Claudius

D'oh!

What is that medal on the watch fob's ribbon? Can we also get a photo of the reverses?

I was in Belize in 2016 and the Belikin was tasting good. If you're buying I'll take a Belikin, if available. If not, I'll take a Quad. 😄

Those look great! For educational purposes, can you show us some close-ups that reveal your "secret" to your filament attachments?

It is very magnetic. The left one is not.

Here are two stamped Prussian Pilot badges from two different manufacturers. I like each of them individually and as a pair for their similarities/differences. These badges are not found in a text book, but I think they are text-book examples. I've had these badges for a long time and their provenance extends beyond that. The badge on the left is a high quality stamp with the square maker mark on on a finely honed pin. The relief on the front is further highlighted by the silver(alloy?) coating. The reverse relief is nearly as good. The badge on the right came off an Allied souvenir belt from near the end of the war. Presumably this is a late-war made badge and was awarded to a newly minted pilot. No maker mark and the pin is a shorter length and simpler. The finish has not aged as well the badge on the left. (

Long service. It's an unusual, but highly desirable variant to find on medal bar.

This is great! Thank You JapanX! Once again you brought clarity and understanding. So, it is these magazine style pistols. I thought the Webley & Scott it referred to was a six-shot revolver. -Claudius

I have a follow up question (nine years later); This document to carry a Webley-Scott revolver seems itself to be used during a transitional time. The document form was originally made for one government agency, but then it was crossed out and a different government authorization was purple ink stamped. Is the purple ink stamp the Petlyura's government authority, or is the original form, the Petlyura's government. Or neither?

Yes I do. It makes a wonderful comparison to my other cliche pilot badge. Considering its construction/quality, I estimate that it is an early war or maybe prewar made. I look back at this post and think how terrible the lighting was and I should have given this study of two different badges its own thread. I may have to rectify this. The square punch hallmark badge is not fairly represented. It has a high shine surface and is really well made...for a cliche'. I believe it is a good, period. The provenance is very long, prior to 1980.

Thank you posting my photo OvBacon. When I originally tried to attach the photo it posted in this odd way. I don't know why. Then I tried adding it as a TIFF file and that went poorly too. Hello Trooper D; Yes, I was a spectator to this decision, however I wasn't going to refuse items off it on principle. I didn't have a lot of money back then, and the pilot badge was a lot of my budget. I think I've seen more "hate" belts (I've never liked this name, but it was widely used in the collecting community) in the past. I think it is a collecting field with some collectors.

It is a bold statement, however I have looked at a lot of belts over the decades and I still think that this one is the best one. I found my Kodak photos of this belt. As you can see, it was photographed in sections to archive the belt. I have to state, that this was before the internet or digital cameras and the photos were taken and processed with developer and fixer. The second-last owner of the belt wanted to document the belt and ultimately I received the photos. This will be the first time this belt will be shown (unless the negatives are out there somewhere). As you can see, its more of a piece of folk art than just a haphazard collection of uniform bits. The original owner appears to have carefully selected each piece and where to arrange it. Starting with his choice of a double wide belt. Note the use of all three, black, silver and gold wound badges. The EK2, Centennial medal and coins all had metal tags soldered on to affix them to the belt. From feldmutzes and shoulder tabs he add the metal; death's head, train and guards along with several unit cyphers. And you can't miss the cliche-style pilot's badge. The "artist" then signed and dated his work, again using metal unit insignia. I've had decades to contemplate this pice and I've wondered what assignment the original owner had that gave him access to this wide variety of pieces. Two come to mind; POW camp guard or Graves Registration. I was a close friend to the persons who bought it directly from the dealer when it walked through the door. For good or ill, the belt was disassembled and I was offered pieces from it. I purchased several of the items. Notability, what I didn't buy was the helmet plate and the train insignia. I even have the empty leather belt.wwi souvenir belt -TIFF.tiff wwi souvenir belt3.jp2

Looks great! I really like the direction you are taking. Are those boards "finished". if so, maybe refinishing them with a FLAT finish will cut down the glare. Either that, or use a diffuser on your light source.