I wouldn't be surprised if someone stole this model just to get enough
public awareness and hype behind it to make a killing selling their own
legitimate unit...can you imagine what a basic Enigma *could* bring on
eBay now, since people all over the world know how rare and priceless they
are now? (And how much they're worth: $100K!)
We'll probably find out soon enough...
Cheers,
Aaron
On Mon, 3 Apr 2000, Hans Franke wrote:
> > An Enigma machine used by the Nazis to send coded messages during World War
> > Two, has been stolen from the code-cracking Station X at Bletchley Park,
> > Buckinghamshire. The machine, worth about £100,000, is one of only three in
> > the world. It was brought to the UK after the war.
>
> > I bet it was somebody on this list who grabbed it! Fess up! ;-)
>
> Pssst.
>
> > I see it as another sign of how serious our hobby is becoming. Its valued
> > at 100,000 pounds! I wonder what it will fetch on ebay? ;-)
>
> Well, I don't know what configuration the Enigma in question had,
> but for a basic 3 or even 4 wheel type with no extensions etc.
> a real price is between 10 and 20 thausand Marks (~5-10 kUSD,
> 3 to 6 kGBP). Last I've seen on a German auction was a setup
> a 3 wheel machine, one add on box (realy rare) and a set of
> 3 additional wheels (exchange for code change). The lot was
> sold at 21 kDM (~10kUSD, ~6kGBP), and thats way below the
> named 100kGBP (~300kDM, ~150kUSD). Well, again a hyped up
> price. Of course, with the usual ignorants, eBay may rocket
> the price somewhat near the mentioned sum.
>
> And for the rarity, again it depends on the Enigma type,
> and especialy on the type of the add on boxes and even more
> what additional wheeles are available - as with computer
> collections, the additional stuff is more worth than the
> basic unit. For example, the Lorenz SZ42 is maybe priceless,
> since only two remaining units are known. But dozends of
> basic enigmas are still alife, and several are displayed
> in museums around the world.
>
> So, just forget about the media hype.
>
> Servus
> Hans
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> --
> VCF Europa am 29./30. April 2000 in Muenchen
> http://www.vintage.org/vcfe
> http://www.homecomputer.de/vcfe
>
Received on Mon Apr 03 2000 - 09:36:32 BST