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M24 grenade for opinion

A

avenger

Member
Hello everyone. I've been kind of a lurker around here, but am now considering my first M24 potato masher. I was hoping to get opinions on if these are originals? The seller is trying to sell the whole rack for $3000, but may end up splitting it all up with the grenades going for $600. That's a lot for a grenade, but I've not seen any come up in this condition in the two years I've been looking, so I don't know if that's what they go for like this or not. But, confirmation on if the grenades look good, particularly the ones with the aluminum end caps would be much appreciated. I'm hoping to get the one with the darker colored stick and aluminum end cap if I get the chance.

Thank you all!

Scott

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It is good to be cautious, because huge amounts of WWII German stuff is counterfeited these days. My observations, are that they look too good. The handles aren't marked much from being inserted and withdrawn from the springs in the box. The bottom of the heads has been opened as if the explosive was removed, so that looks real. And lastly the seller didn't unscrew the heads from the sticks, so you could see if the detonators and delays were inerted, and if there is a detonator well intact in the heads. At a minimum, I would request a photo of the areas in the head and sticks where they meet.
 
Looks like a super lot of originals to me, though it would be nice to see bottom of can & the coupler top. $3,000 sounds like a lot until you look closely. Its on the high end of reasonable, in my opinion, but would like to hear from the real experts here!
 
Everything looks good and original, but I'm with Hazord. Ask to see inside of the head and the top of the handle (det area). Those are the hardest areas to fake. I saw three police recovered fakes about 18 mos back that were very nice and looked original, right up to the point where you opened them up. While not technically difficult, these grenades were a pain in the butt to empty, and it leaves signs that are hard to fake - sorry, "reproduce" for those so inclined.
 
Thanks gentlemen for the replies. I'm in a bit of a waiting pattern right now to see if the seller is able to sell the whole lot. If I hear back that he's going to part it out, I will definitely ask to see the insides of the canister and fuse head on the stick. More to come!
 
I'm with Hazord on the 'too good to be true' view. Though I will qualify that as my doubt is only in one area.

The wooden handles don't look as though they have aged in 75 years. Maybe they have been stored in the dark in a humidity controlled environment for 75 years but is this realistic? I've seen ten year old repros that look older!

Caveat Emptor with any German WW2 stuff.

John
 
Those look real to me BUT , as the other members have said , it is essential to see the inside of the heads . Like Shrodinger's cat , you have no idea whether they are alive or dead otherwise . Caution required .
 
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