Gents,

I picked up a very interesting German sidearm this week that I think is a Baden Border/customs sidearm (Badischen Seitengewehr). It appears to be a private purchase (Extra-Seitengewehr) so while it is certainly made in the Baden style it is not quite a regulation sidearm. The sidearm was made by Alexander Coppel and has a tiny "AC" maker mark on the lower edge of the blade ricasso as is found on other Coppel edged weapons. While it is not in any Coppel catalog that I have it is clearly a Coppel product from Imperial or Weimar Republic times IMHO.

The plain slab sided blade is 14" long and has a distinct ricasso and a 4" false edge along the back at the spear point. The brass hilt has a re-curved guard and the distinctive pommel is shaped like that of the M/71 Pionierfaschinenmesser and its predecessors such as the M/60 Fusillier-Seitengwehr. These Prussian sidearms typically have solid brass hilts but Baden sidearms typically have slab sided grips made of leather, wood, or plastic (hard rubber). This hilt has extra cost stag horn grips affixed with two brass rivets. The black leather scabbard is typical for these sidearms with a seam down the center of the back and scalloped brass fittings with a large flat frog stud in the Imperial construction style.

Rolf Selzer, on his website WWW.seitengewehr.de, discusses this style of sidearm in "Die Haubajonett der Koniglich Preussischen und Grossherzoglich Badischen Grenzaufseher zu Fuss". He shows similar Seitengewehre for the Baden Border Guards/Customs officials including the very similar Baden Police sidearm that has an even more exaggerated curved pommel that he indicates might have been utilized by Baden Grenzers in the brass version.

Has anyone seen this particular style of Seitengewehr before or have any thoughts on exactly what it is?

 

 

Here are examples of the Baden Polizei Seitengewehre with the exaggerated pommels.  The full size brass one on the left with brown wooden grips is the one Selzer indicates may have been used by the Imperial Grenzers.  The smaller nickeled Polizei Extra-Seitengewehr with black plastic grips is the Weimar Republic period Baden sidearm.  

 

 

Great pieces.  Rich A. in Pa.

Thanks Rich.  The Baden Police sidearms are shown in Weimar Republic period maker catalogs but the stag gripped one is not.