Avitas

As always the human cost of such wars is sometimes neglected, as we in Canada are losing more and more Canadian Soldiers in Afghanistan almost daily it seems. Is not the reason to study past conflicts but to learn to avoid them as much as possible? That's what my two grandfathers taught me (one a guard/mechanic stationed across France and Germany in 44/45 in the RCAF and the other an American Artillery man in the the Phillipines and Japan in 1945). The horrors that they have seen should not be seen again, and we should question ALL governments about their motives. I will quote a somewhat famous tune:

"Politicians hide themselves away

they only started the war

why should they go out to fight

leave all that for the poor

treating people just like pawns in chess

wait til the judgment day comes"

My condolences to the families and friends of all the honorable and brave "Allied" soldiers fighting in that embittered part of the world.

Pat

Here's the back of my KVK2 with swords.

Hello gentlemen,

Nice collection Don! Where do you get your stuff here in Canada? Maybe Darrell or Laurence can help with that question also. I have got a few items from emedals.ca and a couple local guys (1 bad guy, 1 good guy). Here is my KVK2 w/swords I got from Urban Military in Vancouver, definitely a good item to collect for people on a budget (as some of these medals go for more than I make in a year!). I would like to find a packet one day for this, to complete the set. This one is unmarked.

Cheers,

Pat

My medal also has a very long ribbon, must be common with this one. When I dig it out again I will scan a pic with the full length of ribbon. Nice packet Doc, always a bonus.

Cheers,

Pat

I think these get looked over because they were not rare, but I think it is a nice medal that deserves to be mentioned as well. Most of these were early awards I believe, making them a nice piece of history besides their lowly value.

Here's mine for another example.

Pat

and the reverse, grime included

Pat

Hello all,

Here is my early unmarked black wound badge, the only one in my collection so far. The back catch has been slightly bent and a large amount of grime has uglied up the back a bit, but I'm not going to clean it. The colour of the scan is a little off, it's not nearly that coppery, it is brass I believe. Hope you enjoy, anybody else with the same one?

Pat

Hello gents,

Just thought I'd show my original ek2 spange for comparison to the bad one shown earlier. Notice the colour is very different and the detail is much more crisp, even on such a tiny (16mm) spange. I blacklighted this one right at the show I got it at this past fall and it checked out great. You can buy good hand-held blacklights at places like Staples for under $20, great investment. A side note,I have been told the middle ribbon could be is a faded hanseatic cross ribbon, but nothing certain. Any ideas?

Later,

Pat

So I would deduct that my KVK2 w/swords, KVK2 w/o swords and Kriegsverdienstmedaill are ok then, as the only one that looked fishy was the KVK1 with swords (that I bought 2 years ago in a pawn shop). I purchased these all (except KVK1) recently from respectable dealers (unlike some of my earlier items that I found out were bad, all purchased from the same bad dealer). I am pretty sure they are good, but any confirmation is nice as I have had some bad luck.

Thanks for all help,

Pat

the back....

Hi fellow cap badge lovers,

Here is a strange one for you, a Scottish sporran badge! It doesn't have any markings so if anyone can identify the regiment that would be great. It is about 2-3 times the size of a cap badge and with all the thistles I would say it is Scottish. Is this ww1 or ww2? Any other sporran badges out there?

Later,

Pat

You can still see a tiny bit of silver on mine , but it has mostly dissipated (making it the 2nd type with "crummy" silvering, I believe). The dark finish has stayed well though. Nice sets, keep 'em coming!

Pat

Here is another thought,

If you notice the back of the 1939 and 1937 Reichsparteitag tinnies there are what appears to be a specific area for the correct pin set-up, but the cheap replacement pins are put on instead. These items do do not have casting lines (besides the 1939 tag der wehrmacht, which I suspected also was a copy, as it is similar in form to my fake badges with casting lines etc.) and if it was a cast copy, how would they get the reverse with the correct "pin set-up area" already in the tinnie? They would have had to somehow remove the whole original pin set-up without damaging it, I assume. The pin on the Reichspareteitag 1937 tinnie appears to be a replacement pin. Could these not be just cheaper made tinnies or excess tinnies that had pins added on later?

