Affiliated Auctions' Florida Summer Firearm & Militaria sale last weekend (Saturday, July 10) was lead by an impressive piece of Third Reich memorabilia: a solid gold official mosaic made for the grand opening of the Nazis' Winter Help Work Program.
The mosaic is comprised of 20,000 individual gold-coloured and other-coloured tiny tiles, bringing the piece's overall weight to well in excess of 50 pounds. The mosaic is signed by the Berlin-Treptow firm, August Wagner.
Measuring approximately 4 x 5 feet in size, the mosaic depicts the Winter Help Eagle in full detail with a Swastika depicted in green and tan leaves. This ostentatious and unsettling Nazi artefact realised a final price of $5,400 in Affiliated Auctions' sale.
 The gold mosaic, made from 20,000 individual tiles |
Just behind the mosaic, in terms of value, was another remarkable lot: a late 18th-early 19th century bronze cannon weighing 43" long with a 1 ¾ bore, sitting on a 22.5" carriage. According to experts, the cannon's style indicates that it is either of Dutch or Belgian origin.
Consigned from a private collection in the St Augustine region of Florida, this unique and historic piece of memorabilia surpassed its lower $4,000 pre-sale estimate but was still taken away by its lucky buyer for a bargain, bringing $5,300.
 The late 18th-early 19th century bronze cannon |
Meanwhile, collectors and investors with in interest in German World War Two memorabilia can find two valuable historic document signed by Adolf Hitler.
The first is a very rare signed photograph of the Führer surround by 30 of his Brown Shirt troopers, dated to circa 1930. The second is a document also signed by Hitler and dated to 1943 in which he approves the promotions of hundreds of officers in the Wermacht - shortly after losing a million men in defeat at Stalingrad.
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