My grandfather was a member of the danish resistance, after his death I found one SS rings and a few other things from the war among his belongings. Sadly he died when I was a teenager, and he never spoke or left anything in writing about the past. I wish I could ask him about it today.
I have one too. My grandpa took it off a dead nazi in France . At least that's the story I got. I can say the guy had small hands because it barely fits on my pinky. Lol
My neighbor had an original SS ring he got during WW2, he is long gone now. His wife sold it in a garage sale as I found out years later during a visit to my hometown. Ya never know where these turn up.
Three Rings for the Goring in the sky Seven for the Dwarf-lords in Alpine Redoubt Nine for Paulus' men left to die One for Dork Lord on his SS throne In the castle Wolfenstein where LARPers reside
I grew up in Karlsruhe Germany due to my Dad being in the Army from 76-81 we used to go down in the tunnels and there were so many things like helmets ammunition and tons of relics left from Hitler Army but we never took anything we felt like it was all bad luck. I did bring a helmet home but my Dad told me to put it back.Under our housing and inside burned out building you could always find these tunnels. I doubt they are still open but we were 7-12 years old and had plenty of time to explore.We also found a unexploded bomb from the US in our sandbox and the Army came in and removed it.
@@masternoel123 Apparently Eva Peron used to keep making trips to the Vatican where she obtained travel documents to assist fugitive Nazis travel to Argentina.
If you were clever, you would drip feed them onto the market rather than flood the place all at once. And I think demand among collectors would still keep the price high even if all released at once.
Having the owners surname engraved inside would give them a certain level of uniqueness, so the impact on price may vary by the infamy of person it belonged to.
Yes, but if you sell them one at a time just dont make it obvious that you have lots of them. Like for example selling one per day which implies that you have at least some stored. It would be unlikely to find that same exact amount every day for long. And if the media makes News about every discovery or if the word gets around too quickly, people would probably get suspicious about it. So be very careful if you want to make the most profit.
not after he sold out his soul by promoting a phone game. Immediately unsubscribed and won't watch any of his videos anymore. Only garbage people further games that are purely built to make kids addicted so they convince their parents to pay them ingame stuff.
I have an SS ring that was given to my grandpa by his buddy who was a colonel at the end of the war.... The story goes it was found in Leipzig in some officers quarters or offices or whatever... But my grandpa was gifted it on VE Day
I lived and taught "American English" in German "Gymnasien" in the 1970's and 1980's. My experience living there, was that the younger generation was very reluctant to discuss WWII. I visited Dachau with my parent's, it was a shock for me as my dad never discussed his experience as a bombadier in WWII. Thank you Mark for your enlightening videos.
It’s illegal to display the swastika, and I think it’s sort of superstitiously avoided. Shame probably plays a role. Must’ve been a fun experience. Learning about germanies school systems always had me jealous.
I like to imagine when someone has angered or upset Mark all they hear is his intro music growing louder and louder like "hostiles nearby - Boss Fight imminent" 😅
Mark's voice sounds like the narrator of the older WWII documentary series from the early '90s, I think. You Brits can really throw together a documentary.
I work at a grocery store In Vancouver, Canada, and I had to help an old lady use the photo kiosk to scan a photo of hers. It turns out the picture was of her husband who was wearing a German SS uniform. Pretty incredible that their history makes it around the world.
@@gusbuckingham6663 I am german, I have a full family album with all sorts of people in uniforms, Wehrmacht, SA, SS, the earliest is from a Prussian Hussar who was my grandpas grandpa. U see them with their family and kids on vacation having fun etc. In the end these are normal people who lived in a very unnormal period of history.
@Gaphalor I dated a woman who's grandfather was in the war. Her family indeed lived through some hard times. My family is from Norway. I remember my great grandmother telling me a story. It was in 1943 or 44. She decided to take a walk down to the docks. There were no fishing boats there but She wanted to see the water. When she got to the dock she saw a soldier there. His helmet was next to him. As was his rifle. He was sobbing she said. She told me that it came to her that he didn't want to be there. He wanted to be home with his family. Told me she never looked at occupation troops as evil again. She said she hoped he got home safely. I do too.
@@gusbuckingham6663there is nuance to this though. They themselves may be good people but the role they are acting in does alter the situation at least due to the power dynamic. As a result of that too it’s understandable why occupied countries have negative feelings if the power feels particularly unequal, which is not contingent on that individual solider but he is still undeniably an extension of it
im from Ontario, Canada. a few years ago i found some photos of my Grandfathers who were german soldiers in WW2, and i wanted to print them off in standard paper size so our family members could see them rather than squinting a little photo, exact story as you said lol. the lady came over and saw the photos i was trying to copy and she had an obvious surprised look on her face but she was very polite and we got all 22 of them printed.
I have 3 rings , one presented and 2 that are period reproduced. The honor rings were so sought after by SS members, they had local hometown jewelry makers make them their own honor ring. When Himmler noticed everyone in the SS just about had one, he got Irate and called them all in. There are tons out there in the collector market, and tons of fakes and period repops. )
More awesome Mark Felton goodness. Thank you, sir. As a trial lawyer, I know that writing short, well-organized presentations is really, really hard. You never waste a word.
Uploaded 4 minutes ago and already 133 people considering getting scuba diving lessons and going treasure hunting! Jokes aside, interesting video Mark as always!
@@davidlynch9049 I suppose in theory a Magnetometer could be dragged round behind a boat and any potential targets above 60 metres could be checked by a technical diver using Trimix gas. Anything below 60 metres a ROV with camera can go for a look and if required and if recovery is required a diver in an Atmospheric Diving Suit......This is all assuming unlimited money, time and ideal weather searchin for an object that may not even be there! I think that if these rings are ever found, it's going to be by pure luck rather than anyone searching for them!
@@deborahschell5722 0h my god thats some rare legendary stuff. You can be lucky to belong to the 1% who still have something like this in the family. yes it reminds of dark times but that's not bad and if you are familiar with german history it doesn't only remind of dark times. proud is what germany would do well at this time. it's almost 100 years ago. Germany is not worth forgetting. but you should always consider what happened the last time you overdid your pride.
@@deborahschell5722 keep it for Bad times , its worth thousends of euros by now In the end i think your grandfather would like it to be used to better your life not dust up in a Plastic bag
F P the ideal german man: tall like goebbels, blond like hitler, lean like göring. the criteria for selecting disabled people for execution were carefully designed around goebbels' deformed leg. and everbody knew that SA head röhm was gay.
Wow, I had no idea, I've seen two of these in my life. Being 62, I grew up around many WWII veterans (my father being one). The first one I saw was when I was about 10, from a neighbor that was one of the Bastards of Bastogne. The second was while working undercover in the early 2000’s.
Whilst watching this I've got a real life Spitfire flying around outside. I'm about 2 miles away from Sywell in Northamptonshire, UK and that Spitfire's engine is really giving it some welly - suitable background sounds to a Mark Felton production :)
@@jonathansteadman7935 I'm from California, but the Spitfire is my favorite airplane. I saw one at a local airshow some years back... wonderful experience.
Fascinating, Dr. Felton. These old artifacts and keepsakes are so interesting imo. Actual physical remnants of a different era, country and a massively influential time in history. I really regret not being able to locate my Grandfather's medals and keepsakes from WWII (Canadian Allies). Cheers and Respects to you Dr. Felton for all of the time and work you put into these videos.
I owned a Totenkopf ring belonging to Dr Karl Heinz Schulz who was a surgeon in the 8th SS Florian Geyer. He operated on Hermann Fegelein. I sold it last year as they are becoming almost impossible to sell due to censorship (cant advertise it) I also sold my Knights Cross for the same reason. My SS ring had never been worn and was in mint condition. Karl was captured by the Russians during the battle of Budapest and never returned to Germany. I still have all of his photos and letters from the Russian front.
Such things are rising in price depends where you market items and how you market them its history mine was in a box with a paper knife for 67 years and it had an indentation due to how long it had been there
Mark Felton is who you want at your parties 🍻 Cheers to consistently fascinating content and certainly the most highly quality productions on history since ever. The history channel included.
Each Ring has its' individual value. Were the 200 rings found by the US soldiers in an office already engraved with names? Maybe not. And if the other allocated rings would be found it will not be one price for all the same. P.ex. the ring of Heydrich will go for much more. Same for Eicke. How many kg of silver was that altogether? To evaluate the transportation means. Ammo crate?
I don’t understand. Those 200 hundred rings that were given out to US soldiers, couldn’t some authorities in the US army track them down to return it back, even today with all the modern research and forensics tech?
@@sayyer10 Hi. The rings were cast in silver.But they will be engraved by hand only once the bearer's name is defined. This means that there must have always been a stock of rings without names and dates engraved. So my question was asking if maybe the 200 rings which the US soldiers discovered in an office were those without engraving. Because such rings are just metal.. nothing much more. The allocated and returned rings were those which had a special value and needed to be hidden away.
