Milestone’s April 18 Premier Military & Edged Weapons Auction salutes American warriors and wartime triumphs of the past 250 years

Featured: Hundreds of WW II lots including uniforms, helmets, swords, German & Japanese binoculars, 1944 US Airborne Eureka Homing Beacon Transmitter +WWI Imperial German general’s tschapka

WILLOUGHBY, Ohio – The United States will celebrate its 250th anniversary on July 4th, but Milestone Auctions is getting the party started ßearly on April 18 with a Premier Military & Edged Weapons Sale that salutes our armed forces from the American Revolution through modern times. The 723-lot selection includes uniforms, helmets and headgear; medals, flags, insignia, photos, and hundreds of German, Japanese and other World War II Axis relics and articles of memorabilia, including “Big Eye” binoculars and a cased Japanese machine gun aviation camera. The huge array of edged weapons runs the gamut from swords, knives, katanas and daggers to a chilling circa-1700 executioner’s sword previously held in the Torture Chamber Collection of Nuremberg, Germany.

World War II pitted the United States and its Allied partners against a band of tyrannical dictators who would ultimately die in ways that fell far short of the glory they had imagined for themselves. One of the most infamous among them was the egotistical and power-mad fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, who adopted the honorary title of Marshal of the Empire following Italy’s imperial ventures into Africa. To reflect the self-appointed military designation he introduced in 1938, Mussolini adopted a new accessory to denote what he viewed as his heightened status: a visor hat decorated with regalia exclusive to the highest military command. That very hat – whose condition indicates it was well cared for – is a top highlight of the April 18 auction.

The peaked hat’s band is richly embellished with gold braid, symbolizing naval authority and martial prestige. The central insignia is hand-embroidered in gold bullion and features a crowned anchor flanked by laurel leaves. The interior is lined in silk with a white leather sweatband emblazoned with the gilded initials “B M.” 

“Any articles having a direct association with Mussolini, especially official items of rank, are exceedingly scarce and highly sought after by collectors of WWII memorabilia, general militaria, and 20th-century political history,” said Miles King, co-owner and principal auctioneer of Milestone Auctions. “The peaked cap was among the items recovered from Mussolini’s villa in 1945 by members of the US 85th Regiment, 10th Mountain Division.” Specifically, the cap was souvenired by Major Erick Wikner of that regiment and division. Its auction estimate is $10,000-$20,000.

An incredibly rare circa late-1920s Kuomintang Nationalist Chinese Plum Blossom helmet, also known as a Mountain Bamboo Helmet, was manufactured in the latter 1920s, a time when tensions were rising between China and Japan. The Plum Blossom was, in fact, closely patterned after a Japanese military helmet known as the M1922. The Chinese version was intentionally called the Plum Blossom to differentiate from the Japanese Cherry Blossom. Its alternative name was Mountain Bamboo, based on a suggestion that the vent hole cover more closely resembled the leaf pattern of the Mountain Bamboo tree than a Plum Blossom. The Chinese Plum Blossom helmet is encountered far less frequently than its Japanese cousin, and the auction example retains more of its original paint than the few others Milestone’s experts have seen. In VG condition, it is estimated at $8,000-$10,000.

Britain boasts a long history of high-quality steel production, as seen in a scarce WWII Sykes Fairbairn Type 1 commando’s stiletto knife. It prominently and legibly bears the maker’s mark FS Fighting Knife / Wilkinson Sword Co Ltd London on both sides. The blade is bright with only minor sharpening, and the beautiful cross-checkered nickel brass handle has a mellow patina. Presented with its original steel-tipped scabbard, it is expected to sell in the vicinity of $2,500-$3,500. 

A 1944 US Airborne PPN-2 Eureka Homing Beacon transmitter is of a type that was used by World War II Pathfinders during airborne drops to signal and guide a given mission’s main body of airplanes into drop zones. Eureka worked in tandem with ‘Rebecca,” a receiver placed within an aircraft, to form an essential communications system. Invented by the British, Eureka was subsequently modified for use by American forces. Dated 1944 and serial-numbered 1644, the auction example retains its excellent padded jump case. Estimate: $2,000-$3,000

With the advanced technologies available to Western armed forces of today, it is nothing short of remarkable that, during World War II, faraway enemy ships could be identified using only a pair of binoculars. However, not all binoculars of that period were “created equal.” One of the auction’s top highlights is a pair of WWII Imperial Japanese Navy 20 x120 3-degree “Big Eye” binoculars made by Tokyo Optical Company (Toko/Tokyo Kogaku Kikay) and serial numbered 189. They are of a type that would have been mounted on battleships, destroyers and cruisers. Toko was known for its large-aperture binoculars designed to funnel in as much light as possible for spotting ships from a distance. The auction binoculars also bear the name of the veteran who souvenired them: CAPT. M. M. RIKER COM PHIB PAC. Estimate: $3,000-$4,000 

A WWII Japanese Konishiroku (predecessor to Konica) Rokuoh-Sha Type 89 machine gun camera was designed for military training exercises. Such cameras were mounted onto airplane wings to record footage and determine fighter pilots’ accuracy without having to use live rounds. In overall near-mint condition with its original case and manual, it is estimated at $2,000-$3,000.

Employed by the Soviet Union during WWII, 20 x 120 “Big Eye” naval observation binoculars were distinguished for their precision hardware and a large aperture specifically designed for long-range surveillance. Regarded as the ultimate in optical technology in their day, the fully adjustable, tripod-mounted binoculars were used for both maritime and astronomical observation. At auction, they are expected to bring $2,000-$4,000.

A WWII German poster illustrates the danger of nighttime raids through chilling graphics and a stern warning. The art features a menacing skeleton hurling a bomb from atop a British bomber as the plane attacks a house with its lights on. The German text reads “Der Feind sieht Dein Licht! Verdunkeln!” (Blackout! The enemy sees your lights!). Printed by DPA Sander Herweg, this beautifully-framed period poster’s dimensions are 33 inches by 47 inches. Estimate: $3,000-$5,000

A WWI Imperial German general’s tschapka is from the 2nd Garde Uhlan (Lancer) Regiment, which was part of the Guards Cavalry Division that fought on the Western Front. After the war, the regiment was honored with a memorial to its fallen soldiers in the island neighborhood of Moabit in Berlin. (A detailed account of this especially-active regiment’s wartime operations is included in the auction lot’s description in Milestone’s catalog.) A fine example of distinctive lancer regiment headgear, it has a leather body with a brass Garde Regiment helmet plate adorned by an enamel starburst center. Also, it has brass scaled officer’s pattern chinstraps with a single officer’s Reich’s cockade. In excellent condition, it is estimated at $3,000-$4,000.

Surely the most extraordinary entry withi the antique edged weapons category is an extremely rare and fine-quality German executioner’s beheading sword dating to around 1700. It has a 33-inch blade, a bronze hilt with a straight square section crossguard, and a faceted globe pommel. The terrifying weapon was actually used by the Executioner of Augsberg and was previously held in the Torture Chamber Collection of Nuremberg. It also appears as Figure 82 in the Claude Bair reference book European & American Arms. It will be offered with a $7,000-$10,000 estimate.

Milestone’s April 18, 2026 Premier Military & Edged Weapons Auction will be held live at Milestone’s gallery located at 38198 Willoughby Parkway, Willoughby (suburban Cleveland), OH 44094. Start time: 10 a.m. ET. All forms of bidding will be available, including live via the Internet through Milestone’s own bidding platform, LiveAuctioneers, Invaluable or AuctionZip. For additional information on any item in the auction, call 440-527-8060 or email [email protected]. Online: www.milestoneauctions.com