The "Princes" Luger

[ccmano]

Check this one out, speaking of buying the gun and not the story. The gun looks like a reblue to me, especially the third picture of the right side. The story of the Prince may very well be true, who knows...any thoughts?

http://gunbroker.com/auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=4411308

<img src="graemlins/r.gif" border="0" alt="[king]" />

Hans

[wterrell]

The asking price is worth the speculation.
[quote]From: Arturo Beeche &lt;arturo@eurohistory.com&gt;
Subject: "Prince Alfred von Habsburg-Hohenberg, i.e. make believe royalty!"
Date: Wed, 24 Mar 1999 13:43:20 -0800


Group,

The latest from "Prince Alfred von Habsburg-Hohenberg!!!" He calls himself
the "Grand Prior of the Order of St. George." He travels to FLorida every
year to "Knight" new members of his order...which he claims to have
"revived" with King Peter II of Yugoslavia and a Mysterious Count von
Luckner in 1965. He also charges people $2,500.00 for the said Order's
Membership!

"Prince Alfred" is of course the "Head of the Royal House of Burgau," and
many retirees in Florida are lining up to become distinguished members of
his most exalted Order!

His next Knighting Ceremony is on March 27!!!!! Some poor sucker fell for it!

I have a reporter in Sarasota Florida interested in this story and trying
his best to uncover this mysterious-sounding German prince....fantasy
royalty, yet dishonest and pernicious!

Help!!!!

Art

PS: He claims to be a direct descendant of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol
and Philippine Welser!!!!! And the holder of the title F�¼rst von Hohenberg
(of the House of Burgau) nonetheless!


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<hr></blockquote>

[quote]From: &lt;Gvonstud@aol.com&gt;
Subject: Re: "Prince Alfred von Habsburg-Hohenberg, i.e. make believe royalty!"
Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 01:05:06 EST


"Prince" Alfred had the goodness a few years ago to make me a Knight Commander
of his Order of St. George, a privilege for which I paid not $25,000 but the
exact sum of nothing. Of course I do not take this great honor too very
seriously. Lieutenant Commander Count Felix Luckner, by the way, is hardly
mysterious. He was the famous "Seeteufel", whose exploits as commander of the
Imperial German Naval SMS Seeadler in the South Pacific and the Atlantic
during World War I gained him much renown.

Gilbert von Studnitz


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<hr></blockquote>

[tracyp]

The quality of the pictures is not very good, but the story doesn't seem to fit the pistol. He says it was carry into combat, but there's little ware on the sideplate. I wouldn’t buy it without seeing it first hand. <img src="graemlins/oops.gif" border="0" alt="[oops]" />

[wterrell]

MORE FROM THE PRINCE

Ordo Sancti Joannis Hospitalis Hierosolymitani



Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Ordo Sancti Joannis Hospitalis Hierosolymitani was founded in 1048 to establish a hospital in Jerusalem for the purpose of caring for the poor and sick pilgrims who came to visit the Holy City. Today, the Order remains committed to the service of mankind and also supports activities to protect the world's oceans, wildlife and rain forests.

Some of the activities of the Order are

Knighting ceremonies
Committee meetings
An annual meeting dinner on June 24th, St. John's Day
Charitable fund-raising events
Social activities/get-togethers
Establishing commanderies in cities throughout the United States and possibly priories in Europe

You can also read a brief history of knighthood.

Membership of the Order shall be open to all persons of a knightly character and irreproachable background. If you feel you are an individual who has distinguished yourself in your chosen career or profession, charitable work, service/devotion to God and humanity, please submit your curriculum vitae/resume to our office for consideration. Some of the distinguished members of our Order are listed here.

A distinguished Member of our Order is Colonel Ottomar Herrmann. Today, Colonel Herrmann has created an American Renaissance of classical equitation and maintains a ranch in Florida to help insure the continuation of this most extraordinary breed; The Royal Lipizzan Stallion of Austria.

If you would like to stay informed of our work and receive news and details of forthcoming events, please join our mailing list.

Kindest regards,

Alfred von Habsburg-Hohenberg
Grand Prior
Email: Alfred von Habsburg-Hohenberg
Ordo Sancti Joannis Hospitalis Hierosolymitani


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[wterrell]

From left to right, F�¼rst Alfred von Habsburg-Hohenberg (Grand Prior), Sir David Cross (Ordo Sancti Joannis), Princess Jean von Habsburg-Hohenberg (Ordo Sancti Joannis).

