bolewts58

I think it may be a Papal States order such as the Order of St. Sylvester. Close-up shots are needed to be sure.

It's the unofficial 8th Bavarian Reserve Division badge. In the first photo he is wearing on his collar (the correct location for it). In the second photo, he is wearing it above the EK1.

His medal bar would indicate that he didn't get the Austrian MVK 2, but the Order of Franz Josef (Knight) on Kriegsband for combat service.

Yes. I actually had a Militärpass to a NCO who served in Ukraine from 22/6/1918 to 30/12/1918 and received the Bug-Stern. His pass specifically states: "Besetzung zur Ukraine" (occupation of Ukraine).

A private purchase 800 silver and enamel screw-back Bug-Stern of the Schutztruppe Bug/Brigade Olita made by Paul Meybauer. These are generally referred to as the Bug-Stern for officers. But, actually anyone entitled who had the money could buy and wear this. It was originally instituted on February 1, 1919 for a minimum of 1 month's service in Kurland and Lithuania. However, less well known is the fact that it was also awarded retroactively for border defense in the Ukraine and Belarus against the Russians in 1918 when the unit was known as Brigade Bug as part of the Armee Bug serving in the region of the Bug River which ran through Poland, Belarus and Ukraine. So, it's actually both a WW1 award and a Freikorps award.

This beautifully enameled award is a bit outside the focus of this thread as it is post-war. But since it has a very direct link to a well-known regiment of the Imperial German Army that saw a lot of action in WW 1, I thought it might be of some interest. If it's inappropriate, let me know and I will delete it. Ehrenzeichen der Freiwilligen Hundertschaft Krose (Badge of Honor for Volunteer 'Company' Krose - It's difficult to precisely translate "Hundertschaft" as it's an old German military term for a unit roughly the size of a company of 80-100 men, based on ancient Germanic tribal formations which themselves were modeled on the Roman 'Century'. Freiwillige Hundertschaft Krose was formed by Oberleutnant a.D. Wilhelm Krose from former members, primarily officers and senior NCOs of Infanterie-Regiment Bremen (1. Hanseatisches Nr. 75) when the 3rd Polish uprising in Upper Silesia began on May 3, 1921. It participated in the defence of the city of Pitschen, the fighting at Kostau and Seichwitz and on May 24-26 it participated in the storming of the Annaberg Mountain. The award was given by Oberleutnant a.D. Krose for those who had distinguished themselves principally in the defense of the city of Pitschen, as well as the storming of Annaberg and other associated struggles in Upper Silesia. Awards were manufactured by Heinrich Timm, Berlin based on a design by Krose. The central medallion shows the red and white stripes of the ribbon of the Bremen Hanseatic Cross in honor of the wartime service of Krose and his men in Infantry regiment Bremen. The exact number of awards or crosses manufactured is not known. However, since this Freikorps only formed the 3rd Company of Selbstschutz-Bataillon Pitschen from the city of Pitschen in Upper Silesia, it’s generally believed that only around 100 crosses were awarded.

"Vati" = Dad

Original Silesian Eagles with Oakleaves and Swords are now quite scarce especially this type which was purpose built rather than a conversion. The oakleaves and swords are riveted rather than as if often the case fastened through a drilled hole by means of flat splints. The badge is heavily vaulted and the oakleaves and swords vaulted with it to form a very tight fit. Unfortunately, the original matte black finish on the obverse was polished off, most likely by the original recipient as was often done to make the badge "shine". In hand, the details are quite fine.

I sold my Imperial German order collection in 1996 before it was a common practice to take pictures (pre-digital cameras and poor scanners). It's one of my great regrets that I never took any photos of my collection.

I've owned cased Grand Cross sets of both the Order of Albert the Brave and St. Henry Military Order and the cases by G.A. Scharffenberg, Dresden were gilt printed and the coat of arms incused. I have never seen any original case even remotely like this. Original cases always had the Scharffenberg name and address printed in the upper lid as well as a green and white Scharffenberg paper label on the bottom together with another white paper label from the ribbon maker C.E. Kunath, Dresden. The same is true of other Saxon makers such as Alfredn Roesner, Glaser u. Sohn, and Mortiz Elimeyer, not to mention other makers of Saxon orders like Godet and Rothe. So it's odd that whoever is faking these would create something that IMO never existed in history.

Again, it wasn't Adrian, but his Dad. When Fall of Eagles was made, Adrian was a teenager. Yes. Some of them came from me. I sold him my aviation collection in the 90s.

It wasn't Adrian Forman, but his Dad who loaned the Kaisers orders to the series. As I knew Adrian's Mum and Dad somewhat and was a frequent visitor to their shop, Forman's of Piccadilly opposite Green Park back in the 80s, I had the good fortune to actually have in hand what was called the Kaiser's Great War medal bar. Besides the medal bar, Forman senior owned several of the Kaiser's orders as well as other artifacts. He had an original Kaiser standard hanging on the the back wall of the shop. Adrian sold the medal bar and other orders some years ago. It was discussed here in a thread. But I can't find the thread. If I remember, a collector in the US bought them. I'm sure some other member knows more about it. The Great War medal bar as worn in the show.

Provincial boards usually only have a single letter for the district. I don't think there's ever a specific unit designation such as "L" for Landwehr. But I'm not an expert. Perhaps someone else knows better.

Incorrect. It is for Provincial Infantry officers from the Karlsruhe region. The "K" stands for Karlsruhe. But it could also be for Freikorps Künzel as the same insignia continued to be worn by this Freikorps in 1919. In June 1919, it became Reichswehr-Schützen-Regiment 49 in Reichswehr-Brigade 25 (together with the Deutschen Schutzdivision) of the Vorläufigen Reichswehr. The "K" for Kraftfahrtruppe is quite different. Here is a pair of enlisted man's boards showing the style of "K" used for the Kraftfahrtruppe insignia.

Seems ok to me. IMO a post 1918 possibly unmarked Meybauer.

Someone told me that these fakes come out of China. A friend was at a market there and saw all kinds of fake orders. Most of them were Chinese warlord period orders. But there were also some German and Imperial Russian as well.

This is the RAO4 mit Schwertern Typ 5. The detail on the swords is quite soft and not well defined. I've never seen one with the huge ball suspension loop before. The reverse center is soft and the obverse central medallion is very poorly painted. Here is an original to compare.

Blass made SAO grand cross sets in the late 70s. Everyone knew they were copies. So, they cost about $500 USD or so per set. I remember the dealer. Ed Denby in Toronto having a set for sale for $700 CDN in the early 80s.

Sorry. But it's a fake called the "double eye" due to the double line on the left side of the open space of the eye. The eye was always a solid dot on originals. These fakes come both in clam-shell screw-back and pin-back and have been around since the 80s. They often show up in fake LDO boxes.

Based on the center medallion of the castle ruins, I'd date the eBay example to roughly 1900-early WW1. Here is a 1st class from about 1860 in the Tallinn Museum of Orders. Note the more detailed, higher quality of painting in the center medallion.

Sellers on German eBay do it all the time. They have no morals. It's all about making the most money possible.

At the moment, the highest bidder for each document is different. So, it's likely the group will be split up.