The Insignia Cross from the legendary Red Baron’s Fokker DR I will sell next month.
Profiles in History values it at $100,000-150,000 ahead of its June 8 sale.
The Red Baron was the nickname of Manfred von Richthofen (1892-1918), an extraordinarily talented first world war fighter ace.
The Red Baron's Insignia Cross has been in the same collection since the 1950s
He racked up 80 victories during his career, rising through the ranks to command the feared Jagdstaffel 11 – a unit made up of Germany’s most elite pilots.
He was killed by an anti-aircraft gunner over the Somme in 1918.
The Allies marked his funeral with a gun salute, as a mark of respect for one of the greatest fighters of the war.
The auction house comments: “This may well be the ultimate artifact from World War I, with an unbroken provenance dating to the late 1950s…
"Though there were many notable pilots from the First World War - Eddie Rickenbacker, Rene Fonck, George Guynemer - none have captured the public fancy and been elevated to the mythic proportions of the ‘Red Baron,’ Manfred von Richthofen…
“The few Richthofen items extant are in museums and seldom find their way to private collections.”
We have a genuine strand of the Red Baron’s hair for sale.
The auction is jam-packed with fascinating pieces, including a letter from Einstein, a collection of material from the first Air Force One and the original text of Alcoholics Anonymous’ famous Big Book.
Please sign up to our free newsletter to receive exciting news about medal and militaria auctions.