@@sayyer10 track em and give them to who? For what? SS occult junk. No need to make them seem any more important than they are. Any American that might still have one in their family deserves to keep it or sell it if they want. We have tens of thousands of pieces of war souvenirs in this country. This ring is just a war souvenir. I love the fakes. It diminishes their value and makes buyers wary. Nazi junk, who cares?.
@@mborder8428 Such nordic names had a strong revival in Germany in during the third Reich....as example: Günther (he who lead the army in front), Wolfgang (he who walks like a wolf), Heidrun ( the secret sign), Sieglinde ( the mild, or gentle victory)..... today not so much...today we have Kevins and Mandys......;)
This is so fascinating. Over here (Germany) we miss traces or many things which all of a sudden disappeared during our defeat. There are rumors regarding the so called nazi gold and also the "bersteinzimmer" the amber chamber. There are so many myths about those treasures, but none of them turned out to be true. If I was asked, I'd say all those treasures have been destroyed. Someone would of found at least the bloody amber chamber by now. Maybe we should take a closer look to Argentina. Well...maybe.
So, as would it be said in Lord of the Rings: "In the land of Germany, in the castle of Wewelsburg, the Dark Lord Himmler forged in secret the master SS-Ehrenrings, to control all others, and into these rings he poured his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life... 14.500 SS-Ehrenrings to rule them all. One by one the free lands of Europe fell to the power of the SS-Ehrenrings, but there were some who resisted! A last alliance of Western Allies and Soviets marched against the armies of the Third Reich and on the plains of Europe they fought for the freedom of the continent"... Of course we need the voice of Cate Blanchett as narrator (^_^)
I acquired a totenkopf ring when I was stationed in Baumholder Germany from ‘68 - ‘70. Gave a German national that worked for the U.S. Army $20 for the ring that had been awarded to his brother in law on Dec.21, 1938. Sold it to Craig Gottlieb for much, much more than what I paid for it about 5 years ago. I sold it because I was afraid the missing cache of rings would be found and the value would drop. 😉
Sometimes Dr. Felton's channel has some really funny idiosyncrasies. He starts this video with a serious, fact based, and well researched dive into some of history's most terrible people. He ends the video with what amounts to, "I'm not saying you should go on a treasure hunt adventure, but this is where I'd do it if I were to go."
Excellent historical facts presented in such an engaging and interesting manner. I’ve always wanted to know more about the mythical status around Wewelsburg Castle. It has a curious history and I’m glad I could find out more today
As Mark mentioned the runes inside the triangles as representing ''the power of the sun'' in fact the use of the title ''SS'' also refers to the title ''Black Sun'' in German.
@@jennpark8559 I doubt that. A schism goes back hundreds of years between worshippers of Odin/Wotan/Jupiter/Jove pronounced similar to "yoh weh" in Latin, vs. the worshippers of Saturn/Cronus (Then thousands of years under other names). The 6 pt star is in fact never referred to as David's in scripture (that's a more modern contrived invention based on a possibly inaccurate description of Solomon's seal) but is instead Remphan (Acts 7:43). The etymology of Remphan is "Saturn", and articles from scholars such as Shlomo Sela published by the Katz institute explain that it is indeed Saturn worship. I've had to leaves some words out so this doesn't vanish immediately, but that's the gist of it. Do you really think they would adopt the same black sun they clearly were in direct such stark, polar opposition to?
Thanks for the very informative video on the SS Totenkopf Rings. I have one of these which was captured at the Battle of the Bulge by the father of a friend of mine who was in General Patton's 3rd Army.
3:48 I found one of those daggers at my grandmother's house at my passed, but it has SA symbolism instead. It has a brown handle and a silver and black scabbard with loops for what I assume is attachment to the belt. Along with it was a Kar98k bayonet. Really interesting.
Argentina, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Antartica. Oddly not places like Guatemala or Bolivia. Almost like they built a "just in case" evac point. But that would be stupid. Nobody would do that..
@@neuzdost1939 I think you misunderstood me. I'm saying learning the true nature of WW2 is important. Our times greatest illusions lie there. We're on the same side man.
In the 1960's I visited a military museum in Camp Borden Ontario Canada at age 11 or 12.There was an eclectric collection of war souvenirs from soldiers.I remember seeing a big,clunky gold ring that had a smiling skull with ruby eyes.Amongst many SS emblazoned medals and leather gloves.
Id say my family (German-Volksdeutsche in Denmark) would agreed and even call it a bible of sorts of german occultism and mythology. But it was a revival of the german people, or atleast an attempt :)
The attitudes and lifestyles of each of the high ranking Nazis was as different as their individual relationship with Hitler. The story of each if told individually through their own eyes would tell the story of a different world war each time you move over to another member of the Reich
Now that sounds like an interesting adventure! I'm retired so I have plenty of free time. I also have a good chunk of money in my retirement plans which could help finance the expedition. Need a partner? 😉
I got really excited just now after getting the push notification on my phone, was grinning from ear to ear. I was immediately crushed to find that the video was posted 2 days ago. Thankfully I have a full Mark Felton production to soothe my weary soul.
In 1980s I scrapped some silver i got in a deal with 2 rings in the lot now I know what they are it makes me feel sick I didn't know until I read himmler black order in 1992 totally sick
Growing up in the 1960’s my best friends father had a ring like that he brought back from the war. My friend showed it to me often. I don’t think any of us realized how valuable the ring was. We just thought it was a cool looking ring.
If the officer was captured by the allies and was liberated of his ring, it would be taken back to Scotland by an officer in British Intelligence. His son would wear it as a child, with no idea what it was. Years later, that boy was all grown up and had a son of his own who did a lot of research on the owner of the ring, the jagdpanzer division he fought in from Russia to Normandy, where he was captured. The ring itself lost a lot of the detail - no doubt from years of its owner wearing it. The reproduction ones have crisp details. From memory, the main thing that's easily visible on the one my dad has is the skull on the front. The rest of the details are there, but smoothed over and faded. The inscriptions on the inside, however, look as if they'd been done yesterday. From what I can recall from researching it 20 years ago, of the 10,000 or so rings that were distributed, something like 400 of them remained unaccounted for after the war....make that 399....
It was the 3red Armored Div that captured the castle and the remaining rings on site according to Mark's presentation, so it would have been a U.S. Intelligence Officer not a British one who would have taken a ring back to his family. In all situations I have heard of as a collector of these items in veteran stories of bringing these rings home they had no idea of the significance or value of the rings and some of them even melted the rings down to make other jewelry. Others tucked them away and forgot about them and others just lost them over the years. Can you imagine?
@@InglésconRobert2025 bet union jack or Star-Spangled Banner isn't so evil to you despite commiting far more attrocities than what Nazis are alleged to have commited Brits and Yanks were into mass genocide long before Hitler was swimming in father's ball sack🤣🤣🤣
@@beechcraftkingair3799 yes to fully usher in the third Reich in which Klaus Schwab and Mr George "saurus" Rule along with many others who have been linked to the past atrocities to humanity.
I wouldnt doubt that alot of it is in Russia. The treasure of Heinrich Schliemann was missing from Berlin in 1945 - and the Russians didnt admit they had it for more than 50 years
Once again I get schooled on a very specific part of Nazi history that never learned in school nor university. Every time I watch a video by you Mark I feel privileged and thankful to have have you as a teacher about something I’m passionate but woefully unread apparently lol. Happy holidays Mark
Wewelsburg castle has a little museum in the former guard house dedicated to Himmlers occult obsession. On display is amongst others a death heads ring. They were designed by Karl Wiligut.
This reminds me of a story of an Apache silver mine close to where I used to live. The mine was located by Jim Bowie and his crew in the 1820s in the Hill Country of Texas, and when he and a crew were going to see it, the Apaches attacked, driving them back to San Antonio. The Apaches destroyed the mine and it's been lost to history. If anyone finds the mine, it's estimated to hold over several million dollars in silver. Fascinating story. It's always surprising how the Nazis worked on occultism and how bizarre they were mythically.
Go back to the film Raiders of The Lost Ark. The Captain America comics and the first Captain America movie. Most fans who watched them probably don't realize while they are fantasy they have some basis in historical fact
You put the majority of “history” shows and channels to shame with the great content you just continue to release! Much thanks from a young history buff
I love his channel and the content he makes but I do feel like that discredits a lot of people's passion and work to put up content like this especially with RUclips demonetizing a lot of videos..
Mark, a quick correction to your video: you claim the ring was first ordered into production in April 1934, however this is incorrect. The first rings were awarded to Himmlers close friends during the Christmas celebrations of 1933. The first rings known were dated 24.XII.33. Notable recipients of the 1933 ring were Sepp Dietrich, Reinhard Heydrich, Karl Wolff, and Erich Von Dem Bach-Zelewski. Following this first issuing of the ring the next award date was 30.VI.34, or June 30th 1934. In addition you say ring sell for 3-5 thousand dollars. That is a very conservative estimate. Normally they sell from 5-10k for one in average condition. A few years ago I purchased one that was found by metal detector in Czech a republic that had all outside runes wore off and only engraving on inside and skull remained and I still paid 4k for it.
