Gordon Williamson

Hi Jan-Arne, I have an identical piece to the unidentified one. I've never been able to determine the maker. It is quite similar to Klein & Quenzer but definitely not the same. The vertical pin f.o. is certainly scarcer than the horizontal. It put it on a part with the type with the cut out swastika for scarcity.

Hi Gerd, Nice group. Thats actually a 7th Class, not 6th. Next is a China Incident Medal, the Commemorative Medal for the 2600th Anniversary of the foundation of the Japanese Empire (celebrated in 1940) and a Japanese Red Cross membership medal. Certainly the group of a WW2 junior ranking soldier (Enlisted man or a Corporal etc).

The change in shape is more apparent when the two are compared side by side. This was done because the old shape for the 6th Class was identical to the 5th Class but for the outer rays being pale gilded. Visually the two were too similar to tell apart unless you were close up.

Reverse

Close up obverse

Another, earlier 6th Class. The shape of the white sunburst rays was changed in 1940. This is the earlier version.

Reverse showing rivetted construction

Close up Obverse

My 6th Class. Interesting that the Kanji on the box lid are slightly different to John's. You can see that they are basically the same but executed in a slightly different style

Richard A posthumous U-Boat Badge Document can easily fetch ?400 - ?500 on its own. Docs for the Spanish Cross in Bronze are not all that rare, but a U-Boat one would fetch a premum price. |I would be thinking of a starting price of no less than around ?600-?700 for the pair. Many U-Boat men got the Spanienkreuz while serving on surface ships, only transferring to U-Boats later. Only a small number actually served in U-Boats during the civil war. If it is established that this guy got the Spanienkreuz actually on a U-Boat it would be very rare.

Here's a KMST I used to own. They sure went for the wierdest fittings.

Hi Dan, Yes I think a lot of folk are unaware of the civil 57 awards. Simplistically put, these were considered legitimate awards, i.e. perfectly normal innocent "non-politically motivated" people served as policemen, firemen, customs officers, the Labour Corps was a pre-Nazi concept, so in itself was "legit". These are all "civil" awards. The ones which were not re-introduced in 1957 "neue Form" style were the "Political" awards, so while you have a 57 RAD award, you won't find a 57 NSDAP Long Service or a 57 SS Long Service. Military Awards not reintroduced are few. Even the Anti-Partisan was allowed in 57 form but not the Spanish Cross ( seen as political) and the so called "Flowers Wars" medals, seen as foir Nazi agression and expansionism.

Fire Cross

Here's the First Class

Beautiful piece. No, I haven't seen any specific evidence of it being for a cuirasse, just what I'd heard from other collectors. God knows what the fitting would have looked like on the breastplate. I can't see how this would be attached to a cloth uniform either mind you.

Olympics Medal

New Customs Obverse

Luftschutz

Mine Service

50 Year Treue Dienst

Polizei 18 and 25 Years Obverses

Polizei 8 Year

Most often its the Military awards which turn up in 1957 de-nazified form, but many civil awards were made in 57 versions too. The RAD Long Service Medal

U-Boat Clasp. For some reason they also produced the 57 version in Gold even though no Gold grades were ever instituted.

Auxiliary Cruiser