Chris Boonzaier

Hi, but if you are a soldier, NOT an officer, then you need Bravery to get the LdH., CdG needs a specific citation. I guess this is just a goodwill gesture to the old guys... maybe a political angle... get them to change the menues back to "French Fries" etc. etc. ;-)

When I am pushing 80 I will come apply for a Bronze star :lol:

Civilians who have performed a service have always gotten it... same as the british OBE... i think the beatles got them, Bob Geldorf etc. So Arnie got one, ... civilians and their medals... every soldier knows it looks the same, but is a "different" award.... Is the US handing out Medal of Honours to Vets because they are getting old? Are the british handing out VCs to vets because they are getting old? I know ONE other rank that I knew when I was in the Legion, and he is the only one I know to have ever got the Legion of honour after 5 Bravery citations.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Rowe_(soldier) It should not be given to soldiers /ex soldiers as a token of thanks long after the event, soldiers have a different way of earning it. best Chris

Hmmm... seems to be a bit of a cheapening of the award.... almost like a political move. I honestly dont see any reason why any WW2 vet who fought on french soil should merit one, even if he was wounded. Does that go for Vets of all nations, or is it a simple France/USA thing? best Chrid

A silly question, but does he qualify for a LdH? If I remember correctly, a few years ago it was the remaining WW1 vets that got the LdH. Best Chris

Well, if you consider the OBE/MBE thing.... I think the UK has more or less the same thing going.... tons of medals to civilians and the military shakes its head.. Arnie as Gov of California was waaaay beter than we expected... so maybe it is not thaaaaaaat bad to give him this... god knows, there are people who deserve it less that have it.

What are Austro-Hungarian tunics priced like? Best Chris

Of course... an interesting read.... but if that digger dogger had been a soldier 100 years ago... he would have been shot for desertion ;-)

Nice to see the cops getting some recognition... The SAP dont have an easy life.

thats a bit lame.... Would you give a soldier a medal if "after the action he went missing, and was found to be living with an Afghan Family 14 months later" ? I think they lowered the bar on that one.... does not compete with the donkey... :shame:

Hi, it looks really interesting! What is tzhe Sampson medal? Thanks cHRIS

Very nice indeed! Must have been a pleasure to land that lot. Best Chris

Hey... for the last 3 months an average 22 000 page hits a month!! http://www.kaiserscross.com/152301.html Great article by Harry this week

Hi without a doubt done and seen in many photos, but proportionally, in the days of tunics with buttons just about everyone was wearing them in the buttonhole... later photos with the Bluse and its hidden buttons there are guys who sew them on where the buttonhole should be, but there are many more with the ribbon on the chest. I think it was just a question of praticality at that stage. Best Chris

A proud Bavarian... Jakob Osberger, waffenmeister in the 22 bavarian Inf Regt, dated September 1915

that is a REALLY nice one!!!

Lets not forget, later tunics did not have the button holes...

There must be something in writing about this.

Hi, emotive is relative... I have paid top dollar for groups with stories I like... but the sad fact is, many folks do not pay a premium for the story. I really do wish you well with the sale. my point is not about the market value of this group. I have no idea what that value may be. my point is, this is a group whose value will be determined by what other people are prepared to pay. But as with all such groups (and I have a number like it) the value changes the next day to whatever the next highest bidder is willing to pay.

I dont think this is the cause, if anything dealers are folding beacuse of the internet. I think the British orders and medals collectors have the slickest and most advanced collecting field in the "militaria" world. If you compare DNW, Dixons, liverpool medals, Spinks etc. etc... there is no comparable thing for US, French, German medals. In the UK you have "medal dealers" who would rather eat mud than handle militaria... the rest of the world has largely (but not exclusively) militaria dealers that also handle medals The only real exception that comes to mind is Jeff Floyd, but even there, the heavy hitting bars are usually British groups by British dealers. I also think most British groups circulate within the UK, and prices are going up, inspite of the dollar going down. The question that burns is... why DID this go to a auction house outside of the states? Surely the market for this would be bigger in the states? best Chris

I think there is a major difference.... Take the family group I mentioned... cost EUR450 instead of EUR150. Because there were two folks with a "must have" attitude, it was EUR450... that was an artificial value. Especially as I know the other guy no longer has in interest. I paid EUR450... but the OBJECTIVE market value of this group is now EUR150... We (Me and He) created an artificial value for a "must have"... best Chris

I think pricing this is an impossible task... there is a difference between an objective market value and what one or two individuals are willing to pay. Simply because, the market value stays, and the price someone is willing to pay only exists as long as he is interested/alive. Example1... I have mentioned a Family related group I put an insane bid on and ended up paying 3 times the average market price just because of the name.... and by some 1 in a million chance, someone else was going for the name of the recipient as well... My under bidder is no longer interested in the group... if ever I were to sell it, the value would no longer be subjective, but regular market value... a third of what i paid. Example2... British collectors... when 2-3 guys collect Trios to the upperwancsworth Fusiliers... you can see them going for 2-3 times the price of, lets say, the lowerwanksworth fusiliers (which are selling at the average market price for a trio). Are the Upperwancsworth fusiliers worth their price? Yes indeed, that is the going market price... AS LONG as there are folks willing to pay that price. One of them dies, one finally finds a girlfriend... and collector three sees his collections value halved. In the past I have often paid waaay above premium to get REALLY sexy things... my unfortunate experiance has been, when it comes to selling, if you dont find someone with the same kink, you may not make your money back. Anyway, back on the subject above... having once struggled to sell a document group to a guy with 49 victories, 3 in 5 minutes once, I realised then how little interest there was in details... Fantastic group, that MAY find a deep pocketed American collector who wants to buy American history, no matter the cost, but that is a question of finding the right buyer... Reading the thread a few times and comparing it with RAF/RFC groups with DSO etc... I think it is proportionally way more expensive than a British group of the same "sexiness" level. Just lots of thoughts here... but lets seperate potential buying publics here... collectors with an overview of the market, and folks who dont care about market price... an Example... There is a dealer in the states (Der Rittmeister) who has a lot of intersting German Imperial stuff... but IMHO has insane prices. I dont know anyone willing to pay those prices (I once bought something on his sale though)... but someone IS paying those prices, or he would not be in business. If I were to say "that EK1 is worth USD195" and he were to say "I had it for USD375... and someone bought it".... what is the value? Just some thoughts here as it is indded a very interesting question... what is a group like this worth.... is there a difference between worth, and what an individual is prepared to pay... are US groups getting ready to skyrocket in price?... will the US group prices be more volatile than British where there is a more established collecting community? great thread that poes a lot of questions...

The photo was taken in Gera_Reuss, and what awards? Thanks+ Chris

aaaaarrrgghh!!!!!!!!!!!

oops... tahnks; I will correct that the next update.... There is a history of the 173rd on Ebay... why is it never the one you REALLY need for sale!!!!!