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Great thread and loving your work. I have a WW1 pair to a Thomas S B Thomson and some paperwork with the authority to wear the BWM and the Merchant Marine medal issued June 1921.

This drummer wears a M16 Stahlhelm, a backpack, and a gasmask cannister. On his belt hangs a drum and next to it are not his drum sticks(presumable out of view) but his Grabendolch. The distinctive hook in the shape of an eagle from where the drum hangs of the belt is turned around. His belt buckle has seen better days. He appears to wear two patriotic rings on his left hand ring finger. Sadly as it happens too often, the back is empty so no name, unit, date or place.

A beautiful studio photograph of Alfred with his F. W. Backhaus Grabendolch on his belt and a smoke in his right hand. The back reads: Andenken am deinen bruder Alfred

This is the hat badge in much better condition

Kingdom of Bulgaria- High rank Police Officer hat badge

Dear forumites, Finally is the medal bar reunited with the partial ribbon bar. I owed that to Rick to post it on his thread. I hope is watching us from above and smiling. Enjoy the full color picture. Here a partial curriculum vitae of Karl Arthur Friedrich Edmund Otto Freiherr von Killinger, 04.10.1884 - 27.12.1961: https://de.metapedia.org/wiki/Killinger,_Arthur_Freiherr_von

You're corrupting me. On a lark, I tracked one down. I found one for sale here in the states. I expect that one of the street signs will be significantly more difficult...

It is also found on Partisan memorial (Spomenica 1941).

Albania after 1945

Which country ???

Yes. You're correct. I was making a big assumption that he might have been in the Einwohnerwehr Passau later as Freikorps Passau became Einwohnerwehr Passau just as, for example Freikorps Chiemgau became Einwohnerwehr Chiemgau. But then again, he may have quit the Freikorps after the fighting in Munich. As for an insignia for Freikorps Passau; they may have worn a simple black diamond like the Epp diamond but without any badge. There are contemporary images of Bavarian Freikorps wearing a black diamond only. Freikorps Werdenfels, for example wore a simple black diamond on a blue and white armband.

Saw this but think it's a bit earlier then what your looking for! https://www.batesandhindmarch.com/product/field-marshals-mounted-gilt-button-23mm/

How low can one get? And actually been bid up to 199-Euro so far

Yes unfortunally you are correct. One version is it was a fire one version is it was destroyed... one wersion was that archive of IKOM factory contained a lot of this information but it was all destroyed whan the facroty closed... But all stories lead to one thing, award are not reserchable. Also I dont know it the archive contained any usefull info as i was told it only contained "person XY was awarded order XX III. class" but on serial numbers etc.

this type of needle was the first one to use (in case of order of Yugoslaf Flag 2 calss) and the first one to use in changing/remodeling the screws on orders such as Narodno Oslobođenje, Zasluge za narod, Bratstvo i Jedinstvo and Orden Rada I. I have not seen this type on any other orders so far.

As for II. class 1st model (3 rivets model) the lowest i have seen is 554 and the highest is 1097. This was awarded directly in the weeks/months after the war. After the 3 rivets model comes ZIN model, where number 1310 was awarded on 18.2.1946. In general the lower the number the earlier it was awarded. But this is not always true as i seen papers for numbers 2588 awarded on 12.1.1946. Whan the orders were made each republic or military corps/division/army got a parcel of orders and they were giving them to the soldiers, so you can have a mixture of numbers and dates. The higest numebr of the II. class i have seen is 49454 (with screw) but remade into a needle version i have seen 58325.

This is a very common thing, that an order on screw was remade into needle. Usually IKOM screw type is remade into needle version, and it was done by both IKOM and ZIN, so you can get a mixture of different producers. There are also a lot of variants where old III. class was issued as a new II. class, and variants where old III. class was remade into new I. class.

