An Enigma encoding machine, used by Germany to encode messages during the Second World War, will go on sale at an auction dedicated to the history of technics held by A10 by Artmark auction house on March 17.

The item with the series K877 has a starting price of EUR 10,000. The machine has four rotors to scramble plaintext messages into ciphertext. 

A rare, M2-3 Enigma machine was sold last March for EUR 135,000 at the Technical Curiosities auction. A recent record for an Enigma machine was set in 2017, when a 1944 item sold for USD 547,500 at Christie's.

Other items in the auctioned lot are the Olivetti typewriters, the Ericsson Cobra phone, a military bike in the endowment of the Swiss army in 1942, and a 1973 Volkswagen Sicra Big Buggy sports car. 

The action takes place on March 17, starting at 19:00, online, on the Artmark Live platform.

Before the auction, the items can be seen at the Cesianu-Racoviță Palace in Bucharest, from Monday to Sunday, between 10:00 and 20:00.

(Photo courtesy of Artmark)

simona@romania-insider.com