Press Release
Willoughby, OH, USA, April 11, 2026 — The United States will celebrate its 250th anniversary on July 4th, but Milestone Auctions is getting the party started early on April 18 with a Premier Military & Edged Weapons Sale that salutes our armed forces from the American Revolution through modern times. The 723-lot selection includes uniforms, helmets and headgear; medals, flags, insignia, photos, and hundreds of Nazi, Japanese and other World War II Axis relics and articles of memorabilia, including German and Japanese “Big Eye” binoculars and a cased Japanese machine gun aviation camera. The huge array of edged weapons runs the gamut from swords, knives, katanas and daggers to a bone-chilling circa-1700 executioner’s sword previously held in the Torture Chamber Collection of Nuremberg, Germany.
One of the most infamous characters of World War II was fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, who adopted the honorary title of Marshal of the Empire following Italy’s imperial ventures into Africa. To reflect the self-appointed military designation introduced in 1938, Mussolini adopted a new accessory to denote what he viewed as his heightened status: a visor hat decorated with regalia exclusive to the highest military command. That very hat – looking as new as the day it was first donned – is a top highlight of the April 18 auction.
The peaked hat’s band is richly embellished with gold braid to symbolize naval authority and martial prestige. The central insignia is hand-embroidered in gold bullion and features a crowned anchor flanked by laurel leaves. The interior is lined in silk with a white leather sweatband emblazoned with the gilded initials “B M.” It bears the (partially-visible) original triple-crowned maker’s mark “Carozzolo,” consistent with the documented Italian military tailors of the period. This hat is not only a significant WWII military artifact but also a poignant emblem of Mussolini’s doomed regime and the fascist aesthetics they embraced during the interwar period.
“Any articles having a direct association with Mussolini, especially official items of rank, are exceedingly scarce and highly sought after by collectors of WWII memorabilia, general militaria, and 20th-century political history,” said Miles King, co-owner and principal auctioneer of Milestone Auctions. “The peaked cap was among the items recovered from Mussolini’s villa in 1945 by members of the US 85th Regiment, 10th Mountain Division.” Specifically, the cap was souvenired by Major Erick Wikner of that regiment and division. Its auction estimate is $10,000-$20,000.
For additional information on any item in the auction, call 440-527-8060 or email [email protected]. Online: www.milestoneauctions.com
