Original German WWII Rare Rural Police Short Dress Knife Bayonet by Alexander Coppel with Scabbard and Frog

Item DescriptionOriginal Item: Only One Available. This is a lovely and rare Rural Police Short Dress 'Walking Out' Knife Bayonet byAlexander Coppel of Solingen. As with other dress bayonets, choice of blade length was left to the purchaser, usually either the nickel-plated short (25cm) or long (33cm) version, however police bayonets are almost always the 'long' version, with a 'cut down' style blade. This example however has something we have not seen before: an 'extra short' (20cm) knife style blade. These are extremely rare, and this example comes complete with it's original blued steel scabbard and brown 'rural police' leather belt frog.The bayonet has a nice zinc alloy hilt, which still retains the plating at about 75%, showing some wear and denting, as well as overall oxidation and pin prick flakes. The pommel does has a fully functional locking stud and mortise slot, though the felt insert is missing. The hilt also does not have the usual embossed 'birds head' decorations on the pommel, nor any on the cross guard. The grip scales are made of beautiful stag horn with an aluminum alloy police insignia firmly attached on one side. These are held with plated steel rivets, which show light oxidation but no wiggle. It is marked with unit number116on the cross guard, but we did not see any numbers on the scabbard.Measuring 13.75' with the scabbard on, this dress bayonet features a 7 5/8' nickel-plated steel blade, which shows light wear to the plating, but no signs of sharpening or alteration. It is a 'knife' style blade with partial fullers and a false edge on the top of the point, which we have not seen before on a Police bayonet. There is some runner wear from the scabbard, as well as wear through near the tip from wear and oxidation.The reverse ricasso is stamped with the trademark Alcoso used in 1939-1940. It depicts the scales with the firm's initials,ACSinterspersed. Above is the firm's name in an arc,ALCOSO, and below the town of business,SOLINGEN, the legendary 'City of Blades' in Western Germany. This type of trademark was used on dress bayonets and swords during the Weimar republic and up through the beginning of the NSDAP era, up until around 1940, per J. Anthony Carter's workGERMAN KNIFE AND SWORD MAKERS.Alcosowas originally a trade name of Alexander Coppel & Co. KG, Stahlwarenfabrik, located in Solingen, the legendary German 'City of Blades.' The company was a major manufacturer of edged weapons and tools from the end of the 19th century up until the WWII period. Unfortunately, as NSDAP-control increased, brothers Carl Gustav and Dr. Alexander Coppel, the Jewish owners of the firm, were forced out. In 1936 the firm had been 'Aryanized', and started using the name ALCOSO to hide the Jewish family name. By the end of 1936 the brothers were ejected from their Solingen offices, and by 1940 the brand trademark initials ACS were changed to AWS to reflect the change in ownership and name: Alexander Coppel Solingen to Alcoso-Werk Solingen. Carl Gustav Coppel committed suicide in Solingen in 1941, and Dr. Alexander Coppel was arrested in 1942 and sent to Theresienstadt Prison camp, where he died August 5th 1942.The scabbard is blued steel, much like a military issue bayonet, and the finish is very well retained, showing some wear through on the edges and back from service. There are no dents or major oxidation issues, and it fits the bayonet well. It is held in a lovely brown rural police dress frog, which still has sturdy stitching, showing some wear to the leather.This is a wonderful early war rare extra short rural police knife bayonet by ALCOSO with a lovely scabbard and leather belt frog. Ready to display!Specifications:Blade Length: 7 5/8'Blade Style: Single Edged with FullerOverall length: 12 3/8'Crossguard: 2'Scabbard Length: 11 7/8'Shipping RestrictionsThis product is available for international shipping.Shipping not available to: Australia, France, or GermanyPayment OptionsNot eligible for payment with Paypal or AmazonLegal InformationDue to legal restrictions this item cannot be shipped to Australia, France or Germany. This is not a comprehensive list and other countries may be added in the future.