Claudius

Years ago I remember going to a OMSA show and a gentleman had a display of the dozen different Imp.Austrian Commemorative 2. Dezember 1873 medal. In some cases the differences were subtle, but they were clearly from different manufacturers, perhaps across the Austrian Empire. The gentleman believed there had to be multiple manufactures to fulfill the large number that needed to be produced. I have to wonder how many Commemorative badges for the 100th anniversary of the Ministry of War were needed that required multiple manufacturers?

That is a remarkable difference in quality. When I look between the Orders made by Eduard and Keibel I don't see such a disparity.

? obverse please.

? I'm flummoxed.

I'll speak plainly -I don't like it. The tiny cross on the top is poorly formed and too delicate looking -it is not how the period items were done. These were badges on uniforms and you didn't want them catching on the cloth and making fraying marks. The main body looks poured into a form. The scepter and orb look particularly poorly cast. The Russian-style wingnut in the back also looks cast with the loops poorly soldered on. The left one "slipped" when it was being attached. And it shows false wear. Somehow it received a deep dent. These are finger tighten screws and it is highly unlikely that someone took a pliers to it. The piece tries to appear has a high quality badge (with enamel parts and five attachments) but also have the lesser quality of an enlisted man's badge with the main body being so crudely made. This is when it would be very illuminating to compare this piece with a known legitimate badge to clearly show the construction differences.

The 225th anniversary!? Can we see the back side too?

ummm, hopefully he's not very good at his job??? ? I got nothing...everybody has their personal agenda's and justifications. I don't want to throw stones, unless I was sure I was without hypocrisy. but great diorama!

You have some serious skills here! Thanks for the photos.

Hey Claudius. What do u know of the L19 sinking? -nothing more than what is widely available, but I'm always open to learning new details from privately-sourced documents and research. I see u like WW1 German Tsiango. Do u collection uniforms? -Yes, I collect Tsingtau documents, photos, medals and militaria related to individuals in the WWI siege and subsequent POW captivity in Japan. Man-cave displays w all original minty badges? -no man-cave for me, just in riker mounts locked up, but I do have some small specimens at home. How about an airman’s near mint silk-cloth naval officer’s summer tunic w officers hat belt epaulettes pants and all buttons and best part custom-made by Tsiango tailors w provenance? -I would love to see it. Which of the two pilots stationed at Tsingtau did it belong to? I’ll have to learn how to start a new thread and do private emails. My first time posting was today. -no problem, it's your first day. But yes, please start multiple threads. Post your items and ask questions, BUT first search the forum to see if those questions weren't first answered by someone else, maybe long ago. I see u like group sets. How many zeppelin commander r out there - 6 not in museums? Super rarified air. Carsten has one maybe 2. He’s definitely has at least one PLM group set. I avoided 2 major mistakes because of his help. If u like group sets have u heard of Zep Commanders Frey, or Dietrich - who also headed the Ju bomber program in WW2? Do u collect plm group sets? Those I am told r at the top food chain. -Yes, I collect group sets. How many Zeppelin commander groups do I have?, or PLM groups? I don't usually find them like low hanging apples from trees ready to be picked at any moment. But maybe I'm walking in the wrong orchards. If you know where modestly priced Zeppelin commander and PLM groups are just waiting to be bought....I would luv to hear it. I appreciate ur interest and will figure out how to start a new thread here. -navigate the site and you'll find out there are a lot things here. Check out the "Lounge" area near the bottom of the main webpage. There you can post off-topic, questions or observations for fun and entertainment. And oh, by the way....Welcome to GMIC!

"...the rarest of all known Zeppelin paper in the world. " -what is the rarest known Zeppelin paper? "Does anyone here collect naval commander group sets? That’s a whole other beast for a long thread if anyone is interested." -why yes, I am interested in seeing this. Please do start a new thread dedicated to it.

What is number 4? Is that the Dienstauszeichnungskreuz?

