BACKGROUND: The Allgemeine-SS, (General-SS), was originally formed in May 1923 as the Stosstrupp Adolf Hitler (Shock Troops), and redesignated Schutz Staffel, (Protection Squad), in April 1925 with the official acceptance of the name verified on the second anniversary of the failed Munich "Beer-Hall" Putsch on November 9^TH 1925. On January 6^TH 1929 Heinrich Himmler was appointed as Reichsführer-SS, (National Leader {of the} SS), and on July 20^TH 1934 shortly after the, June 30^TH 1934, purge of the SA, Sturm Abteilung, (Storm/Assault Detachment), on the "Night of the Long Knives", the SS was rewarded by Hitler by being granted the status of an independent organization under direct control of the NSDAP Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, (National Socialist German Worker’s Party). The first SS Death’s Head Honor Rings were privately rendered by Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler as early as December 1933 but it wasn’t until September 13^TH 1936 that the rings were officially introduced. The rings were not considered a national award but rather a personal gift of the Reichsführer-SS as a visible sign of the recipients honor and loyalty to the SS. Himmler considered the SS Death’s Head Honor Ring to be the highest honor that could be bestowed to SS personnel. Originally the rings were reserved for SS personnel with an SS membership number below 5,000, but this was later extended to include additional personnel under certain predetermined conditions. On leaving the SS all recipients were to return their rings to the SS-Personalhauptamt, (Head Personnel Department), for preservation. Heinrich Himmler’s obsession with pagan runic symbolism manifested itself in runic emblems used by the SS, the most famous of which was the dual Sigrunes most commonly used on the collar tabs and helmets decals of the SS, but runic emblems also figured prominently in the SS Death’s Head Honor Rings. The runic emblems on the rings all had a traditional connotation and were chosen specifically for that reason. The idea for bestowal of a silver ring can possibly be traced back to the mythological pagan Germanic God Thor, God of Adventurers as he was said to have had a silver ring on which his followers pledged an oath of loyalty. All the SS Death’s Head Honor Rings were manufactured by specifically selected jewelers in the employ of the renown Otto Gahr jewelry firm of Munich. Official bestowal of the SS Death’s Head Honor Rings was discontinued on October 30^TH 1944 but Reichsführer-SS Himmler allegedly continued to privately bestow the rings right up until April 1945. It is estimated that the quantity of rings bestowed between 1933 and 1945 was roughly 20,000. In early 1945 Himmler requested all recipients of the SS Death’s Head Honor Ring to return them to the SS-Personalhauptamt for preservation and safe keeping as a result of the war situation. It is estimated that roughly 18,000 of the rings were returned and concealed somewhere on the Wewelsburg mountain where they have never been recovered. Of Note: Also included is a commercially produced, private purchase finger ring utilizing the symbolic Skull and crossbones. During the Third Reich a large variety of commemorative and decorative items were available for private purchase and the manufacturers took advantage of Hitler’s cult of personality and the NSDAP’s popularity by offering every type of conceivable product ranging from hair ornaments, plates, wristwatches, pocket knives, candy, finger rings, etc., etc., etc., all decorated with NSDAP symbols, likeness’s of Hitler and the ubiquitous swastika. Many of these commercial items became quite popular and were a outwardly visible sign of an individuals convictions and loyalty. Of Note: Period newspapers and magazines quite often have advertisements for the sale of these type of items and some were so "tacky" that as early as May 1933 Propaganda Minister Dr. Paul Josef Goebbels prohibited the use of many of the NSDAP symbols.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Die cast, hand finished, two piece, silver construction ring features a separate, face-on, grinning, skull with circular eye depressions, a triangular nose depression, two rows of teeth and a bottom jaw, superimposed over crossed femur bones, to the front center. The skull and crossbones were secured to the ring by a fine, silver solder which is just faintly visible as a vertical seam or joining line on the rings interior. The exterior of the ring consists of a repeating, embossed oak-leaf pattern and assorted runic symbols. The runic symbols consist of two separate Sigrunes within a triangular borders representing victory, a Hagal rune within a hexagonal border, representing faith in Nazi ideology, a Swastika within a diamond border representing nationalism and good luck and a Heilszeichen consisting of dual Sigrunes and a Tyr rune within a circular border representing success and good fortune. Due to the high silver content, resulting in a certain softness, the exterior of the ring has lost a small amount of its detailing. The interior of the ring is well marked with delicately, hand engraved, stylized, script that includes, "S.lb.", the obscured recipients name, the bestowal date, "21. 6. 42" and a facsimile of Himmler’s signature. The "S.lb.", abbreviation indicates, "Seinem lieben", which translates roughly as, (With respect and honor to Dear). The ring is in overall very good condition with minor age tarnish. The ring is roughly size 12. The ring comes with a certificate of authenticity, addressed to a prior owner, from well known collector and researcher Don Boyle. Also included is a commercially produced, private purchase, finger ring utilizing the symbolic Skull and crossbones. Nice quality, private purchase, tooled silver alloy construction finger ring features an embossed, face-on, skull with circular eye depressions, a triangular nose depression, two rows of teeth and a bottom jaw, superimposed over crossed femur bones. Each side panel of the ring has an embossed oak-leave and foliage patterned ornamentation. The ring is in overall very good condition with minor chafe wear and age tarnish. The interior of the ring is well marked with the stamped, silver content numeral, "800", indicating a fine silver content of 80%. The ring is roughly size, 12. Unique personal item.

GRADE ***3/4                             PRICE $8,570.00