Down the Cellar 227 - Star Spangled

Happy 4th everyone! TIMESTAMPS FOR THE IMPATIENT - 0:00 Video 227 begins with July 4th decorations and flag orientation drama 0:41 Tom reflects on 250 years of America, freedom, democracy, and the sacred right to collect weird old things 3:57 Last week’s beautiful German Cross medal gets exposed as a copy, the hobby humbles everyone again 5:38 First drink of the episode, because history requires lubrication 6:00 The failed Uncle Sam hat mission and the proud low budget Fourth of July setup 6:30 Confetti, paper fireworks, and a table that will absolutely punish whoever vacuums it 6:50 Old flags from the rafters make their triumphant final appearance, or possibly not final 7:20 Counting stars on the flags briefly suggests a 54 star America from the future 8:20 Firecracker safety, missing fingers, and a toast to America 9:39 No walk ins this week, so it is mail packages plus the big California collection 10:16 First package from California includes an actual nice card, civilization briefly survives 12:03 Youth tunic comes out of the box 13:10 Tunic inspection with armband, brigade details, buttons, and strong historical nightshirt energy 15:36 Ornate double sided display banner with tassels 16:48 One tiny pinhole is discovered and jokingly sentenced to death 18:00 Package from Ireland, with Eoghan’s name bravely entering the pronunciation meat grinder 19:40 Veteran signed bring back flag appears 21:48 Flag identified with the 562nd Air Signal Warning Battalion 23:31 Minneapolis package brings a book, a box, and suspiciously ring shaped suspense 25:02 Extremely worn SS ring appears in a reproduction box 26:09 The ring engraving raises eyebrows, since the outside is exhausted but the inside is suspiciously crisp 27:35 If he got the ring in 1940, he wore the hell out of it in four years 28:05 Virginia box arrives and the episode becomes a small clothing store 29:18 Enlisted Army tunic, late wool, small size, not a general, tragedy narrowly avoided 31:57 MUN label mystery, possibly munitions 32:40 Officer tunic with loops, black piping, and Tommy’s Discount Fourth of July Sale energy 35:41 Drink refill and tunics are praised as both good inventory and good television 36:36 Decorations collapse and cleanup becomes its own military operation 37:23 Alabama box arrives with visible postal combat damage 38:11 Dagger time at last, an Alcoso piece with veteran assembled quirks 40:47 Blade inspection finds grease, stains, a missing washer, and enough authenticity to keep the room interested 42:04 Mail segment ends and the 33 box California mega collection begins 42:49 Deluxe Army horseshoe hangers with beautiful fronts and hardworking backsides 44:10 Officer hangers with leather admired to a frankly intimate degree 46:03 Early brass Army hangers with brown straps, rare and pretty enough to confuse everyone 47:27 TeNo leather work hangers, worn but original 48:51 Early naval administrative hangers with silvered lion mask fittings 50:00 Bolivian officer hangers become Bulgarian officer hangers as geography takes a cocktail break 51:41 Bolivia versus Bulgaria aftermath, with Croatia and Canada also catching strays 52:46 Latvian Model 1925 dagger with fir tree symbolism and swastikas that predate Nazi Germany 54:00 Ivory or bone grip debate, with the camera offering no meaningful assistance 55:03 Eickhorn maker details on the Latvian dagger 56:38 Bulgarian police dagger, definitely not Bolivian, despite Tom’s mouth making another escape attempt 58:17 Bulgarian inscription, King Boris cipher, and Solingen made quality 59:12 SA dagger with removed plaque and 1934 date, a mystery by abrasion 1:00:38 Beautiful blade, Daniel Peres maker mark, and the beer barrel logo 1:02:17 Luftwaffe dagger with flat rings and flak regiment markings 1:04:26 David Malsch maker mark, nice dagger, imperfect blade, still respectable 1:05:04 Unusual naval dagger with leather covered scabbard and anchor appliqué 1:07:14 Jack cameo, morale improves instantly 1:07:22 TeNo frog with a knot that is probably Red Cross, probably not TeNo, and definitely staying on there anyway 1:08:43 Final piece, cased Romanian naval dagger 1:09:28 King Carol cipher dates it to roughly 1930 to 1940 1:10:01 Tiny red and green gemstones in the capstan ends, because naval drama requires jewelry 1:11:10 Romanian navy rarity discussion, they may have had virtually no navy but they did have taste 1:12:05 Wrap up, interesting week, patriotic drinking authorized 1:12:30 Happy Fourth of July and see you next week "Fife and Drum" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... Tom's personal email is: [email protected]. Again, Tom's email is: [email protected] Again, the WAM email is: [email protected] You may also want to check out our website: http://www.wwiidaggers.com/welcome.htm!