Hi, guys
Came across this thread. There were about a 1000 Ehrenbechers awarded it is reckoned, funded by private corporate donations, and they ran out in 1918 when the money ran out. Towards the end paper certificates were handed out! A lot of the 1000 were lost, bombed to smithereens, or melted down during the hyperinflation. What makes Esswein's cup special is that he was a double ace, and of the few of those cups that survived the vast majority were not engraved so their attribution will remain unknown forever. Boelcke's sold some years ago for 50,000 Euros. Zeppelin crews had their own "Tor" Becher of which 9 are known, and Peter Jackson owns the best IMHO, awarded to the engineer who flew on LZ 38 and made many bombing raids on London possible. The "Tor" (Thor) Bechers go for many times these Bechers. Rgds
PS Essweins Becher is also silver plate and rarer than the hallmarked silver ones. Before the cups ran out they gave out plated ones for a few months and then "Scheissmetall" and then...a piece of paper for your pains!