Milestone first Premier Military Auction of 2025 saw robust results with $725K in sales

WILLOUGHBY, Ohio – Milestone’s first Premier Military Auction of 2025 commanded collectors’ attention with 705 lots of high-quality, expertly assessed items that tracked a 250-year timeline from the Revolutionary War through the modern-war era. The January 18 auction took in a hefty $725,000 and was led by an exciting, fresh-to-the market discovery: a rare, untouched and well-preserved original Confederate sword made by Thomas Leech of Memphis, Tennessee.

Of a type known as a “floating CS” staff and field officer's sword, the coveted Thomas Leech production featured a 30-inch blade identified to, and engraved with the name of, Lieut. W. B. Spencer 31st, Regt. Tenn. Vols. It was a recent discovery that crowned a selection of approximately one dozen Confederate entries and sold for $22,000. Its presale estimate had been set at $10,000-$15,000.

In addition to Confederate items, there were many desirable Union pieces available. A Civil War officer’s shabraque – a decorative saddle cover – was reflective of a style used by the European light cavalry in the 18th and 19th centuries but American-manufactured in distinctive US Union colors. Created from midnight-blue wool, lined in oilcloth and trimmed with gold braid and black leather edging, the attractive equine accessory was bid to $3,813 against an estimate of $500-$1,000.

Pre-dating the Civil War, a US Marine Corps bell-crown, “tar bucket” shako – so named because of the tarred black finish originally applied to its leather form – was consistent with the headwear used by both Marine regular forces and militia units from 1820 to 1835. Its impressive design included a USMC rosette, star-shape side rosettes, a Federal Eagle plate, and a line of original scalloped scales that encircled the hat. Against an estimate of $2,000-$3,000, it realized $4,182.

The most active auction category was World War II relics, especially those emblematic of the Nazi Party. The top lot within the specialty classification was a trunk grouping originally belonging to World War II Nazi German Panzer General and Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves recipient Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin. The trunk’s contents included a tailored, Italian-made wood uniform comprised of a tunic, trousers and cap; plus leather marching boots, a buckled belt, dagger, and many other military accessories and items of ephemera. Formerly displayed at the now-closed AAF Tank Museum in Danville, Virginia, this trunk grouping sold for $15,990 against an estimate of $6,000-$10,000.

A circa 1941-44 Nazi German Luftwaffe silver-plated nickel/silver “honor goblet” was an award given to pilots and aircrew deemed to have shown “outstanding bravery and special successes.” Die-cut and constructed in three parts, its obverse was strikingly decorated with an embossed eagle engaged in aerial combat. Its reverse showed a 1939 Iron Cross. Manufactured by the renowned Berlin firm Johann Wagner & Sohn, it sold above its high estimate, reaching $8,610.

An exceptional example of regalia, a WWII Nazi Army general’s standarte (standard) banderole – a long, narrow flag meant to be flown at a masthead – had been crafted to superior specifications with machine-embroidered silver aluminum wire and trimmed with black and red threaded tresses at each edge. Its dual silver aluminum wire plates bore images of Heer-style German National Eagles clutching a mobile swastika on the obverse. On the reverse, each plate was dated 16 MARZ 1935 and 16 MARZ 1936. Both ends were finished with silver aluminum wire tassels. This unique, hand-made textile, which would have been displayed at rallies and used in marches or parades, achieved $5,166 against an estimate of $1,500-$2,500.

From the Italian side of the Axis of Evil came a WWII MVSN (Fascist militia) general’s M1933 helmet displaying a highly-visible painted image of a large, age-toned gold Roman eagle holding a fasces (a bundle of rods with a projecting axe blade). This avian depiction was an emblem of authority both in Fascist Italy and, many centuries earlier, in Ancient Rome. Estimated at $500-$1,000, it attracted 67 bids before retiring at $5,166.

An American A-2-patched flight jacket was worn during WW II by JB Bass when he was with the US 1st Combat Cargo Group, 1st Squadron, a heroic outfit that flew dangerous supply missions in Asian combat zones. Decorated with several fantastic-looking China-Burma-India Theater leather insignias on its front and a large American Flag and blood chit on its back, this jacket was made in 1936. The date is significant, as it suggests Bass may have been an early member of the Army Air Corps. It sold above high estimate for $5,535.

Bold and highly visible with its red-and-white “rising sun” motif, a captured WWII Japanese National Flag was hand-signed by approximately 100 members of the 124th Field Artillery Battalion of the 33rd Infantry Division. This battalion saw significant action in the Pacific theater, incurring 2,426 battle casualties. Another 396 of its troops were wounded in action, one was taken as a prisoner of war, and there were 2,024 MIAs. The bottom of this important flag shows both the battalion’s insignia and Battle Honors of the 33rd Division with its own insignia. Against a $500-$800 estimate, the unique memento rose to $3,567.

Milestone’s Spring Premier Firearms Auction, featuring 1,187 lots of civilian and military weapons and a vast array of sporting shotguns and rifles from all major makers, will be held at their gallery on March 22-23, 2025, with all forms of remote bidding available.

View Milestone’s January 18, 2025 New Year’s Premier Military Sale catalog and prices realized at Milestone’s website or through Invaluable or LiveAuctioneers. To discuss consigning militaria or antique, vintage or modern firearms to a future auction at Milestone, whether there’s a single item or an entire collection, please call Miles King at 440-527-8060 or email info@milestoneauctions.com. All enquiries are kept strictly confidential and there is never an obligation to consign.

_{*All prices quoted in this press release are inclusive of buyer’s premium, as detailed on Milestone’s website.}