Question about ww2 German bayonet

[Shreck]

So I saw a ww2 German bayonet that had a Reserve Polizei batallion 101 engraving on it and a 1444 or something like that by the bottom on the blade and I just wanted to know if this is actually original or if bayonet would actually be engraved like that. It was all rusted and looked original but I don’t really know these days and I also don’t have a picture of it. Thanks.

[Shreck]

I have a feeling it is most likely fake.

[Preppy Picker]

It’s hard to tell from the description you give. Was it a K98 or a police bayonet?

[Shreck]

1 hour ago, Preppy Picker said:

It’s hard to tell from the description you give. Was it a K98 or a police bayonet?

It was a k98 and I researched it a bit and found out that all the engraving was done post war and only done to make things seem more valuable.

[Dune Panther]

On 7/17/2022 at 9:05 AM, Shreck said:

So I saw a ww2 German bayonet that had a Reserve Polizei batallion 101 engraving on it and a 1444 or something like that by the bottom on the blade and I just wanted to know if this is actually original or if bayonet would actually be engraved like that. It was all rusted and looked original but I don’t really know these days and I also don’t have a picture of it. Thanks.

 

Is it just a coincidence that Reserve Police Battalion 101 had a book written about them (and in English no less when it first came out)? Information regarding the book titled Ordinary Men:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Ordinary-Men-Reserve-Battalion-Solution/dp/0060995068

 

My impression is that this was a pretty obscure unit prior to the publication of Ordinary Men in 1992. After the book came out, the unit became far more well known and thus a potential for scammers to imitate with completely fake and/or humped-up items. Say perhaps a genuine K98 bayonet with fake markings added to it. I have seen that happen before.

 

While I do not know if your bayonet is completely legit or not, given the unit supposedly involved being linked to Holocaust atrocities, the likelihood of it being completely genuine drops. Because there is a big market for that sort of thing (Holocaust related materials) and no shortage of criminals willing to exploit the unknowing with fakes.

 

5 hours ago, Shreck said:

It was a k98 and I researched it a bit and found out that all the engraving was done post war and only done to make things seem more valuable.

 

Sorry, I somehow missed this post before answering above (about Ordinary Men). And right you are, Shreck.