Sell or Auction Your Enigma M3 for up to $89,250 or More at Nate D. Sanders Auctions
FREE ESTIMATE. To buy, auction, sell or consign your Enigma M3 that is for sale, please email your description and photos to [email protected] of Nate D. Sanders Auctions (http://www.NateDSanders.com).
Sell Your Enigma M3
We at Nate D. Sanders Auctions sold an Enigma M3 machine used by Nazi Germany between 1934 and 1945. Please see the lot details of this intriguing piece of history below:
Enigma Machine Used by Germany During World War II — Very Scarce, as Germans Were Ordered to Destroy the Machines to Prevent Capture by the Allies
Enigma machine used by Nazi Germany during World War II, the three cipher rotor design (M3) used from 1934 until the end of the war. Considered nearly “unbreakable”, the only flaw inherent to the enigma machine – beyond human error, which would ultimately be its downfall, was the fact that the machine could scramble the letters into any one of 17,576 combinations except the use of its original letter. However, it would be human error, such as signing off each communication with “Heil Hitler” showcased in “The Imitation Game”, that allowed the Allies to deconstruct many of the cipher’s coded communications. Though widely employed by Germany during the war, enigma machines are now very scarce, as Germans were ordered to destroy them lest they fall into Allied hands. Additionally, Winston Churchill ordered all Enigma machines to be destroyed at the end of the war. Only about 250 used during WWII are now believed to still exist, with machines having matching parts, such as this example, even more rare. Machine is model M3, with the serial numbers of the rotors matching the machine itself (since the rotors were interchangeable, this isn’t always the case), in its original wooden case. Serial number engraved on plate attached to the keyboard reads “A // 00660 / bac / 43 E”, matching the serial number of “660” stamped on the plate underneath the rotors, and also matching the serial number on the rotors reading “A 00660 / 43 E”. The metal wheels also bear the engraving of the Third Reich emblem – a black eagle above the swastika. Upon the interior of the wooden lid are the instructions in German, above the QWERTZUIO mechanical keyboard, which would light up when used. Twenty-six bulbs exist on the lamp board, with one broken, and with the socket locations marked Kabelprufung (cable test) and Lampenprufung (lamp test). Original battery is still present, with expected corrosion. Part of leather strap also present but no longer secured to wooden case. Entire machine and case weighs approximately 28.5 lbs. and measures 11″ x 13.25″ x 6″. Sold for $89,250.
The following are some additional items we have sold:
Fascinating two-volume set of Hitler’s ”Mein Kampf,” each volume signed ”Adolf Hitler” by the Nazi Fuhrer following his release from prison for high treason, and shortly after his public speaking ban had been lifted. Both volumes published by Franz Eher Nachfolger: Munich: 1926-1927. Volume II is a first edition and Volume I is a second edition; each volume contains a pre-publication presentation inscription by Hitler to Josef Bauer, one of the first members (#34) of the Nazi party and one of the leaders of the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923, when Hitler and his cohorts attempted to overthrow the Bavarian government by gunpoint. Here, in these volumes, Hitler signs the fly-leaf, sending his best wishes to Bauer for the Christmas season. He dates his autograph inscription 1925 in the first volume, and 1926 in the second. Bound in red cloth boards with gilt lettering, both volumes measure 9” x 12”. Sunning to backstrips, else very good condition. An ominously signed set of books that futilely warned the world of Hitler’s intentions. Made even more scarce as signed in 1925 to a fellow Nazi leader. Sold for $64,850.
Consign your Enigma M3 at Nate D. Sanders Auctions. Send a description and images of your Enigma M3 to us at [email protected].
Rare V-E Day proclamation signed ”Harry Truman” as President, given by Truman to his White House staff at the 1945 White House Christmas party. Dated 8 May 1945, printed document formally announces the Victory of Europe and surrender of Nazi Germany. Text reads in part, ”The Allied Armies, through sacrifice and devotion and with God’s help, have wrung from Germany a final and unconditional surrender. The Western World has been freed of the evil forces which for five years and longer have imprisoned the bodies and broken the lives of millions upon millions of free-born men. They have violated their churches, destroyed their homes, corrupted their children, and murdered their loved ones. Our Armies of Liberation have restored freedom to these suffering peoples, whose spirit and will their oppressors could never enslave…” Single-page Proclamation is beautifully decorated in red, blue and gilt. Measures 14.75” x 21.75”. Shallow crease to upper right and light buckling, but overall in near fine condition. Proclamation is cited in the Seeley reference book as having been issued as a Christmas gift to White House staff in 1945, and one example remains in the collection of the Truman Library. Sold for $9,375.
FREE ESTIMATE. To buy, auction, sell or consign your Enigma M3 that is for sale, please email your description and photos to [email protected] of Nate D. Sanders Auctions (http://www.NateDSanders.com).
We offer the following services for your Enigma M3:
- Appraise Enigma M3.
- Auction Enigma M3.
- Consign Enigma M3.
- Estimate Enigma M3.
- Sell Enigma M3.
- Enigma M3 valuation.