Overview
- Expert Annika Raßbach reclassified the colorful metal piece as a Provinzial Feuer‑Societät insurance certificate, dated roughly 1910–1930 and attributed to maker Heinrich Peters of Elberfeld.
- Janine Albers and Florian Rickes from Bestwig brought the item, which Albers’ father found decades ago in an attic, and they initially hoped to get about €50–€80.
- A heated dealer‑room duel primarily between Walter “Waldi” Lehnertz and Daniel Meyer escalated the price rapidly, with Meyer conceding, “I have no idea what I’m doing here.”
- Lehnertz won the bidding at about €520, roughly five times the appraisal, with reports noting the plaque is headed to his base in the Eifel.
- The certificate type was historically mounted on house exteriors as proof of insurance and could trigger a premium for fire brigades that saved the property.