Stogieman

Hi Richie, welcome to The Forum! Nice ribbon bar!!

I don't know....... I'm trying to understand all the "collector's uninterested in research" that we hear about... seems pretty damn exciting to me!

Thanks Jan, I know of the 2 sites, but not of the CD Thanks!!

Well, like I said privately to several people. I spent several hours trying to find something wrong with it and could not. big, crisp pictures of the front and maybe I would have bid. But this item was outside my area of interest at the moment, so I backed off. Better pictures will always yield better results!

which begats an interesting side-bar question. There's so many "period repaired" pieces floating around. It must have been quite an industry. How much is value/desireability affected by these repairs?

All WW1 "KO" marked crosses were what was handed out in the field. Supplied exclusively to the Prussian Ministry. There were of course other suppliers, but KO was not a maker you could walk in and buy from by all known accounts. The cross was issued wrapped in tissue in a plain blue wrapper (many times the wrapper was ink-stamped in purple KO) which in most cases was promptly tossed. the wrappers are hard to find. The Honor Cross of WW2 (early on) continued this simple presentation often being delivered in a small, plain blue waxed-paper envelope. the ribbons were neatly folded in the packet. However, any legitimite holder of the award could walk into a jeweler shop and purchase a case 9thousands of different varieties available!) to store their cross in. these run from simple hard cases like yours to elaborate display cases with extensive decoration and some even had little "pop-up" easels so the cross could be easily displayed by the proud parents & family. A fascinating subject of study and collecting!

Igor has a very nice one, but damaged for not much more. I try to stay away from damaged unless it's part of the group.

I'm not sure you can call this one a fake. The seller certainly does not realize it, but it most assuredly falls into Rick Research's seldom used "Category Four".... ... The Silly

Can anybody please post up a photo of this award? Any help in tracking one down would be appreciated. Thanks!

I'm sure with time, some of this material might become available. Think of the potential tourism opportunities for this small country!

Rusty, sorry you did not get the OPW2, but it still went for a bargain!

Not a bet I would take Rusty... This falls squarely into Fraud on the part of the seller and foolishness on the part of the bidders. Even I know the piece was never made, never awarded!

Nothing like a nice "issued" EK2 sitting in a "private purchase" case. Someone was proud of this award! Nice find!

I saw this bar and chose to pass on it. The thread used to tie-down that SS medal is substantially different than the thread on the other 3 pieces. Might very well be fine, but this one really needed a "hands-on". When you get it, I'd hit it with a blacklight right off the bat!

Still, a very nice example!

I'm hoping some of you will come forward with detailed dimensions and photos please! Thanks!

Oh yes, someone will buy it. The bid is up over $100 already!

Very adept at opening doors, providing "entertainment" and other various and sundry tasks our man was.

Serial number "3"

I thought you Ladies & Gentlemen would get a chuckle out of this one!

Interesting Ed....... the ribbon looks exactly like Bulgarian Bravery Cross ribbon right down to the metallic threads at the edge stripes!

Hi Ed, always a touchy subject. I think the purist wants it just the way it was when found. Wrong, damaged, etc. However the realist wants the correct medal hanging on that hook. Since one Bavarian 9-Year LSM is the same as any other Bavarian 9-Year LSM...... see what I mean? But, Imperialists also do not like replacement ribbons. Ewww! Glowing ribbon? Ewwwwe. But. A loose Bulgarian WW1 medal hung back on an original tri-fold? No big deal. loose anything mated with a correct period ribbon, well. OK for many. There will always be 2 sides to this street. I would submit that IMO, if one is not faking named/numbered/ID'd medals; If one only brings life back to loose pieces by mating them with strictly original bars and materials, that one is preserving history, not really altering it. However, made whole out of pure parts in fantasy combinations/mimicing what we know to be real. that is evil and deceptive in the worst way. Yuck!

Greetings Andreas. very nice to find one with some history attached. The scan makes the texturing of the center look very strange!

Pretty amazing group and effort on somebody's part! Nice find!

Wow Daniel, that was a pretty amazing rabbit you just pulled out of the hat!