The Munich-based sale will feature oddities such as two Volkswagen Schwimmwagens – a cross between a jeep and a boat – which have estimates of DM20,000 each; and the even more bizarre NSU Kettenkrad from 1944, a tracked motorcycle which seems to be part tank. Of the two examples being disposed of, one has an estimate of DM20,000, the other DM15,000.
The sale, which will include nearly every exhibit from the museum, will also feature items from private collections.
There will be more than 90 lots of edged weapons, among them bayonets, sidearms, machetes, sabres, and a Swiss military rapier c.1600 (est. DM3800). In addition there will be 110 lots of antique firearms and accoutrements, among them weapons of the 17th to 19th centuries, including a very rare Suhl matchlock blunderbuss c.1630 (est. DM4000), a pair of Flemish flintlock pistols c.1720 (est. DM3000), a pair of flintlock pistols by Joh. Andreas Kuchenreuter of Ratispon c.1800 (est. DM4000) and a neo-Prussian cavalry carbine (est. DM3500).
For those interested in larger items, there will be 22 pieces of artillery, most noteworthy among which is a Bavarian field cannon of 1874 (est. DM8000). But the most valuable section of the sale will be the 25 military motor vehicles.
Military museum to sell off its collection
GERMANY: SOME of the most unusual and fascinating military vehicles ever built are to be auctioned on May 15 when the contents of the Historical and Technical Museum of Nümbrecht are sold off.