These are just buttons, IMO never used by Freikorps, even if the design resembles somehow the Freikorps insignia you mentioned. But, its not the same. The stag is far more elaborate and the Eagle is holding nothing in his hands. I doubt a small insignia like the oak leave collar tabs would have served the purpose to distinct the own men in combat. Whats for sure was used for this purpose it the swastika worn by Marinebrigade Loewenfeld onto the left side of the helmet during the Red Ruhr Uprising. But it was cast-off very quick, because it did not succeed for the purpose of distinction. So, from this, its to assume the arrow worn by Jäger-Battalion 37 (Roßbach) at front and side of the helmet, served the same purpose. Klietmann suggests this in his work on Roßbach. And also the white armbands worn in late 1918 and early 1919 in Berlin an Munich, might have served this purpose. The "Reds" wore red armbands at this time. During the Munich soviet Republic and the Uprising in Wilhelmshaven. Out of: https://www.armeemuseum.de/images/publikationen/2018_Katalog_Friedensbeginn_online.pdf Perhaps also the SSOS armband served the distinct purpose. It was widely worn by the Selbstschutz, but seems to have been not mandatory, because Klietmann mentioned for the Schwarze-Schar Bergerhoff they did not wore it. The small insignia, like the oak leaves collar were IMO mostly worn because of pride, see this period ad for the Landesjägerkorps. Its mentioning the oak leaves collar and that they are troops under the command of Noske.

This soldier with a rather unusual facial expression of the 8. Ostpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr.45. poses with his full kit. Going by the stamp on the back (S.B. 1./IV. B. Infanterie Ersatz Truppe Beverloo), this photograph was taken while he attended a training course in training camp Beverloo, Belgien. On the bottom is written '21. years old', given the handwriting this seems to be written by another person. The back reads: Beverloo der 20. Marz 1917 1000 Grüße und ein Bild von mir sendet Bruder und Schwager und Onkel Georg. Sonst geht es mir noch gut. was ich auch von Euch hoffe, sind aber immer noch hier wer weiß wie lange noch? Dein letzte Karte habe ich auch dankend erhalten. Mein 1000 Grüßen Georg He sends not once but twice thousand greetings to his family and also this photograph. He talks about his health being alright and wished likewise to his family. He also states he's still here(Camp/at war) and questions for how long. He also mentions that a postcard was gratefully received.

Hello, Thank you for interesting details regarding awarding process. Last time I asked (a few years ago), I was told the archives holding the information on awardee names and award numbers were lost (fire?), so these partisan stars are not researchable... only if it comes with a personal document, as you mentioned. Is this correct?

Hmm, that is a weird one. The frosting on the RAO is strange, and the JZ on the KO looks suspect. I'm not convinced with the EK either, but we have seen medal bars with this type of hook fastening.

I have found a Post 2003 Reform Order of the Rising Sun Grand Cordon. Three pictures below. Please note that the Order is not in my possession and all credit to the photos are to ItemJapan. Note the brand new (as of 2003) reverse suspension device on the breast star, a pin with what looks like a thumb wheel locking device. Like the former 3rd Class (Middle Ribbon) above, the reverse of the sash badge has the red cabochon and the rays of sun enamelled white while the reverse of the paulownia leaves remain un-enameled. I have to admit that I am a bit shocked that after only about 22 years (I am not sure the exact year that the Post 2003 Reform awards were first awarded) the Grand Cordon is already on the market. Well, at least this one is. Tracy Obverses and case lid: Reverses: Breast Star reverse close-up:

This is the later Einwohnerwehr armband. In the early days, when fighting the Munich Soviet Republic, Freikorps Passau had no insignia. At least no insignia are mentioned in this period secondary source, while the book mention the blue white armband for several other Freikorps. https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Germany_Heer_Kriegsgeschichtliche_Forschungsanstal?id=1zcDAAAAMAAJ

A lovely photograph of a Feldwebel of Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 343. with a Schützeschur, Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse. ribbon and on his belt, you guessed it, a Grabendolch. On the back it reads: Frankreich 4. Marz 1918 Meiner Lieben Schwester Aima(?) zur Erinnerung an ihre Bruder Emil Emil dedicates this photograph of him to his sister. The print on the back states: A. Wertheim Berlin, Leipziger Straße(111.) which is a department store.