Scowen

Yes it's quite depressing isn't it, that something that is very inexpensive & quite numerous (compared to some items) is so readily faked. Cheers Don

I'm not a collector of them per se, but I pick them up when I see a nice one. Here is a rare one, be careful if you see one on sale, it appears to have been recently faked. This design was only very occasionly seen on the market until about 15 months ago, now they are cropping up on a monthly basis. There are major differences though, note that on a genuine one the bottom left of the right rune runs into/behind the skull...... Cheers Don

Thanks for posting the Volunteer's or Samariterinnen badge & the DRK medal John. I won't get into the medal for Jim here as it will get too complicated..... This badge was for private citizens & indeviduals who were not members of the DRK gave time & assistance to patients & anyone who required help. They had to have put in a minimum of 100 hours before this badge was issued...... Cheers Don

"The worker to honour, the homeland to defend" This is one of the so called Limes medals, issued to it's workers by one of the contractors involved in the building of the West Wall. These were made before the institution of the official West Wall medal. The name of the company is written across the building. Hope this is of help. Cheers Don

Very Nice John. It's just occurred to me that I posted this in the wrong subforum. I'd appreciate it if whoever is the moderator would move it to the Civil section, thanks. Sorry Cheers Don

Anyone like the Faithful Service Awards? Lets see them if you have them. Cheers Don

With it's box. Cheers Don

Yoyr wish is my command......... I can't seem to find a shot of the reverse I'm afraid. I'll have to re take it when I get a chance. Cheers Don

I've seen this a few times. I suspect that the numbers were stamped first & when they went to put the pin on, they found it was too big, but it's only a guess. Cheers Don

I'll start off with the DRK members badge 1st pattern. This badge only lasted about a year (1933 - 1934) & is only 17mm in diameter.

Hi Jim, The DRK is another of my interest areas, there isn't a lot out there reference wise. Angolia's work "In the Service of the Reich" is the only real work that covers the organisation as a whole. However, if like me, you are into their enamel badges, JR Cone's booklet "One People, One Reich; Enameled Organizational Badges of Germany 1918 - 1945" is the best work available & covers these very well. The above two badges are firstly the DRK Honour Pin, given for meritorious service that was not quite within the scope to earn the medal. It is available in both pinback & stickpin forms. In use between 1939 - 1945. The other badges are the Senior Helper's badge (known as the type 3 pattern), which was for nursing helpers that had proven themselves over a period of time. The helpers in this sense were not nursing staff as such, but somewhere in between a licensed nurse & a nurses aid. I'll post some more DRK badges as time permits. Cheers Don

Reverse

Jim, Not a stupid question at all. As Jon has said, the FM Organisation was composed of civilians who gave monetary aid to the SS, which had been authorized by Hitler to seek additional financial help. FM Members were recruited at Sturm levels and pledged to monthly amounts of as little at RM 1,00. A membership book without photo, numbered to an FM badge were issued. The standard pins are found in both stickpin & pin back types. In 1935, a special hallmarked silver honour FM badge with oakleaves and additional inscription on the obverse was authorized for the first 30,000 members; this was expanded to the oldest 60,000 a short time later. When the member ceased payments, the badge/book had to be returned to the Sturm and would be reissued as with my one at the top. Jon, Yes, the SS/FM Organisation is of particular interest to me. An honour pin in a decent condition can reach about ?300 the last time I saw a good one. Be very cautious when buying any SS/FM pins, they have been heavily faked. The first thing to check is that there is no RZM markings on them, none of the SS enamel pins were marked with an RZM code. Here is my standard members pin. Cheers Don

Yes Dave, the KVK is 62 & the EK1 is a 65. Cheers Don

Reverse. This one had been reissued to another supporter, the original number has been milled off & a new one hand engraved. Cheers Don

We usually see the standard SS/FM membership pin. We rarely see the honour version. Cheers Don

Reverse

Nice Senior Helper's badge John, mine hasn't got the blow hole. Cheers Don

Here's mine. Cheers Don

Here's a couple that Panzerman likes Cheers Don

Hi Jim, Just found my way over here. Good to see you & other names. Cheers Don

Reverse

My first post here. I recognise some names on the list, so this is where you've all been hiding lately :food-smiley-004: Here's the DRK Honour pin, the stickpin version. Cheers Don