The Golden Contra has been found!
At least, one of the Golden Contras has been found.
STIHL has just released a 4-minute film titled “The Hunt for the Golden Contra,” which tells the story of archivist Dr Michael Hartmann’s search for the rare “Golden Contra,” the special gold-plated version of the famous STIHL Contra chainsaw, which we’ve previously written about here.
After discovering old archive material about the legendary saws, he learns that only six were ever made and given away to lucky customers who found one in their delivery box.
Although one had been discarded years earlier, his research eventually leads him to a man in Bavaria who still had a Golden Contra stored in his shed. The film follows how the saw was brought back to Waiblingen, preserved in its original condition, and presented to Hans Peter Stihl as a remarkable piece of company history.
You can watch the entire German-language film on STIHL’s 100 years of stories page here (it doesn’t seem to be on YouTube yet). There are subtitles for those who don’t speak German.
Here’s the entire spoken text of the film, with a few screenshots thrown in:
The Hunt for the Golden Contra.
A legendary treasure, a long-forgotten story, buried in registries and magazines.
Only one set out to find this treasure.
What are you doing there?
Where did you find that?
I actually didn’t want you to see that already.
But … come on, I’ll show you something.
The Golden Contra.
You surely know about the STIHL Contra saw.
It came out in 1959.
After some initial difficulties, it became a real hit and an international sales success.
But why the Golden Contra?
During my research, I discovered that there was a Golden Contra that was sent to a team of forestry workers in 1962.
But unfortunately, they had already disposed of it.
In total, only six of these Golden Contras were produced.
And whoever found one in the box, got it for free and didn’t have to pay anything.
And in fact, we found someone in Bavaria who answered the phone and said that he still had his Golden Contra standing in his shed.
It was clear to me: this was THE story.
At some point, the chainsaw then came to Waiblingen and immediately left an oil stain on the office carpet.
It was important to me that the chainsaw remained the way it is.
We deliberately did not re-gild it.
Now I’m really excited to see what it looks like.
Okay, then let’s have a look at it.
So, this is it.
Yes, that’s it.
And back then, we took the opportunity to present it to Hans Peter Stihl for his birthday.
I even specially prepared a certificate for him for the last Golden Contra that could be traced down.
And I think he was quite pleased about that.
Yeah, and the film that I found in the archives?
The film …
You still want to see that now, don’t you?
Okay, let’s take a look at it.
The Golden Contra.
My craziest story from the archives.
I just had to stick with it.
Finding stories, preserving them and bringing them to life.
That’s my treasure.
— With great thanks to Clemens Unterwegner, working student at the STIHL Archives, and STIHL archivist Dr. Michael Hartmann for their contribution.
— In deep appreciation of the work of all corporate archivists — often underestimated discoverers and guardians of countless hidden treasures.
And that’s the story of The Hunt for the Golden Contra!
If you watched the film with eagle eyes, you might also have spotted these 064/066 saws stacked up outside the STIHL archive. Looks like they’re holding onto a bit of stock!
Here’s some more info from STIHL’s story:
It is the star of the STIHL product range: The Contra. The gasoline-powered chainsaw is first introduced in 1959 as the D 24 model – and it is originally equipped with an eye-catching red housing. In the USA it is launched to market as the “Lightning”. And it does turn out to be a truly brilliant product idea. There are a few teething problems which need to be addressed – such as a slightly temperamental crankshaft. Once those are rectified the popularity of the Contra goes through the roof; it becomes an international bestseller and the epitome of a modern petrol chainsaw.
Starting as the company archivist at STIHL in 2014, Dr. Michael Hartmann also finds the Contra impossible to ignore. As the company archive is constantly receiving inquiries about the product’s history, he takes it upon himself to learn all about the Contra – and stumbles upon an intriguing advertisement from 1963: “October’s GOLDEN CONTRA already in use.” A golden version of the tool has been given to a group of forestry workers in the Freudenstadt district.
The headline turns out to allude to a brilliant marketing campaign reminiscent of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” It sparks a spectacular quest – and more importantly, uncovers a story that might never have been told…
Lastly, if you liked this story, check out Siem Terpstra’s replica Golden Contra!