Oh don’t get it valued, you might be disappointed. I paid AUD $20 for a brilliant copy inside and out plus silver. The forgers are good. Grinding off the runes is smelly. 🇦🇺👍🍺
I got a replica ring, handmade. All told $200. So add extra years and rarity and $5-10k is about right. They also made different rings. The early bands were thinner and the rings began to change over time. I beluve, if memory serves, it was '33, "37, '41 and '44. The one in '44 was the thickest and heaviest of the lot. Which is weird as one would think Silver would have more military uses than just rings.
@@MrLeiduowen Good Silver will wear quick. The guy were not the Casper Milktoast type if it was found in the field A few years of war and it'll wear. There was heavy fighting out there.
Once again, Dr. Felton sheds new light on an old story. Well done! As for the rings, they are lost to history and probably will remain so, much like the original Blood Flag and Hitler's personal Iron Crossses and Wound Badges.
That he did. Dwarves, Elves, Trolls, Draugr, Giants, Wargs, Werewolves, Sea Serpents, The Kraken, Mares (nightmare demon), Fate-Weaving Witches, scale-armored dragons that spit venom and fire and with their firey hearts as their only weakness, are all inventions of old Norse mythology. Dragons are the only creature that is not completely exclusive to Norse mythology. And giants should not be confused with Greek titans, as they are distinctly different. Practically everything we consider the typical "fantasy genre" today is from JRR Tolkien, and in turn, from Norse mythology. That being said, I think it's best kept distantly separate from what modern racists want to reinvent the mythology into. And it also probably shouldn't be taken seriously. It should remain in the realm of fantasy.
@@The_Sodbuster Sadly the Nazis corrupted many parts of Germanic history and mythology. Arminius, Frederick the Great, Barbarossa, the Teutonic Knights and many others are still frowned upon or not taught at all because of the association with "nationalist symbolism." Shame on the modern German government for ignoring the parts of history that had nothing to do with the Nazis. Then again you can say the same things about most western nations today.
Right... Another side note: It should also be noted that JRR Tolkien started writing the lore about the Dwarves before many of the taboos of post-World War 2. So, you will find many very, frankly, horrible stereotypes with parallels to real-life bigotry. From here, JRR Tolkien came about his description of dwarves as greedy, stubborn, distrustful, insular, filthy, loud, and impolite. However, after the war, he pretty much had to retcon his description of the dwarves to make it more socially acceptable with its real-life counterpart. Observant people may already know who the Dwarves as a people are supposed to be. And it really isn't a positive comparison. It is quite a moral failure on JRR Tolkien's part.
@@Thor.Jorgensen Hmm interesting. I always thought of Tolkien's dwarves as the most blatantly Nordic inspired race. Bearded heavy drinkers who loved a good fight and may have lacked the stuck up table manners of "men," but were good people (stereotype I know). Then again I always find that the film versions of characters stick in my head more even after reading the books.
So if a man didn't meet the usual height and weight standards required to join the SS, there was still the possibility of joining the 38th SS Grenadier Division?
At some point, you are correct....the criteria for the 38. SS-Division "Nibelungen" was relatively low..... Or as a more contemporary joke sayed: Lineup at the employment office, every second man to the post office, the others to the SS ...:)
A friend's dad was from New Mexico, and wore a skull ring in his youth, it was a common motif in that part of the country. He served as an officer for a US armored division in Germany just after the war and I guess he got a lot of very foul looks from people who assumed his ring had been taken from the SS.
Excellent as always Dr. Felton! What coincidence, Chiemsee. My Grandfather on my mother’s side bought a second home shortly after WWII in Bernau am Chiemsee. My entire family on both sides were based in Berlin (West). However, my Grandfather’s brother, Oka Niebel was a high ranking SS Officer and highly decorated. He was subject of absolute no discussion in my Family and I have never seen any family pictures of him or with him from after 1944. The sentimental connection to his ring could have led my Grandfather to acquire a second home in Bernau. I have never been able to find any of Oka’s SS records. My grandfathers second wife who lives to this day at age of close to 100 in Bernau gave me Oka’s first edition of “Mein Kampf” which I had auctioned of on eBay in 1999 here in the US. It has been since November 1999 in Washington DC. I think your logic and methodology is correct of the whereabouts of the rings, and possibly other relics on the bottom of the Chiemsee.
I have one of those rings that was given to my grandfather when he was married to my grandmother. I got a bunch of his war time items including his dagger, other items, and medals.
I know a friend who can tell us more about them. His name is Rick and he knows another guy and they will tell u it’s all worthless but he will buy them 😂
As a collector of TR material, I have had a ss honor ring in my collection for the past 15 years. I bought it from a well known collector at the SOS show. It is the one piece in my collection that most people want to see. Mark, I think your estimation in the price of these rings is a few years off. They retail anywhere from $5K U.S. to $25k U.S. depending on the condition, and who the ring was awarded to.
Currently $7500 on average, the bubble popped after Don Boyle and friends were caught peddling fakes with his cert. Craig Gottlieb didn't help the market either.
@@richardsmith3585 Nice! They are a good investment. Although, I've been collecting now for 30 years and I've seen a slow down in people collecting WWII memorabilia. I belong to org that hosts a website and our membership is down and we I go to the shows like The SOS..I dont see many people showing up. My collection is my retirement some day and plus it's a family lineage with my Opa being in the Luftwaffe. He nurtured my interests by passing on his items from the war.
Best, of the bests Mr. Felton’s shows have revolutionized the history shows, extremely deep in content, tremendous work has been done for each single one, once you see a program your thirst for more information has been satisfied 100% Great job, hopefully he will be around for a long period of time as a walking library
I owned one of the earliest examples the Night of the long knives date! These were given as Xmas gifts 1933 then made as you said as an award to the very few mostly OLD GUARD AT FIRST! Not mentioning this does a disservice to the rings! I am sad I sold the ring now but know it’s in a good place
Haha imagine the RAF pilots bombing the place and being proud of out it before someone at HQ tells them that they just destroyed the biggest trophy the Allieds could have captured
@Last chance Cowboy "For they have sawn the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind." Stop crying about RAF bombings. The Luftwaffe started bombing civilians in London, not the RAF.
@Last chance Cowboy in 1940, the Luftwaffe bombed London and Coventry, killing thousands of civilians. Then you started getting it back. Your fault. Now cry me a river you nazi
Great Video Mark. Your correct that there is no proof of the SS rings being blast sealed in some unknown location. I personally interviewed Caption Theodore Black in 1987. We had both served in the 3rd US Armored Division, he in WW2 and myself much later. Anyway, he sent me detailed correspondence along with photos of the 6 rings he personally kept along with a ring box. I provided this information to friend and author Ullric Woodham who wrote the fantastic book Inside the Allgemeine SS. The Story the Black related is told in book, along with some excellent photographs. Also see SS Family Celebrations by Ullric of England and Charles Barger. The meaning of the runes are explained.
I always hated that the death's head gets maligned as a Nazi symbol whenever it was a symbol that many countries used and even French hussars used the symbol during the revolution.
That wasn't the only symbol the Nazis contaminated with their evil. The swastika had been a positive religious symbol in many cultures for literally thousands of years (I think the word swastika means "be good" or something like that in Sanskrit) before the Nazis hijacked it.
As a kid I noticed an older guy who wore a ring like this. I asked him about it. He said he took it off a guy the followed him for four days. My memory tells me he was in Norway on some black ops mission. The dude was pretty serious about it.
When I was a kid I collected waffen SS uniforms and insignia, my favorites being combat used items. I purchased one of these rings at a gun show in Northern California in the late sixties for right around 250 to $300 which at the time was a good chunk of change. At the time I found it odd that it was purposely made to look very crude, almost like it had been made back in the iron/bronze age. I had a very extensive collection of camouflage uniforms from various units and divisions that unfortunately was all stolen by a member of the sheriff's department in Concord California, making it impossible at the time to prefer charges against him.
I had 3 pcs. of Eva Brauns silverware. They each had EB on them, in the shape of a butterfly. I traded them for a BCD mabe G-43 8mm. Those were my best relics.
When I was a young boy, my dad, who fought at the Normandy invasion (June 6,1944), and battle of the bulge (1944-1945.) I remember seeing this ring in his personal belongings from the military. I picked the ring up. It felt heavy in my hand. When my dad discovered me with it he quickly took it from me. He replaced it back in the box from which I had observed it. My father never talked about the war. Or what he did in the war. Even when asked, he would always either change the subject or say "I don't want to talk about it" Many years later, Again I asked about the ring. He only said "I killed the man wearing it." Then, I took it from him.
