SMGP-1416 SA Dagger By Johann Leupold Rare maker *SOLD

A 7 on the McSarr rarity list! A very hard to find maker and this one has all the proper hardware. The daggers were issued to the Franken Gruppe or area and abbreviated as “Fr” on the cross guard. I’ve personally taken down the dagger and found the correct foundry maker marks “PA” on both the upper and lower guard which is the proper foundry for this maker and is one of the largest. Of coarse, P.A. stands for the Piel & Adey firm. What’s really nice, and I forgot to take a picture of it, but the tang is foundry marked “cS”. I’m not sure who “cS” is, but it was certainly a firm making blades for Johann Leupold. Finding daggers with these tang marks is a nice treat. Now, on to the condition. The dagger really pops, having a gorgeous cherry colored grip with a high sheen lacquer on it. Now, I believe this grip was reconditioned at some point due to some workmanship flaws in the finish. Regardless, of this assumption, it still looks great compared to what we normally see. The guards are solid nickel silver as we expect with traces of original lacquer. We also have some nice high quality hand enhancing on these guards. The blade itself is good but not the best. For this maker though, it might have to do, because you may not find a complete dagger this good overall. There are signs of some light oxidation that was likely cleaned up at some time. By whom and when is anyone’s guess. Some tiny dings to the edge on this as well. The scabbard is the early anodized type with really good condition upper and lower fittings. The scabbard still has some nice color and finish to it which can be hard to find on these earlier styles. It’s likely that the lower fitting was replaced at some point as we see some looseness and evidence of the screws being removed. Remember, these tips got smashed up all the time, so the tips were replaced often. They were available for sale in shops and there were advertisements for replacement parts in trade magazines. Whatever was done, at whatever time to this dagger was done very well. The leather hanger is in good shape with no tears.
Overall, such a rare maker and in great overall condition makes this a winner. You can get this rare dagger for the price of what other dealers charge for common makers.