ekhunter

Very nice collection. The Godet with fangs is one I would like to see up close and personal.Hint hint :rolleyes:

$25 a pop?? You've been around for a while! Good deals are definately hard to come by, and with all of the forums available today, most sellers are somewhat well informed of what they have, and a general price range of what they are trying to sell. Tough times for the bargain hunter. :banger:

Yes, with more and more sharks out there, and less and less bait available, it does make one very, very hungry for a nice ek.

The obverse explains it. In the first photo, the holes appeared not to go all the way through, which left me trying to figure out how the attachment worked. I've got one where the holes were punched through the frame, but this is the first I've seen where the holes were punched through the iron core. Very nice and interesting.

Please explain the story/holes on the bottom one. Very interesting!

Love the patina on the Godet. That contrast is truly what makes the Imperial crosses so fascinating and fun to collect. On another note. As much as I hate looking at ebay, I happened to check it yesterday, and I just missed out on bidding on a very nice Imperial screwback that was the same type featured on a full page in Stephen's book, The Iron Time. Did anyone here happen to notice it, or even land it?

UNIQUE!

Probably a screwback.

Thanks, Mike. I see you have quite a few of the KMST crosses. Very nice!

Couldn't help but notice that in the last photo that Mike K. showed of the reverse set ups, that he has one of the 'sliding' KMST DRGM crosses. Can barely make it out, but it is one of them. Would love to see a photo of that one. Curious if their is any variation among that style. It's one of my favorite attachment styles. Thanks.

People never cease to amaze me when it comes to what they are really willing to pay for something that they really, really want. Including yours truly sometimes . It's crazy, but certain collector's have certain holes they are trying to fill in a collection, and if they have the funds, they will pay.

You do manage to show crosses that I can continuously find myself saying "That's the first I've seen like that too."

Christmas came early for you. Very Nice!!!!!!!!!!!!

Received mine last week, and haven't been able to put it down. A much needed reference book, and a must have for any RK fan or collector.

What year? That would be a tough one to nail down, but probably between 1914 and 1918.

Well that is a tough question, with many possible answers. Conventional wisdom has been that it stood for Kriegs Ministerium Standesamt in Berlin, but others might say that it stands for Koenigliches Munzamt in Stettin, but a theory that was floated here by a member, I believe last year or so, was that it stood for Koenigliche Muenzamt in Stuttgart. This is, I believe, the true meaning of K.M. S T. Please forgive my spelling, as I am typing fast, but this is a theory that is believed by many, but nothing is written in stone. No matter what the exact meaning, the cross is a good one.

It's real. It's a 800 marked pinback, very nice. Notice the K.M.S.T. D.R.G.M. on the back of the cross. If you so choose to sell it, you won't have any problem moving this one.

My favorite too. It's just so many variants out there. Always looking for a Godet with fangs, AWS pillowback variants, a very early Hansen(prior to DRGM number), DRGM KMST crosses, J.H. Werner marked crosses, crosses with backing plates, just to name a few. A true addict .

Goood point Joe. I don't know if they were commonly made after 1870, but I wouldn't definately say it wasn't uncommon to make them either. Especially in 1895 or even through the teens. An interesting twist to the conventional thinking, and I guess the point being, who's to say that this cross wasn't made in 1895 or 1914, or later. Maybe some expert can pinpoint the time frame on this particular piece. I mean, if it's not a period piece (therfore, maybe a fake in some's eyes), but maybe it's not really a fake either? Maybe some will disagree. So what is it? A representatitve piece? I don't know. Was it made to deceive collector's, or for veterans who maybe lost theirs, etc.? Once again, don't know. I believe any(crosses) that have been made in the past few years, have been made because of market demand from collector's, and therefore, a fake. (i.e. Flochs, etc.) But for a second, consider the Imperial pieces for 1914 that were made through the 20's and 30's, and are accepted. They have become quite collectable. I don't think anyone calls these fakes. Like Joe said, a lot of missing pieces. If it is a recently made fake, then so be it, will call it that , but if a 1895 made piece or maybe 1914, it might be too soon to discount it as a fake. Interesting that Micha got a COA from DN on his cross. Hmmmm! What would some of you call this cross? Anymore opinions?

Micha, actually, that cross is more valuable to the collecting community than you think. I've been stock piling fakes over the years, from 1870 to 1957 of Latvians, to Flochs, to whatevers. I'm going to case them all and post them, and maybe bring them to shows to show collector's, especailly beginners, what to look out for. Sadly, I gave away a lot of the fakes to kids over the years, but even sadder, I still have quite a few left. It sucks when you find out about one that was a coin toss and it goes the wrong way. Just found out in the last two years about some of my 'prinzens' not being good, thanks to research by the likes of Marshall (Biro), GregM, and others. The forums have been a big help on these.. Just my two cents.

When you say at the market, do you mean German medal shows, shops, or the market in general? I'm just making my observations from the forums and dealers sites. It's funny how the observations are so different. I was recently telling someone on another forum about the fact that all of the W&L's that I've come across lately were unmarked pinbacks, and he said all that he had been seeing were L/55 marked screwbacks. Weird! Anyway, you do know you have a great advantage over many collector's with your location, and also that uncanny bloodhound like ability to uncover these jewels. And true, having all is nearly impossible, but you've managed to put a pretty good dent in it anyway, and isn't it the very quest to have them all that keeps us all going?

Yea, but you've got just every variety of them all. I'm just saying from a personal market perspective over the past few years, I've seen the screwbacks for sale over the pinbacks at about a 3 to 1 ratio. Not saying they are rare, but the pinbacks aren't floating around out there like the screwbacks are.

Very nice. For some reason, you don't see many pinback variations of Rettenmaiers'.

Patiently awaiting for my copy to arrive.

Joe's right. Save your money for the right one. RESCH und sohn, now that is a good one!