Stark contrast to the leading comment I saw where as grandson talks about how his grandma lovingly remembers grandpa by wearing his deaths head ring around the house....the difference between sober observance and ghoulish nostalgia.
Great video, could have gone into more detail on Macher, he lived to 2001, 81 years old. Did no one interview him in depth on the location of the rings? Perhaps he believed so deeply in the SS ideology he went to his death without revealing the truth.
@Mark Felton Productions First off, great video (as always!), AND as someone who has a father from Germany, I just wanted to tell you I'm simply amazed at your impeccable ability of pronunciation, and enunciation of German words!👍🇩🇪🇬🇧🇺🇸
Who needs the history channel when you have Mark's channel.
Keep it in your pants john, anyone here with any self respect doesn't watch the history Channel and hasn't for years
History Channel is to busy celebrating Gay pride month!!
Too many good comments being blocked and censored .
Right? By the way, what's "the history channel"? 😉
Ss Death's Head Ring? Best I can do is $5...
The insights you display it's nothing short of outstanding history gems.
My grandfather was a member of the danish resistance, after his death I found one SS rings and a few other things from the war among his belongings. Sadly he died when I was a teenager, and he never spoke or left anything in writing about the past. I wish I could ask him about it today.
This is why living history projects are so important-
I have one too. My grandpa took it off a dead nazi in France . At least that's the story I got. I can say the guy had small hands because it barely fits on my pinky. Lol
Bro those rings are worth about 10.000€ a piece
@@kneipenterrorist2209 mines worth way more than that to me.
@@kneipenterrorist2209 Like he said they sell for between 3 to 5 thousand dollars, so not 10 grand :)
Himmler: “Cast them into the fire!”
Macher: “……No.”
Precious
I got that reference 😎
@Drop Forged No 💂! , give them to Mark Felton instead,he still cant afford one with his million subsribes channel 😛
“One ring to fool them all”
@@PhelippeMitsu98 More like "5000 identical rings to fool them all"
I swear Mark Felton is History Channel’s former script writer
The History Channel...History...now that's a name I've not heard in a long time, a long time.
Not enough aliens or reality shows.
He definitely does a much more quality job than the History Channel does, by far
Yes but without the Alien conspiracy theories.
I don't have TV, but sounds like History has continued its slide. I wonder how they'll cover the new UFO/UAP reports...
My neighbor had an original SS ring he got during WW2, he is long gone now. His wife sold it in a garage sale as I found out years later during a visit to my hometown. Ya never know where these turn up.
*SS Enchanted Skull Ring:*
+25 magic resist
+200 mana
Aura: +5 Defense to SS allies
-999 karma
hidden item effect: wearer instantly becomes based and redpilled
@@Dushmann_ - REAL hidden item effect: wearer becomes an instantaneous
asshole!!
Best comment award. Thank you.
@@Dushmann_ based
Lol, nice!
Three Rings for the Goring in the sky
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in Alpine Redoubt
Nine for Paulus' men left to die
One for Dork Lord on his SS throne
In the castle Wolfenstein where LARPers reside
Tolkien would not be pleased by your verse !
You proved him right by equally northern myths with nazism 🙄
Best comment I read in a while.
Nazi Ghoul Nazguls...
Castle Wolfenstein lol
@@Ralphieboy howl... stealing
I grew up in Karlsruhe Germany due to my Dad being in the Army from 76-81 we used to go down in the tunnels and there were so many things like helmets ammunition and tons of relics left from Hitler Army but we never took anything we felt like it was all bad luck. I did bring a helmet home but my Dad told me to put it back.Under our housing and inside burned out building you could always find these tunnels. I doubt they are still open but we were 7-12 years old and had plenty of time to explore.We also found a unexploded bomb from the US in our sandbox and the Army came in and removed it.
I knew a guy in Germany that found a tunnel from a house that led to a sealed up train tunnel that was filled with vehicles and weapons.
That’s so cool! My dads family took home native Americans teeth they found, and it always unsettled me😂 you can find fossils and arrowheads too
@@lindboknifeandtool My Uncle had a talent for finding arrowheads, he kept them in a cigar box.
I’m sure there was a lot of American 🇺🇸 bombs 💣 in the civilian areas of Germany 🐍✡️
If you had collected these items youll be a rich man now but i get the idea of it bringing bad luck
I'd imagine a lot of these rings reside in South America.....
I can imagine the Aztecs liking those rings.
Argentina specifically. Messi probably have one.
@@masternoel123 Apparently Eva Peron used to keep making trips to the Vatican where she obtained travel documents to assist fugitive Nazis travel to Argentina.
🤔... that actually isn't too farfetched of a theroy...
Argentina is the home of Nazis.
The rings sell for 3-5k because there arent many. If you find 9000 of them that would drop the price significantly.
If you were clever, you would drip feed them onto the market rather than flood the place all at once. And I think demand among collectors would still keep the price high even if all released at once.
Having the owners surname engraved inside would give them a certain level of uniqueness, so the impact on price may vary by the infamy of person it belonged to.
Yes, but if you sell them one at a time just dont make it obvious that you have lots of them. Like for example selling one per day which implies that you have at least some stored. It would be unlikely to find that same exact amount every day for long. And if the media makes News about every discovery or if the word gets around too quickly, people would probably get suspicious about it. So be very careful if you want to make the most profit.
But yes the price would still be high
I actually saw a few some years ago in a pawn shop here in Switzelrand. Wonder if they were authentic. they looked kinda cheap.
Mark throwing everyone off the scent so he can find the treasure himself, hahaha 😂.
If anyone deserves to find it it's Mark 👍!!
Why not? It would become another fascinating story!!!!
not after he sold out his soul by promoting a phone game. Immediately unsubscribed and won't watch any of his videos anymore. Only garbage people further games that are purely built to make kids addicted so they convince their parents to pay them ingame stuff.
crowdfund a bullwhip and a fedora. I'll volunteer as short round
@@XpVersusVista sold his soul? ease up, it's a game, not fentanyl
@@CastorRabbit 🤣🤣
Our guy Mark comes up clutch again. Big up
*looks at skull ring* - “are we the baddies?”
“Nein Heinrich, for ze last time, wir are based und rotenpilled.”
What's worse? A rat's anus?
@@maverickstclare3756 i knew it
One of peep shows best skits 🤣
@@markallen7215 It was the Mitchel and Webb Look. Not the Peep Show.
I have an SS ring that was given to my grandpa by his buddy who was a colonel at the end of the war.... The story goes it was found in Leipzig in some officers quarters or offices or whatever... But my grandpa was gifted it on VE Day
What a treasure
Something tells me it's your grandpa that was the Nazi colonel..
@@Darkest_Soul_187 no he was in the 635th tank destroyer battalion
The name of the wearer and date given should be inscribed on the inside if it's real.
Whats the inscription?
Ever since his announcement of this video and the fact that it took longer than usual, we've been on the edge of our seats
The lake seems most likely but wouldn’t be surprised if a few were floating around Argentina.
I lived and taught "American English" in German "Gymnasien" in the 1970's and 1980's. My experience living there, was that the younger generation was very reluctant to discuss WWII. I visited Dachau with my parent's, it was a shock for me as my dad never discussed his experience as a bombadier in WWII. Thank you Mark for your enlightening videos.
It’s illegal to display the swastika, and I think it’s sort of superstitiously avoided. Shame probably plays a role.
Must’ve been a fun experience. Learning about germanies school systems always had me jealous.
I like to imagine when someone has angered or upset Mark all they hear is his intro music growing louder and louder like "hostiles nearby - Boss Fight imminent" 😅
Great ring entry music
Mark's voice sounds like the narrator of the older WWII documentary series from the early '90s, I think. You Brits can really throw together a documentary.
I work at a grocery store In Vancouver, Canada, and I had to help an old lady use the photo kiosk to scan a photo of hers. It turns out the picture was of her husband who was wearing a German SS uniform. Pretty incredible that their history makes it around the world.
Ibdatedva woman when I was in my 20s. She had a picture of her grandfather on her dresser. In a uniform. Blew me mind. She was very nice.
@@gusbuckingham6663 I am german, I have a full family album with all sorts of people in uniforms, Wehrmacht, SA, SS, the earliest is from a Prussian Hussar who was my grandpas grandpa. U see them with their family and kids on vacation having fun etc. In the end these are normal people who lived in a very unnormal period of history.
@Gaphalor I dated a woman who's grandfather was in the war. Her family indeed lived through some hard times.
My family is from Norway. I remember my great grandmother telling me a story. It was in 1943 or 44. She decided to take a walk down to the docks. There were no fishing boats there but She wanted to see the water.
When she got to the dock she saw a soldier there. His helmet was next to him. As was his rifle. He was sobbing she said. She told me that it came to her that he didn't want to be there. He wanted to be home with his family. Told me she never looked at occupation troops as evil again. She said she hoped he got home safely. I do too.
