Avitas

Thanks Christian, Are these types of veteran medals common? I have a couple of these types of medals from different years of Imperial Germany and was wondering if these unofficial medals are catalogued anywhere. Later, Pat

Here is my mini 16mm tall ek2 spange mounted on a ribbon bar. This is the smallest spange I have seen, are there any smaller than this?

I guess they weren't in that much of a hurry, looks like a good day off for these Luftwaffe members. That was some good deciphering of that chicken scratch! Is it common to have little to no insignia on the uniforms?(I think I can see some collar tabs and the aformentioned lone chest eagle on the subofficer), as most pics you see have plenty of insignia. Thanks, Pat

Thanks War Lord, your translation is much appreciated. Are these NSDAP tinnies any more sought after than standard tinnies? I know SS tinnies generally are the most valuable, and some Labour day tinnies can be pretty cheap, but where do the NSDAP rally tinnies rank? Cheers, Pat

Thanks for the info Gold Party Tin Guy I know all about the old pagan festivals and the summer solstice is one of my faves as my birthday is only two days earlier! This has always been one of my favourite tinnies. Cheers, Pat

The back...

Hello, I have this interesting medal that I couldn't find in my Nimmergut price guide and was wondering if anybody knew what it was. It has "Krieger Verein Rehden am 8 Apr 1888" written on the back which I assume was some battle or veterans event. Is is from the Kaiser Friedrich time and if anyone knows what this fine medal is and if it is valuable, that would be awesome. Thanks, Pat

Here is the back, with some dirt on it still...

Hello there, I posted this in another forum (General Awards) and I don't think it was the right one, as this one appears to be more in this items league. I have wondered when this Hitler bust was made and exactly what it is. It appears to be part of a wall plaque or some sort of flat piece, as the back looks like it could be mounted somehow. It is hollow-backed and made of magnetic cast iron, and is very heavy. It was apparently found with a metal detector in Germany (so the story from the dealer goes). Has anyone seen one like this and know what the story is with it? It has always been a mystery for me. Thanks, Pat

Here are the backs...

I finished reading the post on these medals and was wondering if this is a good example of an original. I believe it is an early issue, as the medal is bronzy, not zinc. The packet is marked with the correct spelling of Schrobenhausen, and the ribbon does not glow. Thanks, Pat

Here is the back, with M5/8 makers mark. Any ideas on this maker?

Hi there, I have this SS button or maybe a cap badge of some sort. I don't have much SS stuff and I don't really know much about the insignias of the SS (I'm an army,navy and tinnie guy!) so any info on this item would be appreciated. There just aren't enough good books readily available on these subjects. Every time I go to Chapters (Canadian bookstore) and do a book search for collecting militaria every item comes up as not available. So I guess a side question would be where to get books on collecting militaria. If anybody can help me on these questions that would be great. Thanks again, and thanks for being patient with all my new posts, I just have so many questions about the items in my collections that I haven't had answered in my many searches, and this forum is an excellent site! Pat

And another shot of them. It appears it used to have a marking on the back but it has been partly removed.

The back..

Hi again, I acquired these SS insignia of some type, I think cap totenkopf badges, when I first started collecting about 2 and a half years ago. I was wondering if they are in fact cap badges and if they are original. Thanks, Pat

The handwritten back with handwriting I cannot read, thus causing the mystery...

Hi there, I have this interesting pic of what appears to be members of the Luftwaffe in a group pose in 1942 I believe by the back of the photo. Only the one sub-officer in the middle appears to have a cloth luftwaffe eagle on his tunic. I can't see any other insignia or anything on the other soldiers. Are there any ideas as to what this particular group of soldiers is? There is a complete handwritten German description and if anybody who could read it and translate it that would do so that would be very helpful in identifying this apparently undecorated platoon. Thanks, Pat

The mm might be M1/17 or M/17, it is REALLY hard to read the makers mark. Any ideas on what this cap badge is from? Thanks, Pat

The front of the cockade, as well as the navy cap eagle that appears to match the cockade in the first 2 posts.

It would appear I have mixed up the cockades of this set and my navy cap eagle set. Here is the cockade from the Kriegsmarine set, I think it is a better match as the one posted earlier actually matches the navy eagle as part of a one-piece insignia that was broken in two. Thanks. Pat

Hers is the front of the cockade (and the heer officers wreath and eagle). Pat

This is a one-piece that has been broken but I think the proper cockade for this one is the one I postted with my Heer Officers insignia lot. I got all these cap eagles and cockades in the same lot and I am still trying to match them up. I will post the other cockade which you can see the breakage and it matches the brassy colour of the cap eagle metal. Do you think this is the proper match? The two seem to fit together perfectly (the "donald duck" cap eagle and the cockade posted below). Also, what is the "donald duck" cap eagle and what is the history of it? Thanks, Pat

I have a very similar cross, but it is a WW1 EK2. It is one-piece, magnetic and I think made of brass or zinc (can't really tell because the paint is still so good). The crown is identical and it appears to be a match. Perhaps they are made by the same maker. I think it was you that mentioned on my post that they are probably late '20s made (My suspicions were TR or the 20s as well) and these appear to keep in pretty good shape. Pat

Thanks for the info, that is a great set Claudio! I have a question about the medal on the far right of the bottom medal bar. I have just the ribbon, sword, and mounting but the medal is missing. I was wondering what medal it is and if it is very hard to track down. Thanks, Pat