Claudius

Recipient was Hauptman or higher in rank, Army. Little or no pre-WWI service. Recognized for wartime service by Bulgaria. Likely mustered out after the war and had his medal put together on the bar after 1934. Great bar!

If anyone cares, the badge below the EK1 looks like the Kolonialabzeichen "Elephant" Order.

An excellent series of photos on the subject. Thank you for assembling them here for us all to enjoy.

I think you have some fuzz stuck in the left MM. Perhaps it is covering an "800" stamp?

Hmmmm...straightaway there is one that I can think of, but looking at the bar I don't see any other affiliations with Schwarzburg. I want to believe this ribbon bar, but I don't understand it (the awards, the ordering, the construction).

x-ray vision

While I can appreciate that you want to understand for your knowledge's sake and for going forward when you examine other badges you find but I don't want to provide an online, pinpoint tutorial on how to identify "tells" for the fakers to make improvements. This has occurred where the fakers have adjusted their construction. These upgraded fakes look a lot better than the old fakes. There are some great books out on imperial flight badges with the details on the multiple makers and their distinctive styles. I can PM the list if you are interested.

What do you mean by atypical lower berry? Can you show us a typical one? -What I meant was that the lower berry in the landscape area is not found where this berry is found on most period badges. And on the badges that the lower berry is there, they have completely different overall constructions. That back attachment is highly unusual. Even when they did a screw back version the screw would be attached to the badge, not the badge as the "nut". I attached a thread that will show two cliché' type badges for comparison purposes. The photos have a terrible yellow cast but the details are there. (scroll past the Bav. badge to post #23)

Sure, 1) I can't see the crown area very well, but there appears to be excess material around the ball and cross. 2) Strange filings on the tops of the crown's left fringe (leading to the ball and cross) 3) The airplane and landscape have course details. 4) The lower berry on the left side wreath is atypical. Can you show us the reverse please?

a suspect one to be exact.

ah, yes...I made the correction. (must be the sticky fingers from eating all this Halloween candy)

I believe the official name for this award would be; Albrechtsorden Bruststern zum Komturkreuz mit Schwertern am Ring

Yes, but I don't understand the connection to the GIF.

I suspect they were removed for display purposes. The Baltic and Randow didn't have ribbons and the person who created this presentation removed them for aesthetic, uniformity purposes. Not what I would have done, but this is a family piece and as the owners they can display it anyway they like.

Beautiful awards....thanks for showing them.

"And of course the ribbon bar is fixed in wrong direction on the display" Yes, and to reiterate the awards from L-R (when the ribbon bar is correctly positioned); 1) Iron Cross 2nd class, 2) Hindenburg Cross, 3) Baltic Cross -2nd Class, 4) Randow Cross w/swords 5) Turkish War Merit (Gallipoli Star) I think the Randow Cross at the bottom of the display is a very clear indication that the 4th ribbon is the Randow Cross. (and that's the Baltic Cross on the right side) Overall, a very nice display of a family member. It's not important to convey this to the granddaughter - but for those on this forum it is interesting and noteworthy that Major Buschmann included his Randow Cross on his ribbon bar. Usually after 1934 it was against Regulations.

This is a bit of fascinating historical architecture from old Tsingtau. I had no idea that this building was there. Where exactly in Qingdao is this building located? Is it in the old portion of the city?

I think this whole thread should be moved off the Germany: Imperial: The Orders, Decorations and Medals of The Imperial German States forum and put....somewhere else, like the Lounge.

Oh, I do think it would have value to a collector. The bronze and silver medals are scare, but they do show up from time to time in auction houses. For those who can't wait and want to buy it immediately, there is likely one for sale right now on a website for an unreasonable price. But at a realistic price I believe it would be almost irresistible to a collector of Imperial Korean medals. However, it would take further research to find out what that price would be.

Apparently, none of my suppositions withstand these facts. Considering he served in a Bavarian unit and in another unit under the auspicious of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, perhaps Erbse considered the Schwarzburg cross to be a "foreign" award and put it justifiably at the end of the bar.

I have another explanation. It is really a modified #2 and a little of #3. But above all I try to apply Occam's Razor to the question. Doctor Fritz Erbse was from Rudolstadt(Schwarzburg) but clearly during the war he was active and recognized by other States when he was awarded combatant class decorations from at least two other States as well as Prussia (EKII). However before the war he likely served in some capacity (as a Doctor?), in his native Rudolstadt, where I'm guessing he earned a NON-Combatant Schwarzburg Cross (3rd or 4th class). There may have been previous mountings of Dr. Erbse awards before 1934, however in 1934 he decided to mount them again, including the non-combatant Schwarzburg cross, in its correct position at the end of the bar. It was only after this mounting, that the Principality of Schwarzburg recognized their mistake in not awarding their fellow countryman and back awarded awarded him a COMBATANT Schwarzburg cross for his service in the war. Post war awards are not uncommon. The Schwarzburg Cross/swords supercedes the non-combatant one both would not be worn. And it's here where the 50+ year old doctor didn't want to "reorder" the whole bar and just requested that with Swords version be swapped in where the non-combatant version was.

Or a thin coating of Gun Oil. Its been used for decades by owners of very expensive guns to keep the metal parts from rusting.

Wonderful bar Chris! Naval related....Doctor? He was certainly an Officer that should be found in the 1910 Rolls. But without cross-tabulating award rolls I'm not sure how you can find him. You would have to get lucky and "stumble" across the right candidate you was in China and with WWI service.