@@gusbuckingham6663there is nuance to this though. They themselves may be good people but the role they are acting in does alter the situation at least due to the power dynamic. As a result of that too it’s understandable why occupied countries have negative feelings if the power feels particularly unequal, which is not contingent on that individual solider but he is still undeniably an extension of it
im from Ontario, Canada. a few years ago i found some photos of my Grandfathers who were german soldiers in WW2, and i wanted to print them off in standard paper size so our family members could see them rather than squinting a little photo, exact story as you said lol. the lady came over and saw the photos i was trying to copy and she had an obvious surprised look on her face but she was very polite and we got all 22 of them printed.
So that's how SS men escaped to South America: Tolkien's invisibility ring!
Perfect, just watch out for Golem, he won't be far behind.
Good to see the Franco government and the Roman Catholic Church were mentioned
And help from Thor.
but did himmler have the one ring to rule them all.?
yes, only "german scientists" went to America and Canada...
I could just hear them back then. "I will see you later Himmler, give me a ring" :)
😊😊😊😊😊
Great comment
He never rang.
The charges were enough to blow up the south eastern tower.
I have 3 rings , one presented and 2 that are period reproduced. The honor rings were so sought after by SS members, they had local hometown jewelry makers make them their own honor ring. When Himmler noticed everyone in the SS just about had one, he got Irate and called them all in. There are tons out there in the collector market, and tons of fakes and period repops.
)
@Wacko Jacko I encourage everyone who sees someone wearing one to punch them in the face.
More awesome Mark Felton goodness. Thank you, sir. As a trial lawyer, I know that writing short, well-organized presentations is really, really hard. You never waste a word.
He’s absolutely amazing- factual, unbiased and to the point
Uploaded 4 minutes ago and already 133 people considering getting scuba diving lessons and going treasure hunting!
Jokes aside, interesting video Mark as always!
Nah.... ROV training more applicable....
@@robertbruce7686 Got to admit, ROV, Scuba and magnetometer all crossed my mind before I slowly slipped back to reality.
Max depth is 73 meters, so you will need more than scuba equipment.
@@davidlynch9049 I suppose in theory a Magnetometer could be dragged round behind a boat and any potential targets above 60 metres could be checked by a technical diver using Trimix gas. Anything below 60 metres a ROV with camera can go for a look and if required and if recovery is required a diver in an Atmospheric Diving Suit......This is all assuming unlimited money, time and ideal weather searchin for an object that may not even be there! I think that if these rings are ever found, it's going to be by pure luck rather than anyone searching for them!
This explains why I have gotten so many offers for my great great grandfather's
uniforms and dagger and ring.
Thank you for this episode.
Don't throw them out or sell them. Their heirlooms
Please do not sell them!!!!!
@@Future183 I would NEVER consider selling any of his heirlooms as we were very close. I even have his "owner's" manual from the Tiger I he commanded.
@@deborahschell5722 0h my god thats some rare legendary stuff. You can be lucky to belong to the 1% who still have something like this in the family. yes it reminds of dark times but that's not bad and if you are familiar with german history it doesn't only remind of dark times. proud is what germany would do well at this time. it's almost 100 years ago. Germany is not worth forgetting. but you should always consider what happened the last time you overdid your pride.
@@deborahschell5722 keep it for Bad times , its worth thousends of euros by now
In the end i think your grandfather would like it to be used to better your life not dust up in a Plastic bag
Himmler was one strange chicken farmer.
And he looks like a boss I had in the early '00s. In his own special way, also a strange chicken farmer. lol
Ironically he did not meet his own standards for being German
He basically wanted all Germans to look like Swedes.
F P the ideal german man: tall like goebbels, blond like hitler, lean like göring.
the criteria for selecting disabled people for execution were carefully designed around goebbels' deformed leg. and everbody knew that SA head röhm was gay.
@@FP194 don’t think the fuhrer did either. Lovely calling card btw.
"I have the one ring!! To Rule them all!"- Himmler probably
Lmao
Well I bought that exact silver ring at a Gun Show in Bakersfield years ago too
@@AutomatedPersonellUnit_3947 Is it authentic ?
Funny enough, the Tolkien book was written in the same time as Himmler idea.
@@AutomatedPersonellUnit_3947 You just made that up to get likes
Wow, I had no idea, I've seen two of these in my life. Being 62, I grew up around many WWII veterans (my father being one).
The first one I saw was when I was about 10, from a neighbor that was one of the Bastards of Bastogne.
The second was while working undercover in the early 2000’s.
Whilst watching this I've got a real life Spitfire flying around outside. I'm about 2 miles away from Sywell in Northamptonshire, UK and that Spitfire's engine is really giving it some welly - suitable background sounds to a Mark Felton production :)
I remember going to Sywell airshow on my push bike back in the mid 70's. I used to live in the town.
Had one from Duxford flying over our house today. 😊👍
Manoeuvres for D-Day?
Here in Portsmouth too, how lucky are we to hear Spitfires in 2021.
@@jonathansteadman7935 I'm from California, but the Spitfire is my favorite airplane. I saw one at a local airshow some years back... wonderful experience.
Furthering my education and love for history as always
Thank you Dr felton
I'm only 15 but I know so much
Oh you know so little my friend😂
@@marcustulliuscicero.5856 I think he means he knows alot about the game Rise of Kingdoms....the game that sponsored this video. 😁
@@nowthatsfunny1 this is a place of learning not bullying
@@marcustulliuscicero.5856 if you could read you would see he is thanking Dr. Felton for teaching him so much.
@@turkey2003 I know I'm just saying there's still so much to learn don't lump me in with the asshole underneath my original comment
Fascinating, Dr. Felton. These old artifacts and keepsakes are so interesting imo. Actual physical remnants of a different era, country and a massively influential time in history. I really regret not being able to locate my Grandfather's medals and keepsakes from WWII (Canadian Allies). Cheers and Respects to you Dr. Felton for all of the time and work you put into these videos.
I owned a Totenkopf ring belonging to Dr Karl Heinz Schulz who was a surgeon in the 8th SS Florian Geyer. He operated on Hermann Fegelein. I sold it last year as they are becoming almost impossible to sell due to censorship (cant advertise it) I also sold my Knights Cross for the same reason. My SS ring had never been worn and was in mint condition. Karl was captured by the Russians during the battle of Budapest and never returned to Germany. I still have all of his photos and letters from the Russian front.
Don’t lie 😆
@@buzby303 "FEGELINE, FEGELINE, FEGELINE!!!"
Such things are rising in price depends where you market items and how you market them its history mine was in a box with a paper knife for 67 years and it had an indentation due to how long it had been there
@@gusbuckingham6663 Every time I hear his name that is the first thing to pop into my mind.
Did you get $3000 for your ring?
Mark Felton is who you want at your parties 🍻 Cheers to consistently fascinating content and certainly the most highly quality productions on history since ever. The history channel included.
Mark's videos just get better and better just when you think they are as informative and insightful as they could possibly be. Great job Sir
Man, as evil as they were you have to admit they had some Boss uniforms. Pun intended.
Their leather trench coats was very cool as well
And the coolest names for stuff
Operation drum beat
Wolf pack
Tiger, panther
Wolf's lair
Etc
'Cause every girl crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man
Their uniforms wernt created by Hugo Boss though
@@gamerxt333 They were designed by a Nazi official and supplied by Boss. Don't be that guy
German officer, "Cast them into the fire. Destroy them!
Maka: Nein! (Walks away with the Rings.)
"MAKA!"
Probably given to his nephew Frodolein Macher
This joke never gets old lol
Each Ring has its' individual value. Were the 200 rings found by the US soldiers in an office already engraved with names? Maybe not. And if the other allocated rings would be found it will not be one price for all the same. P.ex. the ring of Heydrich will go for much more. Same for Eicke. How many kg of silver was that altogether? To evaluate the transportation means. Ammo crate?
I don’t understand. Those 200 hundred rings that were given out to US soldiers, couldn’t some authorities in the US army track them down to return it back, even today with all the modern research and forensics tech?
@@sayyer10 Given back to whom exactly? Most of the Nazi decorations became a part of US property and were melted down for scrap value.
@@sayyer10 Hi. The rings were cast in silver.But they will be engraved by hand only once the bearer's name is defined. This means that there must have always been a stock of rings without names and dates engraved. So my question was asking if maybe the 200 rings which the US soldiers discovered in an office were those without engraving. Because such rings are just metal.. nothing much more. The allocated and returned rings were those which had a special value and needed to be hidden away.
There's no way to know with certainty whether those rings were issued and engraved, or unissued "NOS", or a mixture of both.
@@sayyer10 track em and give them to who? For what? SS occult junk. No need to make them seem any more important than they are. Any American that might still have one in their family deserves to keep it or sell it if they want. We have tens of thousands of pieces of war souvenirs in this country. This ring is just a war souvenir. I love the fakes. It diminishes their value and makes buyers wary. Nazi junk, who cares?.
