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A NEMA TD 688 Cipher Machine, Swiss, third quarter of the 18th century, image 1
A NEMA TD 688 Cipher Machine, Swiss, third quarter of the 18th century, image 2
A NEMA TD 688 Cipher Machine, Swiss, third quarter of the 18th century, image 3
A NEMA TD 688 Cipher Machine, Swiss, third quarter of the 18th century, image 4
Various Properties
Lot 35Ω

A NEMA TD 688 Cipher Machine,
Swiss, third quarter of the 18th century,

Amended
15 September 2021, 14:00 BST
London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £8,925 inc. premium

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A NEMA TD 688 Cipher Machine, Swiss, third quarter of the 18th century,

the 10-wheel cipher machine used by the Swiss Army and Diplomatic Corp, complete with standard keyboard, corresponding light-up displays, remote display, spare bulbs and wiring, and operational instructions manual, in painted metal case,
12 3/4in (32cm) wide

Footnotes

The NEMA utilised a total of 10 rotors: 5 for enciphering the alphabet, and 5 paired rotors which give irregular stepping of the rotors. This was a marked improvement over the original German counterpart, Enigma.

The high serial number denotes that the present machine was produced as an Operational Machine for wartime use only, rather than a Training model or a scarce Foreign Office version.

The present Lot includes a bilingual operations manual stamped ENTKLASSIFIZIERT DATUM: 9 Juli 1992, which denotes the official declassification date for the NEMA.

Saleroom notices

Please note that the cataloguing date should read 'third quarter of the 20th century'.

Additional information

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