Hello Coppermine; Welcome to GMIC! Thanks for posting your TWM. I would prefer an expert to chime in on this badge, but IMHO, I'm sorry to say that I don't think its a period piece. I have two reasons right off; the enameling on the obverse seems to be too generous -on the upper portion, it's lapping up the crescent. The second concerning observations are on the reverse. For a Meybauer, the hinge looks a little too loose and weld/solder area is spilling over.

I agree with Frank. The fakers put a lot effort to make this fake as clean as they could and I wouldn't want to educate them. However, if there is minor "tell" that could be shared that would be helpful to the collector, but not the the faker; that would be informative. I wouldn't want to pass on something truly valuable, only something that can be useful when visiting the tables at a show.

It's not a regulation limitation. I had thought it was just a limitation of how many battles a unit could have partaken in that would limit the number of bars a gent could earn. Insofar as that, I was mistaken on the seven number. A quick look at this matrix and I see there are two Army Corps that units within and could have a possible eight bars.

I found two of these books for sale on one website for over $300 and three on another website for over $550. Pardon my naïveté, but why is it so expensive? Is this still the best source for 1813, 1870 and 1914 EKs? Aren't there other, more modern publications that have even better, higher-quality photos?

WOW! I thought it was only possible to get seven. But somehow he must have "been there" and got that eighth bar. Don't misunderstand me....I think the photo and the eight bars are legit. I just don't know what combination he was able to string together. I do wish I could read those spange.

hmmm, I don't think it would garner a name directly, but another approach is the artist himself. You mentioned that the painting is signed and dated. Some artists are known well enough that there are details about who they were and WHERE they did most of their commissioned work. Some have catalog of their known pieces. But this pursuit would be through a different venue, perhaps a forum on 19th century painters (if there is one). They do this sort of thing on the Antiques Roadshow. The artist might be someone that is known in the art collecting community.

Nassau; Silver Military Merit Medal, 1st model 1807-1818 I can see how this is a good candidate. I looked at the Imp.Rus. Capture of Paris, but two things dissuaded me; the ribbon colors and the öse size represented in the painting.

This medal bar has so many wonderful things about it. I could stare at it for a long time and not get tired of it. The Lifesaving medal....the Lippe House Order (with Swords on the Ring!)... the Bremen and the Saxe-Weimer cross!! All together on one bar. Bravo! Sorry for getting all gushy about this bar.

The famous pilot/ace/PLM-winner spelled his name with umlauts. Without them, it is entirely a different name and individual. There is no possible way that the engraver from 1917 would have not used them. It wouldn't be his name. Baumer would be a different individual. It would be like spelling my name as "Claudio". Without a good look at the "G", I'm not sure that is even that is authentic. From the reverse, Godet EK1s have amazing symmetry and cutouts that I can't reconcile here.

the book "Above The Lines" by Franks, Bailey & Guest has Baümer, but their book "Jasta Pilots" has Bäumer. ?

Hmmmmm, the list of Jasta pilots are relatively complete and I can't find a match for a Vzfw. P. Baumer. There is the famous Ace, GMMC and PLM winner Ltn. Paul Baümer. The photos are still blurry to me, are there umlauts?

Hello Peter; Thanks for posting this. I've looked at the photos, but they are a bit foggy. I know it's hard to get the camera to focus on a subject that is multiple depths, but try to isolate the layers and take some really good shots. Especially of the inscription. Honestly, I couldn't read the last name or get a good sense of the engraving style. Also please do a zoom of the "G" on the pin. I think that will be very telling as well. I will say upfront that I'm not really excited about this badge. But I did want to see some clear photos before I make up my mind and others here would like a good look as well. Thanks,

I haven't seen something like this in a very long time. Can we see the reverse too. What is the speculation of what kind of position someone had who had this bar. Not straight military. A Brunswick court person who was at Franco-Prussian war battles (as an observer?). I don't have my H&S book handy....how does someone earn those first two awards?

It's a very bad photo of the bar, but even from what I can see, I don't recognize the campaign script.