This is why history must be viewed from all sides! Thank you Mark!
Admittedly, they had an eye for catchy graphic design and symbolism.
The SS runes can even be found in the band, _Kiss'_ logo.
Exactly my opinion....the recognition value of the symbols and the graphical design ist quite amazing....I say this an an advertisment expert.....:)
They were pretty good in marketing
“Sigrún” ( victory rune) is a common girls’ name in Iceland and other Nordic countries to this day.
@@mborder8428 Such nordic names had a strong revival in Germany in during the third Reich....as example: Günther (he who lead the army in front), Wolfgang (he who walks like a wolf), Heidrun ( the secret sign), Sieglinde ( the mild, or gentle victory)..... today not so much...today we have Kevins and Mandys......;)
Gene Simmons invented national socialism
This is so fascinating. Over here (Germany) we miss traces or many things which all of a sudden disappeared during our defeat. There are rumors regarding the so called nazi gold and also the "bersteinzimmer" the amber chamber. There are so many myths about those treasures, but none of them turned out to be true. If I was asked, I'd say all those treasures have been destroyed. Someone would of found at least the bloody amber chamber by now. Maybe we should take a closer look to Argentina. Well...maybe.
So, as would it be said in Lord of the Rings: "In the land of Germany, in the castle of Wewelsburg, the Dark Lord Himmler forged in secret the master SS-Ehrenrings, to control all others, and into these rings he poured his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life... 14.500 SS-Ehrenrings to rule them all. One by one the free lands of Europe fell to the power of the SS-Ehrenrings, but there were some who resisted! A last alliance of Western Allies and Soviets marched against the armies of the Third Reich and on the plains of Europe they fought for the freedom of the continent"... Of course we need the voice of Cate Blanchett as narrator (^_^)
Please be top comment 😂
Great comment! Number 1!!!
LMFAO One Ring To Rule Them ALL
Haha very cool 😎
I swear i read it on Cate Blanchett voice all the way! And its awesome!
A moment of silence for the people who spent thousands on SS rings that ended up being fake
Still, I grin with amusement. 🤭
I acquired a totenkopf ring when I was stationed in Baumholder Germany from ‘68 - ‘70. Gave a German national that worked for the U.S. Army $20 for the ring that had been awarded to his brother in law on Dec.21, 1938. Sold it to Craig Gottlieb for much, much more than what I paid for it about 5 years ago. I sold it because I was afraid the missing cache of rings would be found and the value would drop. 😉
@@shoot_the_glass5654 Much to their shagrin. Indeed.
@@brandyf4088 Chagrin.
@@allingtonmarakan1436 Oooops, chit happens. Lol. Hope we can keep that between us, thank you.
Sometimes Dr. Felton's channel has some really funny idiosyncrasies. He starts this video with a serious, fact based, and well researched dive into some of history's most terrible people. He ends the video with what amounts to, "I'm not saying you should go on a treasure hunt adventure, but this is where I'd do it if I were to go."
Always super interesting videos, you truly love history and making other folk learn about it. love you're channel. ☺️
Excellent historical facts presented in such an engaging and interesting manner. I’ve always wanted to know more about the mythical status around Wewelsburg Castle. It has a curious history and I’m glad I could find out more today
As Mark mentioned the runes inside the triangles as representing ''the power of the sun'' in fact the use of the title ''SS'' also refers to the title ''Black Sun'' in German.
to be more correct it is; The Order of The Black Sun
The black sun is also a saturn reference as saturn used to be called the second sun
@@jennpark8559 I doubt that. A schism goes back hundreds of years between worshippers of Odin/Wotan/Jupiter/Jove pronounced similar to "yoh weh" in Latin, vs. the worshippers of Saturn/Cronus (Then thousands of years under other names).
The 6 pt star is in fact never referred to as David's in scripture (that's a more modern contrived invention based on a possibly inaccurate description of Solomon's seal) but is instead Remphan (Acts 7:43). The etymology of Remphan is "Saturn", and articles from scholars such as Shlomo Sela published by the Katz institute explain that it is indeed Saturn worship.
I've had to leaves some words out so this doesn't vanish immediately, but that's the gist of it. Do you really think they would adopt the same black sun they clearly were in direct such stark, polar opposition to?
Thanks for the very informative video on the SS Totenkopf Rings. I have one of these which was captured at the Battle of the Bulge by the father of a friend of mine who was in General Patton's 3rd Army.
Rumours of increased diving in a certain lake....
Underrated comment
I come from that area and theres actually quite a few people magnet fishing at the shores :D
@@wermslof3067
Magnets? Gold isn't magnetic unless treated in very specific ways.
@@midimusicforever Must have overheard something then. They didnt look like theyre made of gold.
@@wermslof3067
Oh lol thought this was a comment on a different video. Silver isn't very magnetic either tho.
I love how mark doesn't have an excuse to use archival footage, so he quickly sneaks a quick clip of an explosion in when he talks about blast sealing
Love the obscure topics, you never let us down 👍
3:48 I found one of those daggers at my grandmother's house at my passed, but it has SA symbolism instead. It has a brown handle and a silver and black scabbard with loops for what I assume is attachment to the belt.
Along with it was a Kar98k bayonet. Really interesting.
Spoils of war
She was not in the SA, I hope.
Souvenir from battle service. Nice one !
Scott you might want to watch this video......."rare original daggers[Hundreds] Thomas Wittmann has opened his locker!"
The rings and a lot of other 'stuff' would likely be in Argentina by now.
Yup, exactly what I was thinking to.
I met someone in Colorado with a similar deaths head ring that looked like real silver. He said he was from a German community in Pennsylvania.
Argentina, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Antartica. Oddly not places like Guatemala or Bolivia. Almost like they built a "just in case" evac point.
But that would be stupid. Nobody would do that..
@@lookbovine lots of Germans there
Some brought to America by soldiers and held by families secretly.
I wonder how many history teachers are watching these videos.🤔
I’m one of them.😂👏🏾
Keep on studying forever guys!😎
That's great! Please tell your collogues! You would not believe how important this type of history is right now..
Going by the Revisionist History books I've seen in schools... not many, unfortunately.
@@freedomofspeech2867 No. Important right now is to learn about evil of Communism with all liberal red propaganda gaining on power recently
@@neuzdost1939 I think you misunderstood me. I'm saying learning the true nature of WW2 is important. Our times greatest illusions lie there. We're on the same side man.
None can't teach this in public school
There's no more interesting mystery than a Nahtzee mystery
In the 1960's I visited a military museum in Camp Borden Ontario Canada at age 11 or 12.There was an eclectric collection of war souvenirs from soldiers.I remember seeing a big,clunky gold ring that had a smiling skull with ruby eyes.Amongst many SS emblazoned medals and leather gloves.
A Game of Thrones sized trilogy could be written about Nazi lore and the like.
I'd pay to read that!
And it would be not even slightly more real than ASOIAF
God no, worst story Ever. Would be like another Fanfiction gone wild.
Id say my family (German-Volksdeutsche in Denmark) would agreed and even call it a bible of sorts of german occultism and mythology. But it was a revival of the german people, or atleast an attempt :)
The attitudes and lifestyles of each of the high ranking Nazis was as different as their individual relationship with Hitler. The story of each if told individually through their own eyes would tell the story of a different world war each time you move over to another member of the Reich
I’m this close to dropping out of uni. Selling all my possessions and buying a load of diving equipment to search these Bavarian and Austrian lakes.
Great, if you find them I can melt them down for you..................Bless............
@@f.dmcintyre4666 melting them down is barbaric
Do it during school vacation. I would if I lived over there.
Now that sounds like an interesting adventure! I'm retired so I have plenty of free time. I also have a good chunk of money in my retirement plans which could help finance the expedition. Need a partner? 😉
dont tempt me to do the same thing
I got really excited just now after getting the push notification on my phone, was grinning from ear to ear. I was immediately crushed to find that the video was posted 2 days ago.
Thankfully I have a full Mark Felton production to soothe my weary soul.
WWII was just insane in every way.
I know, the wooden doors are way too overpowered
Fascinating story. A lot can be hidden and then forgotten in the chaos of war.
In 1980s I scrapped some silver i got in a deal with 2 rings in the lot now I know what they are it makes me feel sick I didn't know until I read himmler black order in 1992 totally sick
Growing up in the 1960’s my best friends father had a ring like that he brought back from the war. My friend showed it to me often. I don’t think any of us realized how valuable the ring was. We just thought it was a cool looking ring.
If the officer was captured by the allies and was liberated of his ring, it would be taken back to Scotland by an officer in British Intelligence. His son would wear it as a child, with no idea what it was. Years later, that boy was all grown up and had a son of his own who did a lot of research on the owner of the ring, the jagdpanzer division he fought in from Russia to Normandy, where he was captured.
