Stogieman

I think I grabbed every one that hit the open market for a number of years. I also so many more that would/never will hit the open market in the hands of some old and very dear friends in Germany. One of whom still eMails me every Christmas. The Gold medal was the thing that I never managed to get. I owned a miniature in real gold, 16mm. I turned my nose up at over a dozen "silver-gilt" "wearer's copies"... only saw 2 bronze gilt ones but they were both probably copies. The one gold medal that came on the market before I stopped was a loose medal that had contact marks indicating it had been removed from a medal bar. I was outbid at $2500, plus premium and that was at least 5 years ago... it stayed in Germany.

and he said "Be fruitful and multiply".... so it was written, so it was done.... Unfortunately when it grew up someone stole the gold medal off the bar before I could get my sweaty palms on it..

Hi Jeff, was it this group?

NICE one Mate!

Yes, the bar at detlev's was interesting. With the picture of the bar in wear... superb. But the exchange rate... ach!

It's a rough one for sure... but the combination is .... interesting .... Construction and materials look consistent with a real bar

I've been reorganizing my archives and found this nice photo of three of the rarest WW2 ribbon bars I owned. Triple NSDAP Long Service Double RAD Long Service SS Long Service

Like I said... I had it bad. here's a lot of my St. Henry Ribbon Bars that were not matched with groups.

OK, missed the imprint of the ring in the top of the mount! Now i'd have to say Centennial as the other pieces would not fit.

For comparative purposes only... here's a 2X without the added spange

I would agree that the small silver verdeinst medal would be more appropriate. If a Centennial medal was tied into the fold it will not hang in appropriate alignment with the rest of the bar. Also, is that a white thread sewn into the yellow ribbon? About level with the top of the "F" on the medal to the left? If so, further confirmation for me that a Centennial medal wouldn't fit. Or it could just be a piece of fuzz.

Hallo Stephan, welcome and thanks for sharing this with us. Simply put, one of the best collections of US uniforms I have seen in a long time. Excellent presentation as well. I especially enjoyed seeing the Vietnam era material. Thanks!

ED! Please tell your wife I said: TAXONOMY RULES!!

ahhhh, that would be various dermestid beetles... (Order Coptera) of course any ant (Order Hymenoptera) worth his nodes would carry off the bodies if they were not desicated already...

Interesting discussion... I have often lusted after our Entomologist's cabinets. Always thought if the drawers were lined with acid-free archive paper they would be splendid as it removes the whole UV exposure issue. I still like glass/metal cabinets as the optimal display surface. NO direct sunlight ever...

and the backs:

Up close and personal:

This was one of the more interesting bars with a Finnish connection that passed through here:

Hi Paul, not at all. But a rare piece still catches my eyes!

Distinci?n por la Educaci?n Cubana I need one nice one. Anybody have a duplicate? Thanks!

Matching miniatures:

The reverse:

This very nice little set went off on eBay in Germany this past week. Interestingly, the seller new the exact number of awards of the Finnish Cross, type 1. I was outbid, but the buyer paid dearly....

The swords look like silver ones in the pix. In any event it's nice in this day and age of endless manufactured ribbon bars coming out of Austria and Germany to see one that sure looks legit.

There's another forumite who has a couple, but I'll let him raise his own thunder!