F�¼rst Alfred von Habsburg-Hohenberg (Grand Prior) is holding the ancient sword of his ancestor, Emperor Charles V of Austria (1500-1558), with which he performed the Knighting Ceremony.

[Herb]

Need a translator--
http://www.pc-berni.de/ritteradek.htm

[Roadkill]

Altendorfer mit Titel

"Old City" member with a title

Wenn man den Ritter von Al-
tendorf besucht,

If you visit the knight from Altendorf

so betritt man
eine ganz zivile Wohnung an der
Styrumer StraÃ??e:

you will meet a man in a civilized house on Styrumer street

Keine R�¼stungen,keine Hellebarden weit und
breit.

No armor, no wise men(white beards)near and far


B�¼rgerlich ist das Umfeld
des Bernhard Ritter von Radek.

Hospitable are the surroundings of the Knight Bernhard von Radek.


In dieser Wohnung nahm die
Geschichte seiner Ritterw�¼rde
Im vergangenen Jahr ihren An-
Fang.

In this dwelling continues the history of his knights honors of the past years

Nachdem Radek einen Ar-
tikel in der Zeitschrift ,, Der
Schlesier`` ver�¶ffentlich hatte,

After Radek was presented in an article in the newspaper "the Schlesier" (Schleswig-Holstein area


erreichte ihn eine Postkarte aus
Floridar.

a postcard reached him from Florida


Absender war Alfred
Von Habsburg-Hohenburg, ein
Direkter Nachkomme von Kai-
ser Friedrich III.,

The sender was Alfred Von Habsburg- Hohenburg, a direct descendant of Kaiser Freidrich III

der im Jahre
1469 den Orden St. Georg ge-
gr�¼ndet hatte.

who in 1469 founded the Order of St George


Zwischen den
beiden entstand eine Brief-
freundschaft,

A mail friendship developed between them

in deren Verlauf
der Habsburger seinem Essener
Freund die Mitgliedschaft im
Ritterorden anbot


and in the progress the Habsburger offered his friend a membership in the Knights order.


This isn't my best guys, I've got a hangover and really shouldn't even try

RK

[Ron Wood]

Wow RK! That's a pretty good translation to knock out while recovering from over-enjoyment of spirits.

I think that the "Prince" is having some fun with his title and enjoying an excuse to travel to Florida every year. I wonder how many "Knights" have been created by this lighthearted bit of fantasy?

I hope his Luger is more genuine than the "ancient sword of his ancestor". It is a modern made replica that is one of several types available for re-enactors and collectors.

[ccmano]

Wes, I'm still not sure what your opinion of the Luger is? Have you been "Knighted" too?

Hans <img src="graemlins/r.gif" border="0" alt="[king]" />

[wterrell]

Characters such as Prince Alfred add a flavor to Luger collecting that is lacking in other fields such as stamp collecting. So we must love them for their contribution to the ambient atmosphere of our fraternity. Dissecting F�¼rst Alfred von Habsburg-Hohenberg would be the same as comparing the meter and examining the notes of the mockingbird instead of enjoying the beauty of the melody.

I have no opinion of the authenticity of Prince Alfred or his sidearm.

(If I were 'knighted', perhaps my wife would treat me with more respect!)

[ccmano]

Has anyone noticed that someone actually placed a bid on this Luger for $2000!!! I hope he knows more that what is written in the text. It doesn't even say if the gun is matching. That fourth picture down still bugs me, it looks like the proofs are buffed over and reblued.

Wes, I must agree that Philatelism tends to be much more colorful than Luger Collecting <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Hans <img src="graemlins/r.gif" border="0" alt="[king]" />

[wterrell]

Yes, flatulence keeps babies and us smiling. <img src="graemlins/bigok.gif" border="0" alt="[thumbsup]" />

[Roadkill]

In my college days I was a bartender. To encourage tips you always pre loaded the tip jar to insure customers got the idea. I think this is one of those deals. But the gun on its own merits does look good, closer in person examination may warrant an approximate value to price indicated. Based on photos I agree about the rework.

RK

[Freischütz]

I made a quick check of his war record.

He was a Pionier officer, and served with 298. and 389. Infanterie-Divisionen, and 26.Panzer-Division. He was wounded in the Stalingradkessel.

[Garfield]

The fellow who placed the bid on this (IMHO)POS was a member and contributor on the old forum.

Regards,