saschaw

Mike wanted a better picture to see and say if it's a real one or a modern fake. At least I think that was his intention. :whistle:

Definitely the same bar, with an additional - but unmounted - Italian crown order's knight. Picture taken in Rome... Maybe now identifiable? I'm keeping my fingers crossed. If you're interessted in the picture, please send me a PM. ;)

I think Timo is not vindictive... so back to topic? A good day for the owner of this lovely medal bar, I think... :beer:

Signalcorps45, things like this make me sick and sad. Instead of offending Timo and making such a comment, you could have checked what Timo's posting dates. I'm pretty sure you did not own this bar in 2007, when it indeed was Timo's. All I did was asking, whose it is now. Sorry for some confusion caused. The main problem here may be I'm not a Native speaker... I'll be back on this later, as I don't feel appropriate for what I planned... :mad:

Timo, I believe you are not having this bar anymore. Do you (or does someone else) know, whose it is now? :whistle:

No idea if any "Kachel" made WW1 iron crosses, but it was probably not the Karlsruhe mint master who died in 1878. http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Kachel He's buried (here) in Karlsruhe, next to his son-in-law Christian Schnitzspahn, another famous die cutter/mint master.

It is not usual, to say the least, to re-construct German medal bars, while, from what I've heard, it is usual e.g. to replace ribbons in British groups. I'd just display them together. But that's me. ;)

I do not know, but would not touch any of these. That many fakes around, and the (only) Oldenburg collector I knew died last year, so (I have) none to ask. These crosses are very dangerous, to say the least!

Timo, absolutely fine and scarce with the original ribbon. Nice one! The "R" is actually a "K" for Kachel who did cut the die.

Thanks, Rick!

Thanks Karsten. It was Mrs. Leutwein I had in mind... :ninja:

Wow. Stunning. Now you can imagine how I must have felt when I recently saw the 1736 issue of this order... Is this one from Napoleonic era?

Thousand possibilities. Management, organization, support, administration... it's much to do at home for such "actions" like a over seas war.

The KO4 was standard award to Leutnant and Oberleutnants while the RAO4 usually went to Hauptleute and Majore. But: Most peace time officers did not receive the KO4 and started with RAO4 as their first order! Followed by KO3, but that is another story. That's right for SWA, which went in steel to those as to the mentioned stay-at-homes. For China, it's a bit different: China in bronze is not "combattant", but for all that were indeed there. So a steel China is always to someone who wasn't in China!

A good question you're raising. Honestly, I do not know. But I have seen several "modern" ones, and they were ten times better qualitity than this one (which is, sorry to say that, the worst one I've ever seen. Just ugly). I think it may be a modern one, but I don't want to believe they were such crap now.

It hardly lacks the quality of a luxury Spangenstueck, rather it looks like a standard issue cross. Possibly light bronze and/or to much flash?

Well, honestly, I do not know. What I know: I'm asking 750,- Euro for a big German medal bar with additional War Liyakat medal and some German stuff. ;)

2nd ribbon is Prussian Red Eagle order (if the wearer was officer rank) or Allgemeines Ehrenzeichen (if he wasn't). Hamburg ribbon is different. China and South West Africa medals could be in steel for stay-at-homes, so he wasn't necessary in oversea service. If he wasn't, it cannot be a Militär-Ehrenzeichen. If he was "over there", it may be one. There is neither a way to tell, unless you know whose bar it is.

I think you just don't know. I don't see anything that excludes one of this two possibilities. The bar dates WW1 era.

Colours like red and green may well glow under black light, although they are old. What to pay attention for is white.

The sewing is anything but a nice job. While I cannot claim the bar to be a fake, I would not buy it, unless it is really cheap... (which it probably is not)

I think we "knew" this all the time, but without any hard proof... Nice find!

I watched it... I thought the video is an "elusive piece of the EK puzzle". Guess it is not, right? Better?! At least I tend to think so...

I do not like the bar nor the clasps, not am I sure on the Kolonial-Denkmünze. The Saxon medal, of course, is fine. But that does not change much here, I think...

Of course you're right - this is not a good one.