Offered here is an excellent German Rural Police (Landgendarmerie / Gendarmerie) Long Dress "Walking Out" Bayonet manufactured by Alexander Coppel, Solingen. The bayonet is complete with its original brown leather scabbard and brown leather frog.
The bayonet features an attractive stag horn grip. The crossguard bears the unit marking:
L. E. 71
This marking indicates issue to a unit of the German State Rural Police (Gendarmerie).
This is a fine early-period dress bayonet of outstanding quality. The hilt is made of nickel-plated brass alloy. The steel blade retains its original nickel finish and features the characteristic cut-down profile, with the fuller extending nearly to the tip.
The blade remains in excellent condition with bright, well-preserved nickel plating.
The ricasso is maker marked:
ALEXANDER COPPEL / SOLINGEN
arranged around the firm's well-known scales trademark, incorporating the initials ACS. A larger version of the scales trademark is stamped on the reverse side of the blade.
This trademark was used on Police and other dress bayonets during the Weimar Republic and into the early NSDAP period, until approximately 1940, according to J. Anthony Carter's German Knife and Sword Makers.
The original leather buffer washer between the blade and hilt is present.
The grip scales are made from genuine stag horn. One side is fitted with the original aluminum Police insignia secured by aluminum rivets.
The crossguard is decorated with oak leaves, while the pommel is formed as a stylized eagle's head. Both retain excellent detail and much of their original nickel finish.
The scabbard is constructed of high-quality brown leather with nickel-plated brass fittings and remains in very good condition. It bears the same L. E. 71 unit marking as the crossguard, confirming that the scabbard is original and matching to the bayonet.
The bayonet is complete with its original brown leather frog, which is also preserved in very good condition.
Manufacturer
Alexander Coppel & Co. KG, Stahlwarenfabrik, of Solingen—the legendary German "City of Blades"—was one of Germany's leading manufacturers of edged weapons and tools from the late nineteenth century through the Second World War.
As Nazi control increased, the Jewish owners, brothers Carl Gustav Coppel and Dr. Alexander Coppel, were forced from the company. In 1936, the business was "Aryanized" and renamed ALCOSO, concealing the Coppel family name. By around 1940, the trademark initials changed from ACS (Alexander Coppel Solingen) to AWS (Alcoso-Werk Solingen).
Carl Gustav Coppel died in Solingen in 1941, while Dr. Alexander Coppel was arrested in 1942 and deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp, where he died on August 5, 1942.
A superb early German Rural Police dress bayonet complete with its original matching scabbard and frog. The matching L. E. 71 inventory markings on both the crossguard and scabbard confirm that this is an original matched set, making it a highly desirable collector's piece of German Police edged weapons. An outstanding display example.