or chipping, just some light wear. The hilt is still tight on the tang, with no loose parts, and the leather blade buffer is still present.

The 33 5/8 inch nickel plated blade of this example is in very good condition, with some light scuffing in areas, and showing some wear through near the tip of the blade. There are also some nicks on the edge of the blade, which have removed the plating, allowing some light staining to occur, however these are relatively minor and hard to see. Overall it has a great "been there" look, probably having been carried for a long time during the war.

The rear ricasso of the blade is etched with the large "Siegfried" trademark logo of Ernst Pack & Söhne, which is in excellent condition. It is only partially under the chappe of the crossguard, so it can be seen in photogaphs. The mark shows their trademark "Young Siegfried wielding a hammer" Logo, surrounded by a stylized banner. The whole trademark reads:

Siegfried
ERNST PACK & SÖHNE M.B.H. WAFFENFABRIK
(Jung Siegfried Logo)
SOLINGEN
WAFFEN

Per J. Anthony Carter's book GERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS, this firm used this trademark on Army Officer swords during before the war and during the early years. They mostly made daggers so there is not as much information regarding the swords. The company survived the war, until it was sold in the 1960s to another knife company from Solingen, and the maker mark continued to be used into the 1990s. The original leather blade buffer is unfortunately missing.

The steel scabbard of this example still has good original factory black enamel, retained at over 80% with just a few small dents and a very minor bend near the middle. There are some small areas of missing paint and the expected crazing and checking, however there is no major damage. The drag is missing more of the paint, as is typical. The hanger ring is still intact, as well as the rectangular loop for "hitching up" the sword in close quarters.

Overall an very good condition high quality sword from a well-known German sword maker, based in Solingen, the "City of Blades" in Western Germany. Ready to display!

Specifications:
Overall length: 38 5/8”
Blade length: 33 5/8”
Blade Style: Single Edged with Fuller
Guard dimensions: 5" width x 4 1/2” length
Scabbard Length: 34 1/2"

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.