Stogieman

Nice indeed and rather hard to find this one....

Hey Mike, the piece is right. If you like it. Buy it. You'll be counting on your fingers and toes the opportunities that arise for one this nice for a smaller price in Europe. Tell our friend I said hello.

Just sold on eBay. Order of The Liberation in a WOODEN box with state seal. Seller stated "1950's"....

Sorry, right cross, wrong scan folder. I have corrected my posts. kapitular was correct.

Reverse:

Case of issue was black. Not red. Looks like the latest generation copy to me. Note the ridges that appear on the edges of the ?se. Note the lack of a clear cross at the top of the crown. In the absence of way better scans, I think you'd be nuts to pay 4K for this piece. In any event, the asking price is at least double the going rate in Germany. Should match this exactly:

It's interesting to me to see the incredible history brought to light by the constant pursuit of rolls and the tireless efforts of the research gnomes both here and abroad. Many of the bars that Rick has been posting up, ex-David S. Collection passed through my hands. (Scary how much of this stuff we see I've handled...) When these bars came through Taxachusetts the first time there was no chance of an identification. Many years later.... Voila! History has a name!

I prefer to remember Daniel with hair & semtex!

For me, the combination of weak dollar and rapidly rising prices has pretty much locked me out of buying in Europe for the time being. Why I remember when the Euro was lower than the dollar. After the conversion, Many "usual" German Dealers had an instant increase in the "price/value" of the merchandise.... A St. Henry Knights Cross that was 1800-DM (about $900) became 1800-EU ($1350) literally overnight.... While GMIC wasn't incorporated yet, a search through old threads at WAF, etc. will show you some pretty astounding examples being discussed of the predatory price changes that occurred. Even today, I really had to think twice about withdrawing Euros from an account to convert to dollars.

Note the style of the bar/folds. This slightly angled in, but very tall, neat, narrow folds is almost exclusive to Saxony. Now with the tag on David's bar, we have a clue as to who actually made them. Excellent, looks like it was a fun trip David!

Could be worse Ed... the RK St. Henry could be paired with an Albert 2 with swords... now there's an impossible trail to trace. An exceptionally nice Saxon Bar, Very nice indeed!

No, Gold could be awarded with no silver. The specific act was the defining characteristic. Yes, must have RK to receive higher grades. RK & up, officers only

these kind of scams just floor me. P.T. Barnum was quite correct..... a sucker is born every minute.

For me, the gift is that the forum even exists. I don't think it has to be simply "what's new". The mere fact that this information is now available, on any scale at all, is a victory for shared knowledge. Whether one, or many are interested and/or participate.... the fact demains that so many, under-appreciated, unknown to most collector subjects are explored at length within this sub-forum as well as others (Look at Cuba, about 6 people participate!) is one heck of an accomplishment!~

You can count this into two distinct categories A) EXtreme rarity (less than 100 awards) B) Extreme obscurity (few people even knew about OK, maybe a third category C) Look before you sell. it's not the first time I've seen engraving of a recipient on a rim....

BINGO! Right stuff, plausible combination. Assembled recently. Note the soil pattern on the ribbons. Note that the top edge of the ribbons have been "sanded". This fellow goes a long, long way to make his items appear real......... Unfortunately, they are not!

The posting a of a fake item without specifying why is usually meant to incite discussion and allow you to measure your eye and gain the experience of attempting to disect what's wrong and evaluate the item as a learning experience. If you don't learn how to do this, how will you grow as a collector? The purpose (on my part anyway) is to not just to educate with "this is wrong because...", but about allowing you to develop your own methodology and eye for discerning what is real and what is not.

So...............

OK, 687 awards, mostly late war in silver gilt. Next question and pardon my lack of experience with this piece. If I have followed the debate properly, there were only 3 actual manufacturers? (Wagner, Godet & Rothe?) The FR pieces were made by Wagner? Thanks!!

Gee whiz Marshall, I have a hard enough time remembering everything to do with aviation badges and then only by cheating and making notes!!!! I can hardly consider brain space for any PLM points, issue numbers, issue types, die flaws, etc.... So, How many? legit question?!? please... Thanks!

Very nice Marcin, very nice indeed!

This maker is extremely hard to find. The case should be blacklighted, IMO. The catch looks more consistent with WW2/post WW2 manufacture and the lettering/ink just looks a little too crisp and new to my eyes.

This really looks like a very poorly cast copy...

PS: The Honor Cross might be a replacement.

Hi Marshall, can you please refresh my memory? Exactly how many PLM's were awarded 1914-1918? Thanks!!