saschaw

Yes, I still showed nothing from Baden - though, nice bars, but... where are the really nice baden bars... This one is a "Frackspange" with Iron Cross on non combattant ribbon, even rarer than the one place "Ordensspange". The needle looks again like a Godet - do you think the same? Or was that used by someone else, too? It's from eBay but though a good one, not from "cetra2003", "am-militaria" or "raritaetensamlerclub". Those persons flooded the market with bars like that and still sell them for insane prices... well, I paid an insane price too, but how often do you see them in this quality and - presumably - by Godet...?

Now a five place bar, similar "international" to the second one. Once more war time I think, and from the needle system made by Godet - riiight? The combination of war time awards, amung these the SEHO 3aX suggests a higher ranking officer, leaving out his pre war awards? Tell me if you think I'm wrong... In details, it's - Preußen, Eisernes Kreuz 1914 II. Klasse; - Hessen, Allgemeines Ehrenzeichen wohl "Für Tapferkeit"; - Anhalt, Friedrich-Kreuz; - Sächsische Herzogtümer, Ernestinischer Hausorden, Ritterkreuz I. Klasse mit Schwertern; - Braunschweig, Kriegsverdienstkreuz II. Klasse.

First one was almost "pure Prussian", so now to follow the 2nd bar, an almost "international-German" and very colourfull bar. I think this is as well war time or early 20s from the needle system. No way to tell what Schwarzburg award but I'm on a cross, from which principality it may be. The awards are: - Preußen, Eisernes Kreuz 1914 II. Klasse; - Schwarzburg-X, Fürstliches Ehrenkreuz IV. Klasse mit Schwertern; - Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Militärverdienstkreuz 1914 II. Klasse; - Oldenburg, Friedrich August-Kreuz II. Klasse; - Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Friedrich Franz-Kreuz; - Bremen, Hanseatenkreuz. What kind of person might have had such a combination and am I right about all award as far? Thanks.

Gentlemen, I think it's time now to show my newest "bar acquisitions". It's not common, but I'm stumped with some ribbons - pleeeeease help meeeee... The first one is presumably a Prussian's war time six place bar. Ribbon one is a 1914 EK II, but the 2nd ribbon is the non combattant ribbon - not for an EK, but I cannot see Colonial service for a MEZ, KO or RAO and the Krieger-Verdienstmedaille was awarded to non-Prussian soldiers only, but this guy was a Prussian for sure, I think. Last ribbon is Lübeck hanseatencross or Ottoman "saniya madalyasi"? I don't know, have them seen sewn like this and that, by tailors that didn't know - Lübeck should be the other way round, right? I neither know what the "RAO" and the blue ribbons are most likely for...

The Baden medal is textbook and I cannot see a reason for disliking the Coburg and Gotha medal. Once more, this is a post 1914 type but looks still to be real silver.

Hum? Are there any problems with that Baden medal...?

No! No! No! Sorry. Not Stijns Falken bar - that is over any doubt. I meant the bar from #20 with L?beck - that's one of hagekna41's - I hope most know this guy from eBay Germany...

Daniel, Rick - thousand thanks for that great information. Bernd - Z?hringers have gone up in prices for the last years. I stupid ordinary three place bar with BZL3bX goes nowadays for about 500,- Euro, so I think these 1.600,- Euro were absolutely normal for this one. Though, we wouldn't have paid much more... Paul - not really "non combatant", it's just a peace time award to an officer (sure, though "non combatant" anyway, when there's no war when awarded!). In Baden, swords were given only in war, for war merit. Two grades of Z?hringer L?we order were worn together if one has swords and the other doesn't, no matter what classes they are - and the oaks don't mind. E.g. a 3bX could be worn with a peace time grandcross, as a war time Grandcross with swords could be worn with a 3b. It's mostly about ranks and literally anything is possible - though they're of course hard to get, those medal bars with two...

Sorry Gentlemen, but that's one more eCrap bar. Please ask before buying... Do you want to know who made this one...?

And "ludwigderbayer1" seems absolutely to know what he does. I don't know him but saw him several times bidding on best stuff that comes out of eBay...

My father got this nice bar a few minutes ago as a telephon bidder at Kube's auction. I heard a possible wearer has yet been identified but I wasn't told who this was. Thanks in advance for a name and thanks to all that didn't place a bid...

