C15654 CASED POST-WWII ROMANIAN COMMUNIST PARADE NAVY OFFICER DAGGER . Background Information; After World War 2, Romania became the Republic of Romania under the Soviet Union. It was not until the 1989 revolution, that Romanians finally became Independent. After the second World War, the Romanians were forced to abandon their historical coat of arms, and adopt a more soviet influenced symbol, thus, upon their liberation they immediately began to reconstitute their national identity. Physical Description; This dagger is 12 3/4" long, while the blade is 8 ½" long. The grip is 1" wide, and the widest peak is 3 ½" wide. It is gilded brass, with a mother of pearl grip, while the decorative touches on the exterior include two oak leaves band, and two rings for the decorative hangers. On one side, you have the naval crest, whit an iconic anchor wrapped by a rope. This is all within a cloud like shield. On the other, it becomes a little more interesting. The coat of arms that was created in 1948 for the Republic of Romania consisted of, decorative effigy depicting the countries riches while it was guarded by ears of wheat, as well as, a sun in the background and a red star (soviet symbol) in the chief. This is not the coat of arms that you see because it has been covered by the newly created coat of arms from after the revolution. It is obvious that a coat of arms was added onto the dagger, since the new coat of arms is not brass, but, what appears to be a different metal, also gold. On September 10^th 1992, Romania finally appointed their new coat of arms that is meant to be symbolic of their Historical Romanian provinces, (Wallachia, Moldavia, Transylvania, Banat and Crisana.) Each section is meant to represent one of these provinces. The coat of arms is the Eagle, which is what they considered to have been a very heraldic figure, with a cross in it’s beak. Upon his talons, he holds a scepter and a saber, which is reminiscent of two of their most favored leader. The scepter for Micheal the Brave, the first unifier of Romanian countries, whereas, the Saber is for Stephen the Great, a.k.a. Christ’s athlete, who ruled Moldavia (1456-1504.) The shield within the center of the eagle is separated into five section. They all represent certain aspects of each provinces, except for the triangle in the middle bottom, which depicts two dolphins, and is symbolic for the Black Sea. The blade of the dagger in nickel platted and it is in excellent condition. The only marking found is on the top of the blade where it states, C146. The dagger also has a release latch located beneath the mother of pearl grip. The two fabric hangers are 15 ½" long and approximately 1' wide. The fabric, is a golden yellow with two blue woven stripes and a red one in the center. The strap adjuster is also gilded brass, with the naval insignia matching the dagger. Instead of a cloud like shield, they are framed by oak leaves. The entire set, is quite fantastic. They have been kept up in the best possible condition. They appear mint, if it were not for the addition of the liberated Romanian coat of arms, you would believe that it has not been touched in 50 years.

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