Dagger Allegedly Belonging to Franco Sold at Auction

Dagger Allegedly Belonging to Franco Sold at Auction.

A DAGGER which allegedly belonged to Francisco Franco has been sold at auction for a staggering €35,000. The auction was held on April 10 at the German auction house Andreas Thies, where a range of military objects were auctioned off.

Nearly 600 military objects were sold during the auction including medals, uniforms, flags, soldier’s helmets and antique weapons. The dagger which was described in the auction catalogue as “a museum piece of goldsmithing difficult to surpass and a unique historical relic from the history of Spanish and Italian fascism. A magnificent gift of a dagger from the Italian minister of foreign affairs, Count Ciano, to General Francisco Franco”, fetched a staggering €35,000. The cheapest item in the collection went for only €50, and was a semiautomatic pistol.

It is claimed by the auction house that the son-in-law of fascist leader Benito Mussolini, Count Ciano gifted the dagger to Franco. They believe that the dagger was a gift to congratulate Franco “on the occasion of the victory of the Spanish fascists and the allied regimes of Germany and Italy in the Spanish Civil War” as reported El Pais.

No investigation has taken place into which gifts Franco received as head of state, and which he received in a private capacity. After his death everything was handed down to his family.

Historian Francisco Prado-Villar, spoke of the lack of investigation into the gifts. The historian explained that, “there was no control over the many gifts that were made to the dictator and the people who had the control were totally coerced by the regime. There was never any investigation into which gifts he had received as head of state and which were given in a private capacity. Everything became part of the family inheritance.”