Stogieman

.... and I am lost already just by "The Evil One's" answer..... thank God I can bribe him into helping me out with this stuff.

I have to root through the archives tonight. I have a Sax-Coburg Gothe case of issue for this medal that is very different from Ralph's. Sold it to a German dealer a few years back.

Yep, rare by the numbers awarded! Pricing is not always relevant to rarity.... or in the case of "The Evil Twin"... obscurity! There's a tremendous amount of stuff out there that is scarcer than hen's teeth and few collectors are even aware of it! Hence the theme of the thread!

;>)

Same with me...... fabulous story!

I think as with all dealers, it's truly up to the buyer to know what he's doing. An educated, knowledgeable and careful shopper will find some absolutely magnificent pieces from this seller for very reasonable prices on a quite regular basis. Know what you're looking at and you will find diamonds in every rough!

I am happy to say that the frequency of his listings has slowed. perhaps spreading the word has diminished his capacity to screw people over.

We can only hope.

When this bar initially appeared, it created quite a stir. Much speculation as to authenticity, but this puppy is right as cool rain on a hot summer's day!

This is another interesting and rare piece. Not seen very often. Here's an example of a Saxon with both grades of the CEM.... unidentifiable, but still one of the nicest ribbon bars I've pawed in the last couple of years!

Does anybody else have some examples of ribbon bars, medal bars, or cases for this award?

Popping this one back to the top. We see far to few examples of these cloth pieces and I think we should all be taking a hard look at them lest we walk past one on a table some day!!

..... and , there is considerable evidence that even during WW1 the firm manufactured products simultaneously with BOTH spellings!

Why, oh why, oh why????????

Interesting discussion and insight on the last ribbon. As well as entirely possible!

OK Girls & Boys, what have you stashed in your collection that falls into the really rare category?? Show us what you have! And I mean rare!!

I'd agree. Check with a framing shop and tell them you want acid-free, museum-quality mounting linen. A quality shop will know what you need.

Detlev has sold about 2 originals... but the last time I discussed this piece with him, he is shying away from them as much as the rest of us. The copies are just too good these days. I would not touch one of these without some iron-clad provenance. I've only handled 3 or 4 real ones over my entire collecting career. However, superb fake ones can be had on any major auction house (on-line or fixed) on a weekly basis!

This is (IMO) one of the most wonderful of all the Imperial Orders. I never get tired of seeing these!

Nice bar, really unusual combination and right as rain!

Careful Mr. Research........... there is a difference in height between the Bavarian and W?rttemburg Bars.........

Fabulous Bar Claudio....... just fabulous.

Heiko! Is that a miniature GOLD Liaket Medal w. mini Saber/Battle Bar????

Ouch, and I thought I was having all the bad luck. Heiko, if there's anything we can do to help out, please just give us a "shout" via P/M. Hope you are better SOON!

Maybe these fellows just felt a "decoration" should precede a Long Service Medal...... regs be damned??? Who knows why this happens, but there's no shortage of (obviously) period bars (both medal & ribbon) with a plethora of errors on them!

Hi Chris, one of the biggest docs I've seen!

It never ceases to amaze me........ thank God we have the Gub'mint to protect us from ourselves in this country. Instead of crucifying legitimite collectors, why are they not vaporizing the thiefs/fakers? IMO, this is the real crime of "stolen valor"..

Looks like 2 nice original bars to me to real combat soldiers

Still my favorite cased Luftwaffe Badge: