Stogieman

heh, heh, heh...... I know where this came from. I'm his "Pusher"..... he's easily amused. A good bar (or two, or three) and he can be made to perform amazing "tricks" jumping

Hi Don, best bet is to deal with very trusted sellers. The other for-sure original out there that few people know about was made by Juncker. Unmarked, but typical pin/hinge assembly as in their early WW2 Auxiliary Cruiser Badges. Hold one of these puppies in-hand and you'll instantly know. One of my serious recommendations to folks is long before you buy something like this, try and visit friends, dealers and shows. handle as many badges as you can. In-person, the real stuff sticks out like a sore thumb as compared to the dodgy pieces.

They have cheesy enamel. They are (usually) uniface, with blank, or "stippled" backs. Quality is just awful. These pop up on US eBay and people bid them up. (Heavy Sigh) If half the people out there who spent money on this rubbish spent HALF on books and learning, they would be so much better off! (Sorry, personal axe to grind here. I HATE fakers) :violent-smiley-017:

I'm pretty sure that First Class Cross is made by Godet. Pin, hinge and catch are consistent with other Godet examples. Any marks on it??!

The cheesy, "tuna-can" metal ones with paint are the actual issued awards, as came with the document. The enameled ones are all "private-purchase" pieces as upgraded by the Germans. I have a document to a WW1 flyer, later S/A general Fritz Vielstich. One of the 2 guys you saw fly over the dunes and kick Ole' Lawrence of Arabia's butt back across the Sinai. The story of these german aviation units from this front are amazing. They lost, but the fighting they did with limited resources was pretty amazing. Vielstich was bumped up 2 full ranks for his bravery in action. An unusual occurance to say the least! Here's another "issue" badge [attachmentid=12501] [attachmentid=12502]

Another one and my absolute favorite based purely on rarity! The Prussian Air Gunner Badge, as issued in 1918 (only!). Three-piece, stamped tin, silvered but actually maker marked!

Very nice to see so many examples of these crosses boxed. One of the pieces that whilst hard to find, with a little "snooping" can be had! I love the ones that looked like they just walked off the jeweler's shelf.... complete with LDO "Quality Assurance" paper tag! Cheers!

Yes you do Rick, you scanned some of the ones I had. I have images of the bars with metal miniatures. After SS minis, probably one of the hardest devices to find. next would be the RAD devices, especially silver.... will send RR images, if you need them. Cheers!

despite the small image, looks like a classic Juncker in Tombak. One of my favorite Luftwaffe Badges of all time.

Hi John, it's nice to see these earlier examples that are so very hard to find.

Hey Marcus! I never really gave this a whole lot of thought until recently. I would clean pieces with a "dry brush" (soft bristle)... but never used polish on them. I wasn't opposed to the concept, just never seemed to have the time. Then I bought back a cased Prussian Pilot Badge from a customer. He had the badge about a year. When he offered to sell it back, I thought "Great!".... he even re-sent me my original photos from when I had sold it to him. When the badge arrived, it had been buffed/polished severly with silver polish and looked like some trinket one would buy at the local car-boot on Saturday.... I could have died. 90 years of history/patina erased in a heartbeat. flame Cleaning, sure, makes sense. Stripping the age-patina..... well, not for me.

Nice bars Rick. There's not very many of the "Cross of Liberty" miniatures floating about. very nice!

Awesome breast star. I actually owned one of these once-upon-a-time.. Breast stars are about the most impressive Imperial Award, IMO. Holding one in your hand gives real significance to the thought of a uniform festooned with these. They're pretty massive and heavy!

Hi Jim, will dig out photos and post reverses as soon as I figure out my foto-attachment woes. Cheers!

I think the nicest thing about the Hamburg HK is they are numerous, including the boxes. There's two distinct boxes, both bearing the "crest" of Hamburg on the lid in gilt. I had one of these once that was as the day it left the jeweler. Small format box, 4 different sized ribbons (Ribbon Bar, Miniature/lapel, 2 different medal bar sizes), the cross and a black safety pin. Every component neatly packaged in little envelopes. An amazing find. Will try to resurrect the photos.

A superb little cross, in real silver, with real gold centers. Last one actually awarded ~ca. 1901 for China. Swords were an "after the fact" authorization and the recipient had to go out and private purchase his swords, if he desired. After 1905, the design was officially changed to the commonly seen non-enameled versions for "other ranks". These included: Third Class, in copper plate Second Class, in silver plate First Class, in gold plate Awarded for "military merit" on the statute ribbon as shown above between 1905 and 1913. This version is difficult to find (no swords). A crown suspension indicated subsequent award/higher degree of the same class. From 1913 on, with the advent of WW2, military bravery awards were signified by the addition of (official) swords on the suspension fillagre. Again, crowns were utilized to show a higher degree/subsequent award of the same class. The statutes stated that only one class could be worn. Bavaria was somewhat of a stickler regarding this.... they required a return of the prior award before they would release the subsequent one! I believe RR actually has one of these "demand" documents in his collection. Despite these rules, during the "anything goes" 1920's... bars can be found with 2 versions of the same class mounted. I would advise caution when presented with this as it seems there's quite a few bad ones floating about. Cheers!

Perhaps my "Twin" can work his magic with the images of my Model 1866-1905 and post them for me??

I firmly believe that this is one of the most striking of all WW2 German Badges. One of my absolute favorites.

Outstanding gallery of badges presented! But, none "mit Einsatzzahl"??

It never ceases to amaze me just how rare some of these badges can be. I can count on my hands the number of these I've seen over the years.

Sigh, doesn't seem to want to accept my images?????

Here's a rare bird. The Military Merit Cross of The Military Merit Order. As awarded to "other ranks" between 1866 and 1905. Note the lack of flames between the arms! Silver, enamel and gold center schiffers. Stunning. Rare. Probably under 500 awarded... ever. Note the correct "statute ribbon" as proscribed prior to 1913 and the institution of the "War Ribbon". Swords were awarded to these after the fact and the recipient had to purchase them himself!

Here's the typical Bavarian issued badge. Again, stamped and silvered tin.

Pilot Badges! One real one for every 3-400 fakes floating around out there. There's two distinct styles from Germany. Prussian & Bavarian. Of the two styles, there's two types. Issue & Private Purchase. Here's what the typical Prussian issued badge looks like. Stamped tin, plated with silver. These were unceremoniously handed out in a plain brown envelope. A little wider than the WW2 style packets many of us are familiar with. The packet held no title, no maker mark, nothing. Most were instantly tossed in the rubbish bin. Contrary to popular belief, they were not handed out upon completion of flight school! They were awarded after completion of a prescribed number of missions.

Greetings All! I shall not be bashfull, Let's talk about what I like! Imperial Aviation of Germany & his Allies. A veritable minefield of fakes, trickery and false hopes. Why if Germany had as many Pilots as there are currently "wearer's copies" of PLM's floating around the internet, I think we'd all be speaking German right now! cheeky