Hitler's Encryption Machine Sold Online: Rare WW2 Lorenz Teleprinter Sold On eBay For $14 [VIDEO]
Who ever thought that a piece of history could be bought off the Internet for a bargain price of $14? Strange as this may seem, this is exactly what happened this week, as an extremely rare military-issue Lorenz teleprinter, one that was actually used by Hitler's army during the Second World War, was bought off from popular e-commerce site eBay for a very reasonable price of $14.
The rare device was spotted by a volunteer from the National Museum of Computing (NMC), who saw the ad on eBay this week. The ad had been posted by a woman from Essex, who thought that the dusty old machine in her garden shed was just any old "telegram machine."
NMC volunteer engineer John Whetter, who met with the seller, described how they were able to purchase the device.
"I think it was described as a telegram machine, but we recognized it as a Lorenz teleprinter. The person took us down the garden to the shed and in the shed was the Lorenz teleprinter in its original carrying case," he said.
The volunteers from NMC then bid on the device, ultimately securing the rare piece of machinery for about $14 (9.50 UK Pounds)
As much as the circumstances and the value of the purchase seem to indicate that the unassuming woman was ripped off from a possibly very lucrative sale, the buyers of the device has stated that it was only after cleaning up the machine that they were able to realize that the teleprinter was a relic from the Third Reich.
Indeed, the device has very notable Nazi insignias, including a swastika and even a special key for the runic Waffen-SS insignia.
The Nazi relic was not a complete unit, however, as the device was missing one key component--its drive motor.
"To do that we have to replace some missing components, in particular, the drive motor - and it's the drive motor that's our next quest," Whetter said.
The NMC are asking people all over the U.K. to search their old garden sheds and attics for any more relics that could be found. If the museum does manage to find the device's drive motor, researchers would be able to take a significant step forward towards fully decrypting the mystery of how the Allies were able to crack Hitler's otherwise unbreakable code.
