Robin Lumsden

A better picture of the engraved skull.

The one shown in Post #14 in the thread below is an official issue one.

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=3287&hl=

Thank you Robin! Maybe you might want to do a totenkopf types thread for us "one skull is the same as another" guys

Sal.

Just search under 'totenkopf' - there are a few threads already.

robin-

thanks for the extra shots.

hard not to love this piece!

"suum cuique"??

joe

It means 'To Each His Own' - the motto of the Order of the Black Eagle.

Here's another one, but much more cheaply made in thinly plated brass. A commemorative for enlisted men??

Stogieman.

I hope this shows the detailing a bit better. As I say, it looks and feels like solid silver to me. Perhaps this was a commemorative for officers?? Even although the rosette is black, they have taken the trouble to insert a black velvet patch behind the skull's eyes. A nice little touch, I thought.

Joe.

Here's the badge in its uncleaned state. You can see the back in this shot. The whole badge is about 2 inches across.

The rosette is very nice and looks quite right/like similar ones I have seen. The only thing that surprises me is how crude the device itself looks. I wonder how old this one is, it must pre-date 1900??

Sorry - the crudity is due to my poor photography. The detail is actually extremely good - with magnification you can even see the stippling behing the lettering on the bandeau and the 'feathering' on the eagle. It looks to be made of solid silver, but the back has a sewn on cloth covering to which the pin is attached, so I can't see if the metalwork is hallmarked.

I have seen one of these before in silver-plated brass, but this one is of much finer quality.

It's the shape of the skull. The Brunswick skulls were IR17 and the Prussian type Kav.Rgt.5 during the Third Reich.

Sal.

That one is from Infantry Regiment 17.

A nice little thing, courtesy of eBay.de.

Wow!

http://www.militariacollecting.com/index.p...t=0#entry188638

Was this fellow a Spanish Civil War veteran?

Best, Sal

Sal.

Not as far as I know. The skull relates to Kav.Rgt.5, which was the 'Traditionsregiment' of the old Leibhusaren.

The dish arrived in the mail the other day and is actually in '835' silver. The quality of the engraving is fantastic - just like something out of the 'regimental silverwear'. It's one of the nicest things I've managed to get from eBay so far. Luckily, it was hidden away in an obscure section of their site.

Here are the marks.

The cup is engraved with a 1934 date. Similar cups were used before the end of WW1 by HR17, and these IR17 ones may be old stock being used during the Third Reich.

A nicely made little thing. From Inf. Rgt. 17.

Robin,

more good news today Andy Baus (who still has difficulties posting here) sent me the following on Rittmeister Hemmerde to pass on to you:

Heinrich Leopold Hemmerde, born 25.05.1847 in Hannover. Vizefeldwebel in Reserve Landwehr Batl. Hannover 73. 13.11.1869 Sek.Lt. of the reserve of IR 57. 12.07.1870 Sek.Lt. in F?s. R. 39 (D?sseldorf) with a patent of 12.07.70. 11.03.1876 transferred to LHR 1. 02.05.1878 Prem.Lt. 12.11.85 retired as a captain. 21.04.1898 died in Hannover.

Also, from the Ranglisten:

1884-12.11.85 in 3./LHR 1 (Danzig)

1883 in 5./LHR 1 (Danzig-Langfuhr)

1880-1882 Adjutant of LHR 1 (Danzig)

1879 in 3./LHR 1 (Preu?isch Stargardt)

11.03.76-1878 in 1./LHR 1 (Danzig)

1874-1876 Adjutant II. Batl./F?silier Regt. 39 (D?seldorf)

1871-1873 in 10./F?silier Regt. 39 (D?sseldorf)

12.07.70-1870 in 5./F?silier R. 39 on active service

Regards

Glenn

Glenn.

What can I say.

Thanks again.

There's something in the post for you.

And please pass on my very sincere thanks to Andy Baus.

A-C.

The badge would sell for around ?200 in the UK, so I suppose that's around $350.

Yours is a nice example.

Glenn.

It's in the post.

Glenn.

Your PM box is either full or disabled.

I want to send you a signed copy of my latest book as a 'thank you' for the work you did on this.

Can you email me with a postal address?

I think it's always very difficult to tell anything concrete from photos

- especially old wartime ones which have been magnified and/or doctored by the press people at the time.

I've often taken photos of the same badge from slightly different angles, or with slightly different lighting, and the shape, detailing etc. can be changed so much as to almost make it look like 2 different badges. I took one photo of a badge which (inadvertently) made it look like rusted steel when it was actually silvered brass!

Photos can be tricky.

And talking of anatomy lessons......

You lucked out there! I'd have expected a 1937 Rittmeister to have ended the war as an Oberstleutnant-- those two gongs with their retroactive seniority rights sure helped!

He was actually quite a late bloomer-- did not JOIN the army until 1 March 1924 (I'd have expected summer 1918 from his age)--

Leutnant 1.12.27 #16

Oberleutnant

Rittmeister 1.5.35 #43

Major 1.2.40

Oberstleutnant 1.4.42

Oberst 1.2.43 #56

Generalmajor 1.10.44 # 33

Thanks Rick. That additional info is appreciated.

And the icing on the cake......having done a Google search on this guy, he won his RK at Stalingrad!

Glenn.

That's fantastic news! It was really a shot in the dark on eBay!

I OWE YOU ONE !!!!

I just picked this dish up for $85 on ebay. That's about $20 over the scrap silver value.

It's hallmarked 'WMF' with a crescent moon and crown and '800'.