Skip to content
View in the app

A better way to browse. Learn more.

World Militaria Forum

A full-screen app on your home screen with push notifications, badges and more.

To install this app on iOS and iPadOS
  1. Tap the Share icon in Safari
  2. Scroll the menu and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add in the top-right corner.
To install this app on Android
  1. Tap the 3-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser.
  2. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
  3. Confirm by tapping Install.

Question about ww2 German bayonet

Featured Replies

#1

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.

  • Author
#2

I have a feeling it is most likely fake.

#3

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

  • Author
#4
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.

#5
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.

Create an account or sign in to comment

Account

Navigation

Search

Search

Configure browser push notifications

Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.