Claudius

A tremendous bar. Thank you for sharing it. :cheers:

Well... there are six bids on it. The last one is a secret identity. Know doubt because he's too embarrassed to admit that he bid on this unpleasant specimen. :lol:

Hmmm... (Neville) ChamberlainStrasse in Zehlendorf At Number 39. Just a little follow up...Zehlendorf is in the Southwest corner of Berlin. The strasse was changed to "Chamberlainstrasse" on November 4th, 1935. When the area came under new management It was changed again on July 31, 1947 to "Niklasstrasse" and remains that way today. Apparently, where Mr. Thibaut lived in #39 is now the home to an environmentally-conscience cooking club called "Kochgruppe Kurschkern" Up the block at Niklasstrasse 19 is the Sri Lanke Embassy. I did have one question although...I don't understand this part... Why do you think he was a paymaster for Spies?

And look at that hinge. It's small, snug to the badge and tight. That's quality! A very nice piece that was obviously made for a gentleman that was very proud to have the award.

I didn't even know they were faking Oldenburg crosses, but there it is! I have to agree, it doesn't look very good.

genius...sheer genius...

Thank you Rick and KIR! I was hoping to flesh out this guy. Is there anything on him during WWII? Is there a date of death and place of burial?

Hello all; I have the paybook and a photo of navy officer Charles Thibaut, but I would like to confirm his pre-war and post-war activity. Does anyone find him the Rank lists? Any awards or medals? I know he was in China serving on the SMS Jaguar when he was captured by the Japanese. Thank you in advance. -Claudius

I agree with Kev...but I think is good badge. Great in fact! Nice wartime issue.

Does anyone know a dealer/individual that has a pair of Vize-Steuerman shoulderboards for sale? Or a stamped gilt metal Oberbootsmannmaat rating patch?

Nice document group! I love the Goeben references. Thanks for showing it.

Tim, That badge doesn't just look somewhat like the one I own -I had to run to my collection to make sure that mine was still there! It looks exactly like the one you have. Under the headline "German Jewelers" you will find the thread where I also asked this question. It's to bad there isn't a "Quelle" reference book of german jeweler marks. -Claudius

What! Are you telling us Igor that the name of this unidentified Cavalier is Brykov Andrey Alekseyevich? That would be outstanding. Slava1stclass has got to like that. -Claudius

Hello all; I just haven't seen many Imperial medal bars and I was wondering if anyone would share photos of some of theirs. Since the last one I saw for sale six months ago slipped my grasp I have been waiting for another to come along. Nothing. I think we could all learn something from seeing a few great examples... Thanks, -Claudius

Thank you Rick. I can't find anything on him after the war either. I know he was alive to get the Hindenburg cross and some circumstantial evidence to show he was alive in 1938. I was hoping he found a naval job with rank in the TR and therefore be registered somewhere. (at his age, a desk job) While I know where he was from 10/1916 to 1920, I don't know where/when he was born and when he died or where he was buried. Chip: Thank you for the further info on the insignia. I have seen the cloth badges around and noticed differences in manufacturing, but I didn't realize they were private purchases for their wool jumpers.

Paul Kutzner of U-boot UC-20. UC-20 was a mine-laying type sub, but early on had her mine laying tubes removed and the space was used for a cargo hold. It ran arms and munitions transport missions in the Mediterranean Sea. It's the "famous" uboot that carried a young camel as a gift back from North Africa to the sub base at Pola.

Great! The sailor I am examining was a Oberbootsmannmaat (9/1916). I was told the rank was similar to a Chief Boatswain Mate, but that person was not an expert in naval rank equilivants. The insignia is a dark blue oval cloth with a fouled anchor and the imperial crown above, all in gold-colored thread. Later he was promoted (10/1918) to Vice-Steuermann. Chip -is the crossed anchors in gold thread (made of spun gold) or a stamped piece of gold-colored metal on a dark blue oval cloth? And there is no imperial crown over the anchors? Yes, if it isn't too much trouble, could you show me photo of the rank badge and/or shoulderboards. Rick Research -Thank you for that background information. It is all important as I try to learn what his rank as Oberbootsmannmaat and then Vice-Steuermann would have made him responsible for and what men (if any) were under his command.

Hello; 1) Does anyone know what is the equilivant English rank of "Vice-Steuermann"? 2) What does the Vice-Steuermann insignia look like? Are there any photos of the insignia of a "Vice-Steuermann"? Thank you for your help, -Claudius

That's outstanding Darrell! Thank you. I was looking for and answer to this question for some time. It sounds like you know quite a bit about the badge requirements. Thank you again. -Claudius

Gentlemen; I was searching the previous threads for this topic but I couldn't find it. Could someone tell me, or direct me to the thread that thoroughly details; What were the official qualifications to earn the WWI uboot badge? voyages?/years?/service? Thank you for your help, Claudius

Very nice. I like the "frosting" on that one. And it looks good in every respect.

Wow. Is this the only way we can tell these apart is because when the faker was making this otherwise highly detailed and refined copy he mistakenly "crossed" the swords wrong. If that is the case, then the only thing that these fakers need to fix is to make sure they put the correct sword on top -from left to right, the "point" to the "handle".

Ick! I am far from being an expert in seperating legit from copies, especially the great copies. But this batch from what I can tell from the photos is really poor. We would all benefit from some close-ups. Even the order the crosses are displayed are incorrect. Such an obvious thing too. Probably never intended to be fakes, just passable copies for a museum somewhere.

While all of this is enlightening. I think Andreas' comments were the most startling to me. I always surmised that when my high bid was run over like roadkill it was by bidders with DEEP pockets. People who are so wealthy and have so much disposable income that it is inconsequential for them to pay "too much" for a lot. As long as it is something rare, and what they wanted. I am now to understand that my competition is all too mortal and is actually cursed by winning just as much as blessed. Interesting.

very nice. And in the same order?! I like that the rules dictate the order the medals should be worn (if your a full blood prussian), but how some of the other states bend in favor of their home regions. At least with your guy you can assume he survived the war. I can't be so sure with mine.