London – Enciphering and deciphering technology was developed long before and after the Enigma machine, the cracking of which cleared the path to victory for the Allies in World War Two. In the case of two Enigma machines in this upcoming auction, they were used by the Norwegian secret police long after peace was declared. A selection of these cipher machines will lead the Instruments of Science and Technology sale at Bonhams in Knightsbridge. The 85-lot sale on 28 September highlights significant points in the discovery of technology’s potential, offering both vintage instruments and complex modern devices.
The stars of the sale will be the two German Enigma machines, a Heimsoeth und Rinke 3-rotor Enigma cipher machine, Berlin, 1938, and a later model, a Heimsoeth und Rinke 3-rotor Enigma cipher machine, Berlin, 1942, each with an estimate of £75,000-100,000. The Enigma machine was used to code and decode messages so that classified information could be transmitted securely. With millions of potential combinations, they were thought impossible to crack. The story of the Bletchley Park codebreaking unit and the genius of Alan Turing, who helped to solve the problem by developing the proto-computer called the bombe, is one of the greatest achievements during World War Two.
Joseph Robson, Bonhams Specialist for Scientific Instruments, commented, “The extraordinary range of cipher machines offered represents an important part of military history, and demonstrates how far we’ve come in terms of technology in a short period. Many of these instruments still stand up against their modern equivalents, thanks to inventors who were ahead of their time.”
Adding to a strong group of cipher equipment in the sale is a rare system Beyer Krypto pocket watch cipher, Danish, circa 1933, estimate £8,000-12,000. Produced by Cipher Machine Co. Ltd. of Copenhagen, the watch is one of only half a dozen known to exist. The case, made of polished nickel, has two dials with the alphabet, and a third with figures and punctuation marks. These disks are moved in relation to each other by two springs and rotated using a release spring.
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