And with the Sternegg made Kranz tinnie, it is definitely not cast and it might have the pin added on after it was damaged as well. If it is rare, then how would I end up with a copy of the original? Like Burgerhaus said, I too find it strange that someone would copy these 20, 30 or 40 years ago, which is at least what these would have to be to be fakes, as they are not new or in very good shape. For the record as well, the last two Tag Der Arbeit 1935 tinnies and the other ones I will post here in the next couple days were bought from a different source than the first 4 tinnies (the first 4 from the dealer that has sold me about a 60-40 fakes-originals ratio and I will not buy from again). The knowledge I have received in the last couple weeks in terms of seeing the true standards of originals has been great, and I hope to receive and give more advice. I would like to hear more ideas on my deductions in this post (I feel the two RPT's may be original, the Tag der wehrmacht is a fake, and the Sternegg maker is good),as it will be very helpful. These are just thoughts I have on these items, and any more help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you again Scowen and Burgerhaus for your help so far,

Pat

Thanks guys,

I have checked out the link to the book and will get my hands on one. I have an Agfa scanner (Epson printer, though) and I scan my images at about 250% the original size at 300 dpi, then alter size and jpeg quality in Photoshop. I too am in the process of making scans of my collection and saving them on hard CD for safekeeping. It is a great way to have a photo record (even if some are fakes!). I hope to get some more Russian stuff soon, what I have posted is most of it, besides a couple items (including an East German Officer's Cap in mint shape!). I will have to get out the digi-camera for that one.

Thanks again Hauptmann and others for the precise, excellent help

Pat

PS feel free to leave more comments on the medals

Hi guys,

Jens, I am 90% sure it is one-piece, as I can see no room between the center and the frame and ist appears to be sealed. It might just be made extremelu well and tight, but I am fairly certain it is a one-piece cross from the 1920's.

Hope that helps,

Pat

P.S.

I haven't been buying anything in the last year from the shady character that sold me the fake badges, and some other items that have been good (Russian stuff, some TR awards), just to be safe. I would still like to examine each item objectively, and all help is greatly welcome.

Pat

and the reverse, maker EV GL. Any ideas on this maker? About the earlier mentioned Reichsparteitag 1937 and 1939 tinnies, I would like to hear some more opinions because I thought there were larger, more expensive event badges that could be purchased as well. I could be wrong, but if anyone has info on this that would be helpful. I purchase my items from different suppliers, although many of my earlier bought purchases were from only a couple sources. The one old source has sold me all legit stuff, and the other has sold me many fakes, as well as many originals. Therefore I don't think we should be so hasty to call the works bad, but get as much info on the unsure items as we can. Any of your expertise is extremely appreciated, and I am trying to find out the answers as accurately as possible, so thank you for your help so far.

Pat

And another tag der arbeit 1935 by a different maker, E.V. GL. This one is also made of the low-quality metal "regular" as well.

and the back of the regular Tag Der Arbeit 1935 tinnie, maker G. Dahner, Muhlhausen.

The Reichsparteitag 1937 and 1939 and Tag der Wehrmacht 1939 tinnies I have posted are bigger than the other "regular" ones I have that I will post soon. The Kranz tinnie is different than the other two (smaller), and the Tag der wehrmacht is a bit different as well. The two RPT badges seem to be more of a badge than a tinnie, and I believe they are a different model of the tinnies. I also have some of the low-quality metal tinnies of these events that I will post to compare, and these tinnies I have already posted are far to large to be castings of originals. The only one that looks like it might be cast is the Tag der Wehrmacht as it is pitted on the back and lacks some detail. I have 90% confidence in the Kranz tinnie and pretty good confidence in the RPT badges as well. Any other eyes with more info to add? All thoughts are very helpful.

Thanks,

Pat

Here is one of my Tag Der Arbeit 1935 Tinnies, in the smaller, standard size.

Nice dagger, it's amazing how good condition the handle and insignia are in after all these years. My Heer dress bayonet that I still have to post looks far more "weathered" than your fine example.

Pat

and the back, with saying about giving blood for others good... any ideas?

Pat

Hi folks,

Up for your advice is this John F. and Robert Kennedy memorial medallion marked 1968. It has the two brothers on the front with their birth and death dates, and a '68 beside the heads. Anybody know about this medal? Is it an official medal or is it a politcal medal? Any info is great.

Pat

I think this one is not very common as there weren't that many Aerial Gunners in the US Army (Air Force) in 1927-1928. It is made of stirling silver. Does anyone else have one to compare or have any info?

Hello all,

I picked up this interesting piece a while ago, a US Aerial Gunner Award with 1927-1928 engraved on the back of the "aerial gunner" bar that hangs from a target cross shaped badge with a wreath around it. It is marked Stirling on the back as well. All info on this medal is welcome as it is not my area of expertise.

Thanks,

Pat