Stogieman

Curses! Foiled again.......

Christian! Welcome to The Forum. An auspicious and wonderful first post! I look forward to you sharing more! Best regards and again, Welcome! Rick

It seems that some collectors turn their noses up at this Order, but I for one find it to be very attractive, especially when mounted on a bar. Given the escalating prices of a First Class, a Second/Third still seem to be a very nice value for a very nice award.

Nice document Chris. I presume this is the one we were discussing in the Lounge?? Well worth the effort to preserve and protect!

There's just something really appealing about these... check my new avatar!

Well, I'd usually offer something clever, but everyone has beaten to the punch this time. I believe this raises frugal to an entirely new level!

Oh yes, a quick question... I cannot tell from these photos. Is your suspension ring applied, or integral to the cross??

Schie?platzmeister, the one I returned was the same way. Very heavy & thick and appeared to be cast in one piece and finished as opposed to stamped. If you look at the wear on the one I sent back, you can see the very evident wear from it swinging/rubbing against the medal next to it for a long time. My problem here is two-fold. While it is entirely possible that cast "wearer's copies" were available this far back, the "softness" of the piece and the lack of distinction to the detail and lettering really put me off the piece. The same with the EK2, while it is again entirely possible it was an 1895 jubilee piece; it was not the crisp, clean, sharp-edged detail I was looking for in the 2 pieces.

Hi Solomon, the last ribbon on Bob's bar is the Bulgarian Civil Merit Order.

I will not add any more photos. But there's another half-dozen added last night including a very creative "Paratrooper" ID card/cover.

....... and IMO, the bar was listed for the value of the 1870 FFK2 alone. The Mecklenberg LSC-15 is at least another $150 USD plus. If this bar had been offered at $600 I would not have blinked when laying my money down......

Jens! I forgot about that one and it's an excellent point! I think there actually IS a possibility that it would be mounted behind an EK2 since the MVO/K and EK2 were combattant decorations and the Sanit?ts Kreuz was considered a "Civil" Order!! oooooooooo a possibility here. Which would also explain the bizarre presence of the Saxon-Meiningen Medal. When you open the door to the fact the this bar could be missing an MVO and a Sanit?ts-Order it looks very different. Now, there's the still the problem that The Sanit?ts Order is actually the Milit?r-Sanit?ts-Orden. AND the fact that it was awarded so infrequently...... who really knows how it was treated. This is another perfect example of supply and demand. I have seen exactly TWO RK of this order in 12 years. One languished on Weitze's site forever, I cannot even remember where the second one was but again, it sat there forever. In both instances the price was HUGE. Given how exceptionally rare (and quite beautiful) this Order is, I never understood why collectors seemed to overlook it. Or perhaps the prices were just too much, even for a rarity like this. Thanks Jen, I had not remembered that little tidbit.

And Bob os quite correct. That's the one I was thinking of, which if memory serves is the ONLY example of this class on a ribbon bar we've ever seen!

No, probably not. Even amongst the acknowledged, experienced collectors and dealers there seems to be very little consensus on what's authentic. Pretty funny too.... but that's a story for another day.

looking For: RED STAR 3.098.750 RED STAR 3.290.337 RED STAR 2.846.846 RED STAR 3.062.703 RED STAR 2.234.533 RED STAR 3.145.701 ORDER OF PATRIOTIC WAR 2. KLASSE 6.303.324 VALOR MEDAL 909.125 VALOR MEDAL 118.170 (aka BRAVERY MEDAL) MILITARY MERIT MEDAL 360.839 (aka COMBAT SERVICES MEDAL) THANKS!

As opposed to the Type 3.......... compared to an NKVD Honored Employee Badge:

It's also an excellent "case study" in bars of the period. Not the minimist cloth backing, the threads and the lack of the overall backing material we're so used to for WW1 and later bars.

For someone with poor eyesite, they're working pretty good tonight. Here's the front. Now the thing that really, really bugged me about this bar is the construction/materials and "feel/look" would have me believing the bar to be right. Only one problem. NO Bavarian would put the MJ behind the first two. Never going to happen. Nope, don't think that way.............. it isn't going to happen.......... But WHY is it like this??

I missed that bar by (literally) 3 seconds. It really wanted to come to my house. Aaaaarrrrgggghhhhhh.

Boys & Girls...... Please note the ribbon. It is rarely encountered!!

A new low. 100- Euro and this "1941 Original NKVD" Pass is yours...

This one has even me puzzled........ what's wrong with this picture? it's all you get for now!

Greetings Solomon! Welcome to the Forum! Outstanding Waldeck medal and case. very hard to find and some real wear/character. Very nice indeed!

The darn problem is they are everywhere......... the floodgate has been down for awhile. They are sold out of the Ukraine. Resold in the UK and the US. I've even seen them offered in Germany & Austria....... Always as "Originals"............

Congratulations my friend. Now that is one very special badge!