The Enigma M4 rotor key machine as displayed by Christie's ahead of its sale

The Enigma M4 rotor key machine as displayed by Christie's ahead of its sale

 BERTRAND GUAY

An extremely rare and operational Nazi Enigma encryption machine, famously cracked by Allied codebreakers during World War II, has sold for nearly half a million euros in Paris, double its expected price, auction house Christie's said Wednesday.

Based on keys and complex rotor systems, Enigma machines were used by the Germans for encrypted communication during the war, initially beyond the decoding capabilities of Allied intelligence services.

Originally published on doc.afp.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

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