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And last but not least: The Schutzwallehrezeichen (of which I know far less what to say by lack of a reference work... It has a split non soldered suspension ring and the loop is integral to the medal. The bronze is still quit intact but below the surface it turns black so I suppose this is a zinc piece (consistent with the late make) However the colour does still look more like bronze to me... anyone can tell by the pics what material it is? It was sold to me as an "Early heavy Westwall...". I don't really think that it fits that description though... i still would have bought it cause it came cheap, but I don't think it's what it was told to be... I'm planning to get myself a scale to confirm the weight. Gonna need that anyway if I continue in this TR stuff How am I doing sofar?

All of this newfound wisdom obviously not of my own invention but of my other new addition (thank you Gordon, you can see it's put to good use eh?

Thirdly: Kriegsverdienstkreuz 2.Klasse mit Schwertern A zink piece with next to no bronze wash left. Ring is integral with the cross. So a late war piece Maker marked "10" in incuse relief on the ring, for Foerster & Barth, Pforzheim There's a small undefined spot on the lower arm of the Swastika

Secondly: Kriegsverdienstkreuz 2. Klasse ohne Schwertern I see a zink piece with an amount of bronze wash left. No maker mark on the split ring. The ring is integral to the cross. So all pointing to a late war piece. There's a little dirt at the front on the right cross arm with should clean of with some water

Well, I've finally gone and done it: expanded my collection from pre-1930 to include TR. Blame it on this forum and all of you gentlemen... so here are some newbee observations on my first pieces: Firstly the simple plain Kriegstverdienstmedaille When I started examining it it turned out to be the variant as pictured in Gordon's new book on the War Merit Cross on pg 40, with the binding rings of the central wreath appearing on the left and right instead of on the top and bottom side. The transverse loop also is off-centre (better visible at the picture off the reverse) which is also very clear on the picture in the book. The loop itself however seems rather thin to me, I had expected a thicker ring. It's soldered, but it doesn't give the impression of a replacement though. No maker mark as common, and a not-soldered/split ring There seems to be some "rust" shaping on the two o?clock position of the disk. Question: am I right if I say this is an early tombak piece?

Hi... based on absolutely no knowledge on KVK's outside of reading Gordon's book I would say it looks fine to me... I recognise the swollen middle portion of the pin as typical for Deschler. I see a separately soldered hinge block and retaining hook as for an earlier piece. Can't really tell if it's in a recess. There's an example of a Deschler KVK1 on pg 123 of Gordon's new book. The only thing I must say is that the mm seems smaller here then it does in the picture in the book. Please don't take this as any authentication, as said I don't know **** about KVK. So let's wait and see what the real experts have to add. cheers

Very nice presentation! I'm wondering though? a: don't the medals damage the paperwork which is on the opposite page? b) doesn't the book get to heavy/thick to handle? c) don't the medals get damaged by the splitpin pushing at the back of them cause of the weight of the whole book? cheers!

Thanks for correcting there Hendrik. Always thought the tower had to do with the engineer corps... :cheers:

Without having the real answer I can add some pieces to the puzzle.. First bar: both the military division of the Officer in the Order of Leopold I and the Military Cross indicate a career officer. Second bar: the tower on the War Cross indicates someone with the corps of engineers ("genie") and the 3 bars (at least I think there are three bronze bars?) on the POW might indicate a French-speaking recipient. (Although it's not an ironclad proof, but most Flemish recipients were sent home after 6 months to a year. The French speaking POW's spent longer) I let the experts contradict me when I'm wrong.... cheers L4h

Thanks for the reply Jan Had no idea that these things went so high! Thought 60 ? would have done the trick....

Hello chaps Just a general (albeit rather specific) question. Could anyone give me an idea of what a single BWM to a Belgian agent goes for these days? Being offered one but have to settle on the price Thanks cheers from Flanders L4h

Question: are the simple plain KvM usually maker marked? I always they were usually unmarked? (as the Westwall is...)

Hello gents, Planning to buy "the call of duty" by Strandberg/Bender. Before I part with my ? however, would anyone be willing to post some sample pics here on the forum so I can see what I'd get? I'm looking for a guide that helps me to identify not only the medals themselves but especially the manufacturers/time period so I can date the pieces. Will this book do the trick? Thanks for your help! cheers from Belgium l4h

thanks gents! when you point it out it does become more visible indeed: pitting for cast pieces and numbering style... can't see the difference in the loop though....

another try... this one looks very much like the first one.so I think it's OK .... what do you think? cheers! L4H

And here I am... pondering over the fact if the 80 ? IAB I want to buy is genuine or not.... why bother eh? :D

AH... I see... enlighten me here... what gives them away?

meaning?

Let me venture a guess, sorry no pics... correct me if I'm wrong Kriegsverdienstkreuz, Kreuz f?r freiwillige Kriegshilfe, Verdienstmedaille, Ehrekreuz f?r Kriegsteilnehmer, Dienstauszeichnung

Thank you both very much for your opinion. I let it pass as I wasn't entirely sure of it being genuine or not... went out of my budget anyway (sold yesterday for 335 ? on ebay.it) cheers L4H

Thanks you Paul Anyone else?

Just got new pics from the seller. I'm curious about your opinion! cheers L4H

I'd like to get hold of one of these, but they're too expensive too mess around with without knowledge, that's why the question. This one is sold as an original, but is it? Thanks for your opinion!

Hi Jason Non-official for sure, that's about as far as I get. cheers

Seen from here it looks fine to me, I must say.