The ring itself lost a lot of the detail - no doubt from years of its owner wearing it. The reproduction ones have crisp details. From memory, the main thing that's easily visible on the one my dad has is the skull on the front. The rest of the details are there, but smoothed over and faded. The inscriptions on the inside, however, look as if they'd been done yesterday.
From what I can recall from researching it 20 years ago, of the 10,000 or so rings that were distributed, something like 400 of them remained unaccounted for after the war....make that 399....
It was the 3red Armored Div that captured the castle and the remaining rings on site according to Mark's presentation, so it would have been a U.S. Intelligence Officer not a British one who would have taken a ring back to his family. In all situations I have heard of as a collector of these items in veteran stories of bringing these rings home they had no idea of the significance or value of the rings and some of them even melted the rings down to make other jewelry. Others tucked them away and forgot about them and others just lost them over the years. Can you imagine?
@@Ryanboy2020 You completely missed what he said- He stated the officer, who fought from Russia to Normandy where he was captured not the castle.
Totally unrelated but does anyone happen to know the going rate for scuba gear near the Chiemsee? Asking for a friend.
I dare placing a guess that you would not reject some help regarding metal detectors and underwater scanners as well.
@@danielsimut8491 Don't expect a quick answer, he has to ask his friend first...
@@plane_simple ...no rush my side at all :). Actually no real need for an answer.
There's been an American forces R&R facility there for years. I've no doubt they've scoured half the lake already!
@@davidjones332 So that halves the search!
please continue making video's like this!!!! this is really interesting and you always explain so many details which is very important!
I would love to have one of those rings.
I had one. I threw it away. They are evil.
@@InglésconRobert2025 Sure you did....
@C De : Holy Water is just water, but demons fear it. Why is that? Never mind, this discussion is too spiritual for you.
@@InglésconRobert2025 bet union jack or Star-Spangled Banner isn't so evil to you despite commiting far more attrocities than what Nazis are alleged to have commited
Brits and Yanks were into mass genocide long before Hitler was swimming in father's ball sack🤣🤣🤣
@@willleon9165 lesson learned, thanks doctor.
There's an awful lot of objects still missing, how much is anybody's guess.
A great many things were destroyed by the allies, seemingly on purpose to erase everything that was
@@beechcraftkingair3799 yes to fully usher in the third Reich in which Klaus Schwab and Mr George "saurus" Rule along with many others who have been linked to the past atrocities to humanity.
I wouldnt doubt that alot of it is in Russia. The treasure of Heinrich Schliemann was missing from Berlin in 1945 - and the Russians didnt admit they had it for more than 50 years
@Box Addict Hitler the IV agrees!
The soviets took a lot of stuff
Once again I get schooled on a very specific part of Nazi history that never learned in school nor university. Every time I watch a video by you Mark I feel privileged and thankful to have have you as a teacher about something I’m passionate but woefully unread apparently lol. Happy holidays Mark
Wewelsburg castle has a little museum in the former guard house dedicated to Himmlers occult obsession. On display is amongst others a death heads ring. They were designed by Karl Wiligut.
That means karl wants good. But on german.
@@garrysekelli6776 It doesn't.
Karl Wiligut is an interesting topic on itself, called “Himmler’s Rasputin” by some.
@@derwaldjunge Karl wil(I) gut
Are you from Wewelsburg? Do you know where they got the ring from?
This reminds me of a story of an Apache silver mine close to where I used to live. The mine was located by Jim Bowie and his crew in the 1820s in the Hill Country of Texas, and when he and a crew were going to see it, the Apaches attacked, driving them back to San Antonio. The Apaches destroyed the mine and it's been lost to history. If anyone finds the mine, it's estimated to hold over several million dollars in silver.
Fascinating story. It's always surprising how the Nazis worked on occultism and how bizarre they were mythically.
The Nazis were just fantasy nerds before Warhammer 40K existed.
Oh yeah, they just took it too far.
Go back to the film Raiders of The Lost Ark. The Captain America comics and the first Captain America movie. Most fans who watched them probably don't realize while they are fantasy they have some basis in historical fact
You put the majority of “history” shows and channels to shame with the great content you just continue to release! Much thanks from a young history buff
Seen and agreed
I love his channel and the content he makes but I do feel like that discredits a lot of people's passion and work to put up content like this especially with RUclips demonetizing a lot of videos..
Only Dr. Felton could sound classy when doing a mobile game ad
"By Grabthar's Hammer, what a savings !"
Hated the game thing
What would be really funny would be Mark saying, "but before we get into the mad lad, it is in fact your boy Raid Shadow Legends"
Mark, a quick correction to your video: you claim the ring was first ordered into production in April 1934, however this is incorrect. The first rings were awarded to Himmlers close friends during the Christmas celebrations of 1933. The first rings known were dated 24.XII.33. Notable recipients of the 1933 ring were Sepp Dietrich, Reinhard Heydrich, Karl Wolff, and Erich Von Dem Bach-Zelewski. Following this first issuing of the ring the next award date was 30.VI.34, or June 30th 1934. In addition you say ring sell for 3-5 thousand dollars. That is a very conservative estimate. Normally they sell from 5-10k for one in average condition. A few years ago I purchased one that was found by metal detector in Czech a republic that had all outside runes wore off and only engraving on inside and skull remained and I still paid 4k for it.
Oh don’t get it valued, you might be disappointed. I paid AUD $20 for a brilliant copy inside and out plus silver. The forgers are good. Grinding off the runes is smelly. 🇦🇺👍🍺
Seriously, where do you need to put your left ring finger and how many times before the runes wear off?
@@MrLeiduowen Very aptly said!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣👍
I got a replica ring, handmade. All told $200. So add extra years and rarity and $5-10k is about right.
They also made different rings. The early bands were thinner and the rings began to change over time. I beluve, if memory serves, it was '33, "37, '41 and '44. The one in '44 was the thickest and heaviest of the lot. Which is weird as one would think Silver would have more military uses than just rings.
@@MrLeiduowen Good Silver will wear quick. The guy were not the Casper Milktoast type if it was found in the field A few years of war and it'll wear. There was heavy fighting out there.
Once again, Dr. Felton sheds new light on an old story. Well done!
As for the rings, they are lost to history and probably will remain so, much like the original Blood Flag and Hitler's personal Iron Crossses and Wound Badges.
''Scandinavian dwarfs'', ''rings'', looks like JRR Tolkien took his inspiration from this region culture.
Tolkien hated the Nazis for "corrupting the great northern spirit, and mythology" .
That he did. Dwarves, Elves, Trolls, Draugr, Giants, Wargs, Werewolves, Sea Serpents, The Kraken, Mares (nightmare demon), Fate-Weaving Witches, scale-armored dragons that spit venom and fire and with their firey hearts as their only weakness, are all inventions of old Norse mythology.
Dragons are the only creature that is not completely exclusive to Norse mythology. And giants should not be confused with Greek titans, as they are distinctly different.
Practically everything we consider the typical "fantasy genre" today is from JRR Tolkien, and in turn, from Norse mythology.
That being said, I think it's best kept distantly separate from what modern racists want to reinvent the mythology into.
And it also probably shouldn't be taken seriously. It should remain in the realm of fantasy.
@@The_Sodbuster Sadly the Nazis corrupted many parts of Germanic history and mythology. Arminius, Frederick the Great, Barbarossa, the Teutonic Knights and many others are still frowned upon or not taught at all because of the association with "nationalist symbolism." Shame on the modern German government for ignoring the parts of history that had nothing to do with the Nazis. Then again you can say the same things about most western nations today.
Right... Another side note: It should also be noted that JRR Tolkien started writing the lore about the Dwarves before many of the taboos of post-World War 2.
So, you will find many very, frankly, horrible stereotypes with parallels to real-life bigotry. From here, JRR Tolkien came about his description of dwarves as greedy, stubborn, distrustful, insular, filthy, loud, and impolite. However, after the war, he pretty much had to retcon his description of the dwarves to make it more socially acceptable with its real-life counterpart.
Observant people may already know who the Dwarves as a people are supposed to be. And it really isn't a positive comparison. It is quite a moral failure on JRR Tolkien's part.
@@Thor.Jorgensen Hmm interesting. I always thought of Tolkien's dwarves as the most blatantly Nordic inspired race. Bearded heavy drinkers who loved a good fight and may have lacked the stuck up table manners of "men," but were good people (stereotype I know). Then again I always find that the film versions of characters stick in my head more even after reading the books.
You just know some family in Argentina whose grandparents were SS officers have this ring hidden in there attic
Their.
Or in the southern part of Brazil, where I live.
I wonder if Mark knows how many people he has educated and inspired to learn more. Thank you Mark
Thank you for those kind words - I love to make videos that I hope both inform and entertain.
So if a man didn't meet the usual height and weight standards required to join the SS, there was still the possibility of joining the 38th SS Grenadier Division?
