Brian R

Agreed. It's a question of whether it was acquired by an awardee (purchased by him or for him) or a piece that was never sold. I would certainly guess it was made with the intention of private purchase. And agreed about quality and desirability. What holds value in this hobby, and what doesn't, can often be baffling.

Thanks, Chris. Any chance they would have been formed in 1917 around the same time as 96 ID? Or, would they have been an existing unit used to form the new division? You are seeing the 53 RD reference elsewhere than 251 Divisions? Any coincidence that 23. ID, 96. ID and 53. RD were all Saxon (provided there is some connection to 23. ID which there very well isn't)?

Gentlemen - Please forgive my amateur abilities in researching WWI units. What division would I attribute this unit to? I would think 32. Division (from Saxony) but I don't see a match. I only have "251 Divisions" to really work with...

The pic dropped up with the server upgrade. Here it is again...

Hi Eric - I can't see your pics anymore. However, I wasn't saying it wasn't original, I was just saying I didn't think it was Godet.

Trevor's knowledge is exceptional and is a great indicator of why there is such silence on something like this. It's truly amazing how the hobby's knowledge has evolved - we used to have marked vs., unmarked, then we were able to determine makers, and now we have discovered so many examples of mixtures of parts - one maker's frame with another core, for example. You really have a nice cross, Richard. I could only stare at it and imagine its history if it were in my collection - who made it, when, where and was it acquired by an awardee or made by a firm but never left its "inventory".? If it was a warded, what did that guy do? We all have our specialties - some of us can answer these questions and some cannot. Thanks for posting!

It really is a head scratcher. I would think it would be a group used for repairs - a period collection by a jeweler or something. But, the fact that there are various maker marks make it that much more confusing and makes me think they were snipped off for one reason or another - after the war. Nevertheless, this type of thing would sure put a monkey wrench in the collecting community. As more and more examples of crosses with various parts are found out by the community, this could surely make it that much more confusing.

Great sets!! I think it could be a coincidence as there were plenty of guys names Röckl who served during the World Wars. That said, both made it to the collecting world in that they were both ultimately offered for sale. So, it could all come from one family where the group was broken up. I've seen this with photos and award documents - groups get split up and then are offered by various dealers in the months or years after.

Great documents, Chris and the new, accidental concentration is priceless. ​

Hi Guys - I have recently come across and EK1 from the Brussilow Offensive. Specifically, it has the following engraving on the reverse... Bohuszowka Kol. Nowy Mozor am Stochod Juni 1916 It seems quite clear that this cross was partially earned for the fighting on and around the Stochod in June 1916 given the engraving. It also appears that Bohuszowka is a small town in the vicinity of Luck so this fits in as well. The confusing thing is the Nowy Mozor reference. From what I can see, this appears to be Polish - the words for New Cemetery. The Kol. likely stands for Kolonia and, perhaps, this is a reference to a small, regional cemetery in that it is even smaller than the smallest village. While I'll never know who owned/earned this Iron Cross, I wonder if it could have been a member of the Polish Legion fighting in the area. The Nowy Mozor makes me think that its a Polish reference that could be referred as something slightly different in Russian (or German). I asked a Polish friend about it and he said it's tough to determine given the area; the northwest part of the Ukraine, just below the Belorussian border, and not far from Poland. It's an area that varied over the centuries in terms of rule, and the influences of the various people in the region overlapped. It's quite possible that a Polish name/reference could be shared by others. So, does anyone have any thoughts? At this point, we can surely say its Brussilow related, and for the fighting in June when the Russians were taking heavy casualties from the Germans (and possibly Poles?) in the area.

I wish I were an expert of the oaks, but I'm far from it. Nevertheless, it is interesting to see the way they are tied down. Quite unique.

Thanks for posting, Eric. I thought the Type Bs were likely Godets, this one does not appear to be one.

So, I'm back from the SOS where I saw a number of EK collectors and picked up a handful of nice things; including a sweet EK1 related to the fighting in the Ukraine in 1916 (I will post it at a later time). But, I did see this which was quite unique. It's an EK filled with EKs. It was made to look old (there were dust bunnies inside), and may have been to a certain extent. Most of the EKs looked good, but an EK specialist (someone who can easily read them just by looking at their obverse) informed me that there were fakes present. So, who really knows when it was made. Nevertheless, it was interesting. I saw it early in the show and then didn't see it again. Maybe someone bought it?

That's a pretty impressive collection of boards, especially when it is relatively accidental!

horrible

It was V55-57 last year - not sure if a change is in order.

The 1914 EK2/HC combo is the classic combo in my opinion!

Here is one of mine...

Great bars, Ralph. I remember a few of those very well!!

Good point. This is an interesting discussion given that the K&Q connection is the result of trial an error rather than proof (my understanding anyway) KO was not an original maker of the 1914 EK but they surely produced a boatload during the latter war years as well as afterwards. I agree that it would make sense that they would have had multiple distributors/wholesalers. I still think it's funny to think about this though - the 1939 EK by K&Q is among the nicest models, yet 1914 KO EKs are downright ugly.

Very cool, Chris. I'm not sure I've seen that embroidered type before.

Thanks, guys. Yes, I have seen the flower war minis before - and if I remembering correctly, I have seen them in period portraits as well. However, I've never seen the mini EK. Definitely unofficial.

Here are a few interesting minis for your viewing pleasure, representing the FP War, WWI and WWII. Note the mini EK on the Saxon bar is upside down. It's really not the mini that is wrong, its the ribbon. I could switch it but the tabs on the reverse look like they have been that way for a long time. So, I leave it alone - I wonder of the original wearer noticed! Does anyone have any other 1939 examples to show? Note this one is quite unlike the earlier ones. These are quite unusual. I showed it to Rick L. way back in the day and he approved.

Hi Guys - If you haven't seen it yet, check out the EK documents article in the latest issue if International Militaria Collector. In addition to this specific article, the magazine is worth the price given that each issue usually has at least one Iron Cross related write-up. http://bdpublish.com/