Rick, it's great you like it. I hadn't doubts about it at all, but confirmation though's always nice. Thanks for the addet information, that's yet something. You say "no way to tell" - but if you stumble about him in any WWI list, that would be a great help. There was e.g. at least one bar with the collection that looked extremely navy-ish, but with a Z?hringer 3bX it cannot be his. As cannot be those with royal or principle house order of Hohenzollern, Saxon albrecht, Bavarian MVO...

Looks pretty good to me, might have a "SILBER 990" in the rim. Mine looks almost the same but has the signature "MvK" left to the had. Those with were given pre 1914, so "yours" here is a WW I or later issue.

And that's the problem. The bar is eCrap at it's worst, and without some members here remembering it, it will get "original" at some point, earlier than I exspectet/feared it. Do you know an "am-militaria" from Vienna... ? He's the one and only former wearer and owner of this bar... And in clearer words, for a new member (welcome to GMIC, btw ) - this medal bar is a modern put together by a faker from Austria who makes, ?hm, well ... "interresting" medal bars... Worth the parts by no cent more, and even for the parts price I wouldn't buy this bullshit. I'm not blaming Barry, he's an honest guy from what I know. He just didn't know - as all other here didn't, what makes me thinking...

Last picture, without the needle covering the engravement. As the collection came with a handfull nice medal bars and I didn't ask the collector if anything belonged together - he wouldn't have known it, seems he didn't bother such "things" like history - is there any chance to get to know what awards this Lt. z.S. d.R. Ernst Schwarz was awarded? There might be his medal bar in dad's box, I just don't know what to look for. At least I couldn't find him amung the Z?hringer guys... Just for interrest, what price would a piece like this make nowadays? It's not maker amrked and the pin damaged, but anything else seems perfectly good to me.

The rear, by the way nicely engraved with "Leutnant z. See d. Res. Ernst Schwarz Flugzeugbeobachter II. Seefliegerabtlg. # 1845" The pin seems to be a poor repair, but I don't know when it was made. You still like the badge, don't you?

This example is not in any way related to the one above, but as it's my father's as well and the same award, I'll post it here - as a "kompensation" for the badge above. It came with many other decoration from the collction of an elderly collector who sold off threw us his collection via eBay last year, and this badge is one of the things we managed to get for our own. I hope you like it - honestly, I'd wonder if this one wasn't right...

Ah, pity. I just looked at the Nimmergut "B?nderkatalog" and checked the ribbon - the police ribbon looks a bit different. So you might remove that cross, have an empty space no one knows what there should be and you've to get an military long service award. With a MVK 2nd class on war merit ribbon I'd asume a higher grade than the nine years medal - maybe even a 15 year cross?! Nice bar though, and really interresting...

Hmm okay, thanks though. But are those known as fakes? If faked, there should be some more out, actually?!

Here's a large sized miniature of the "Abzeichen f?r Beobachter auf Marine-Flugzeugen", of about 41 x 26 mm. I think this is still to be considered "miniature" and not a "prinzen size"?! But I think this actually doesn't really matter. What matters: is this an old original one or a modern, faked item? I'm not sure about it as I'm pretty unaware of aviation badges, didn't even knew that size - never seen such a thing, neither as genuine nor as fake - that's a good sign, isn't it?!

Hmm, nice bar, as most of yours. The Baden bar my father bought via eBay is here, by the way - fine as well. Well, that was in 1866... I've got a quite similar Baden bar for years, unfortunally with a lower bravery award, not the St. Heinrich pendant:

The pictures are taken from Hermann Historica, Munich. Just ask for reverse pictures, I bet you won't get any...

Yes, this is one of the finest I've ever seen. I'd say it's war time or early 20s, not later - especially not WW2. That's a "J.H. Werner" tag on the back, by the way ...

I think eMedals has or had some of those REOs been offering for quite a time and doesn't get rid off them...

Not much too add right now but hope to find more - we don't have much paper... The major von Freydorf who got a BZL3aX an Oct. 6th 1914 was a Rudolf, born 15. Oktober 1868 in Karlsruhe and died 18. Mai 1940 there. He's the same who got an BMKFVO, HOH3X etc. Leutnant Mayer from IR 170 with BZL3bX was a Guido - that Guido who won also BMKFVO, WFO, LK. Hmm, I just realized here's some more and data addet from the last time I vistited it - http://home.att.net/~ordersandmedals/MKFVO.htm