@Doug Earnest Hahaha! The SS Dwarf Division!
ALL boots on the ground.
Standards were considerably lowered once the war started.
At some point, you are correct....the criteria for the 38. SS-Division "Nibelungen" was relatively low.....
Or as a more contemporary joke sayed: Lineup at the employment office, every second man to the post office, the others to the SS ...:)
They valued skills and obedience, the super man stuff was a propaganda tool.
You’re the greatest historian in world history Mark!!!
A modern day Tacitus or Cassius Dio 📚🌎📃
Voodoo Trucker Mark is 1000% better than those dudes fam!!!!
@@thebigone6969 those Dudes lived almost 2000 years ago too 📚🌎
Only nazi history. Dont loose ur focus m8.
Garry Sekelli u better take your hate elsewhere fam!!!
We all knew about the SS death's head rings. But I never knew there was such a story behind them. Fantastic information. Thank you, Mark Felton
Thank you Mark, i dont have to read history books, you are more usefull than half of the history teachers
Uranium talkin’ outta Urass
A friend's dad was from New Mexico, and wore a skull ring in his youth, it was a common motif in that part of the country. He served as an officer for a US armored division in Germany just after the war and I guess he got a lot of very foul looks from people who assumed his ring had been taken from the SS.
Excellent as always Dr. Felton! What coincidence, Chiemsee. My Grandfather on my mother’s side bought a second home shortly after WWII in Bernau am Chiemsee. My entire family on both sides were based in Berlin (West).
However, my Grandfather’s brother, Oka Niebel was a high ranking SS Officer and highly decorated. He was subject of absolute no discussion in my Family and I have never seen any family pictures of him or with him from after 1944.
The sentimental connection to his ring could have led my Grandfather to acquire a second home in Bernau.
I have never been able to find any of Oka’s SS records.
My grandfathers second wife who lives to this day at age of close to 100 in Bernau gave me Oka’s first edition of “Mein Kampf” which I had auctioned of on eBay in 1999 here in the US. It has been since November 1999 in Washington DC.
I think your logic and methodology is correct of the whereabouts of the rings, and possibly other relics on the bottom of the Chiemsee.
I have one of those rings that was given to my grandfather when he was married to my grandmother. I got a bunch of his war time items including his dagger, other items, and medals.
And if you want to sell them I'd buy them in a heartbeat.
I know a friend who can tell us more about them.
His name is Rick and he knows another guy and they will tell u it’s all worthless but he will buy them 😂
@@georgegeorgepht it’s definitely a fake I’ll give you $20 lol
@@georgegeorgepht Other guy is Chumlee, just a quick trip to Vegas....
@@georgegeorgepht best i can do is 5 bucks
As a collector of TR material, I have had a ss honor ring in my collection for the past 15 years. I bought it from a well known collector at the SOS show. It is the one piece in my collection that most people want to see. Mark, I think your estimation in the price of these rings is a few years off. They retail anywhere from $5K U.S. to $25k U.S. depending on the condition, and who the ring was awarded to.
Fake!
@@_DB.COOPER fake what?
Currently $7500 on average, the bubble popped after Don Boyle and friends were caught peddling fakes with his cert. Craig Gottlieb didn't help the market either.
Mmmm they are rare i have a high leaders very rare with paperwork and party badge best investment
@@richardsmith3585 Nice! They are a good investment. Although, I've been collecting now for 30 years and I've seen a slow down in people collecting WWII memorabilia. I belong to org that hosts a website and our membership is down and we I go to the shows like The SOS..I dont see many people showing up. My collection is my retirement some day and plus it's a family lineage with my Opa being in the Luftwaffe. He nurtured my interests by passing on his items from the war.
Best, of the bests
Mr. Felton’s shows have revolutionized the history shows, extremely deep in content, tremendous work has been done for each single one, once you see a program your thirst for more information has been satisfied 100%
Great job, hopefully he will be around for a long period of time as a walking library
I owned one of the earliest examples the Night of the long knives date! These were given as Xmas gifts 1933 then made as you said as an award to the very few mostly OLD GUARD AT FIRST! Not mentioning this does a disservice to the rings! I am sad I sold the ring now but know it’s in a good place
Super rare ring, only 12 were awarded with the 24 XII 33 date.
Macher was the probably the one person in the Reich hoping that the RAF would 'drop by' and unwittingly lend a hand with his demolition efforts.
Haha imagine the RAF pilots bombing the place and being proud of out it before someone at HQ tells them that they just destroyed the biggest trophy the Allieds could have captured
@Last chance Cowboy "For they have sawn the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind." Stop crying about RAF bombings. The Luftwaffe started bombing civilians in London, not the RAF.
@Last chance Cowboy in 1940, the Luftwaffe bombed London and Coventry, killing thousands of civilians. Then you started getting it back. Your fault. Now cry me a river you nazi
Great Video Mark. Your correct that there is no proof of the SS rings being blast sealed in some unknown location. I personally interviewed Caption Theodore Black in 1987. We had both served in the 3rd US Armored Division, he in WW2 and myself much later. Anyway, he sent me detailed correspondence along with photos of the 6 rings he personally kept along with a ring box. I provided this information to friend and author Ullric Woodham who wrote the fantastic book Inside the Allgemeine SS. The Story the Black related is told in book, along with some excellent photographs. Also see SS Family Celebrations by Ullric of England and Charles Barger. The meaning of the runes are explained.
Always a good day when mark Felton comes out with another video
I always hated that the death's head gets maligned as a Nazi symbol whenever it was a symbol that many countries used and even French hussars used the symbol during the revolution.
It's the most recent usage of the death's head, it makes sense that people would be sensitive to it's use
@@nonautemrexchristus5637 It was the badge of the British 17/21 Lancers, who became the Queen's Royal Lancers, who wear it to this day.
That wasn't the only symbol the Nazis contaminated with their evil. The swastika had been a positive religious symbol in many cultures for literally thousands of years (I think the word swastika means "be good" or something like that in Sanskrit) before the Nazis hijacked it.
As a kid I noticed an older guy who wore a ring like this. I asked him about it. He said he took it off a guy the followed him for four days. My memory tells me he was in Norway on some black ops mission. The dude was pretty serious about it.
When I was a kid I collected waffen SS uniforms and insignia, my favorites being combat used items. I purchased one of these rings at a gun show in Northern California in the late sixties for right around 250 to $300 which at the time was a good chunk of change. At the time I found it odd that it was purposely made to look very crude, almost like it had been made back in the iron/bronze age. I had a very extensive collection of camouflage uniforms from various units and divisions that unfortunately was all stolen by a member of the sheriff's department in Concord California, making it impossible at the time to prefer charges against him.
I had 3 pcs. of Eva Brauns silverware. They each had EB on them, in the shape of a butterfly. I traded them for a BCD mabe G-43 8mm. Those were my best relics.
@@Minong_Manitou_Mishepeshu very cool!! The only thing I have left is some pieces of luftwaffe silverware or rather aluminum Ware, Lol!
@@TerryNails Rings were taken as well as uniforms? Unless it’s evidence they would have to auction the items off...unless they keep them, right?
You can't deny that they had drip
arselic drip ing into theyre brain probably
@@jkr9594 I died lmao
Facts
When I was a young boy, my dad, who fought at the Normandy invasion (June 6,1944), and battle of the bulge (1944-1945.) I remember seeing this ring in his personal belongings from the military. I picked the ring up. It felt heavy in my hand. When my dad discovered me with it he quickly took it from me. He replaced it back in the box from which I had observed it. My father never talked about the war. Or what he did in the war. Even when asked, he would always either change the subject or say "I don't want to talk about it" Many years later, Again I asked about the ring. He only said "I killed the man wearing it." Then, I took it from him.
Do you know what happened to it?
@@captainkenzie6873 No I do not, sorry
Stark contrast to the leading comment I saw where as grandson talks about how his grandma lovingly remembers grandpa by wearing his deaths head ring around the house....the difference between sober observance and ghoulish nostalgia.
cool story bro
George Lucas copied the hexagon rune for his symbol for the Galactic Empire.
@J R yep. Most obvious is calling stormtroopers stormtroopers lol.
Lol the empire is obviously influenced by Germany in ww2
Almost every weapon is a copy or part of a WWII weapon, even Han’s Broomhandle Mauser looking blaster..
Great video, could have gone into more detail on Macher, he lived to 2001, 81 years old. Did no one interview him in depth on the location of the rings? Perhaps he believed so deeply in the SS ideology he went to his death without revealing the truth.
@Mark Felton Productions First off, great video (as always!), AND as someone who has a father from Germany, I just wanted to tell you I'm simply amazed at your impeccable ability of pronunciation, and enunciation of German words!👍🇩🇪🇬🇧🇺🇸
the history lessons given by Mark are nothing short of superb. If only we all had teachers such as him.. our world would be a better place.