NOT SOLD (BIDDING OVER)
0.00USD+ applicable fees & taxes.
This item WAS NOT SOLD. Auction date was 2016 Mar 18 @ 10:30UTC-4 : AST/EDT
ERICH TOPP'S ENGRAVED U-BOAT BADGE
An incredible U-boat item, the U-boat badge issued to ERICH TOPP (1914-2005), the third ranking tonnage leader of all U-boat commanders, sold with two letters Topp personally sent to the badge's original owner describing the loss of this relic. The badge is the commonly issued Kriegsmarine submarine badge, manufactured by Otto Schickle. The reverse of the badge bears distinctive Gothic engraving reading: "Erich Topp 8. 8. 1942" with "U-552"engraved on the reverse of the badge's submarine hull. This badge first surfaced decades ago in the southeast U.S. lacking any provenance. It eventually found its way into the TIME-LIFE U-Boat collection whose owner decided to contact Topp directly concerning the badge he had uncovered. Included in this lot are the two original hand-written letters sent by Topp to the collector in 1985-86 setting forth the history of this piece. The first reply reads, in part: "...Normally the badges were not inscribed. The 8.8.42 is the date when I received via the short wave the message that I was awarded with the swords of the oak leaves of the Knights Cross. That was midst of the Atlantic. The crew made this inscription to honor me. Later I lost this badge, or with other words: when I handed over my last submarine, U2513...a British soldier has stolen all my awards...Maybe he had later sold them again..." The second letter from Topp, several months later, offers more details: "...You need NOT have any scruple. I have another badge with diamonds on the swastika that was handed over to me when I received the oak leaves to the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. Never the less you should know the whole story of the badge that you now have in your collection...About ten days after the surrender of the German Armed Forced we handed over our U-boats in Oslo to the British Navy...we were handing over my boat - U2513 - to the British Navy...This was done in a cooperative way...One day in the early morning - I was urgently called on the bridge by the ward officers...officers gave me the order, within ten minutes to leave my boat with the whole crew...The officer of the Marines asked me to come on board to answer a few questions. I left the bag on the pier...As I came down into the boat, I saw the Marines destroying everything, opening the lockers by force, drinking alcohol...I left the boat with a last salute to the flag and went to my bag. It was opened and the Knights Cross and your badge was stolen by one of the Marines. It was a dishonoring, disgraceful treatment, not only to me, but to the whole crew. Keep the badge. In my hands it would remind me [of] this very sad moment in my life...". Also included is an excellent half-hull model of a Type VII U-boat from the 7th "Wegener" Flotilla based at St. Nazaire, to which Topp was attached. The fine, detailed brass hull is fitted to a 13 1/4" x 5" finished wood base painted with flotilla emblems. Provenance: TIME-LIFE Collection, The War Museum. Exhibited at the New York Historical Society: "NYC and WWII".
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| From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
| 0.00 |
Infinite |
24.5% |
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