Brian Wolfe

Hello hagahr,

Thank you very much, now I am enlightened (and a little embarrassed ).

As ekhunter said it really does scream at you. I was counting the beads thinking that it had to do with the number of beads.

So would this mean that the fakes were all made by the same company or person around the same time? There must have been a lot of these made for this to be one of the tests of authenticity.

Thanks again for adding to my education.

Knowledge is power and power, in this case, could prevent an error.

Regards

Brian

Hello Fellows,

I've just gotten interested in collecting Imperial German medals after decades of studying the history and politics of especially the WWI era. I am quite frustrated regarding this ninth bead thing, it really is "mute" (not screaming) to my eyes. I've asked before but my fellow member was unable to explain it due to our language differences.

Could someone please explain what I should be seeing in the photos of the post.

Is the ninth bead only found on the 1870 cross fakes or it is common on other fakes of Imperial EK's?

At this time I would purchase such a fake and be completely ignorant of what I should have seen.

Thank you for your assistance, it is greatly appreciated.

Regards

Brian

P.S. I could not find this information in the section dealing with fake German medals here on the forum. It may be very useful for someone with the knowledge to post this information in that section. I don't mean to suggest what anyone should or shouldn't do, as it does sound rather presumtuous of me, but it would be a permanent resource for the new collector of such items.

Hello Gordon,

A very nice specimen and an interesting piece of history.

I do not believe it is generally known that there were Indian soldiers acting with the Germans to overthrow the British in India. When I say "generally known" I am discounting the historians and medal collectors among us, of course.

Thanks for posting this interesting decoration.

Regards

Brian

Fasinating, Nervyn.

Thanks for posting it.

Regards

Brian

Cambridgeshire Constabulary had a museum but it moved around a bit from one place to another, a spare room here or there & it closed down some years ago, everythng was put into storage (I saw the guys who ran it shredding loads of old documents at the time).

The exhibits were stored in council facilities - a spare storeroom or office or two I suppose, "the museum" is evicted a little while ago now the council nes the space - rehouse the exhibts or bin them.

Badger updtaed me on this a few months ago, efforts were being made to sort out & catalogue the stuff, I hope it's going well.

Hello Leigh,

This is good news indeed. It is a shame to see the history of the constabularies simply banished to some dusty basement only to be forgotten.

Regards

Brian

You're mad Brian - nice pin and good design - but still mad ! However, with the powers vested in me as an OLD Plod, I now declare you the official keeper of the Staffordshire Plod Museum - Ontario Branch..............

Mereyvn,

It's an honour to be declared anything but insane (or deceased)!

I shall endevor to uphold the duties of my appointment.

Regards

Brian

Another outstanding post Darrell.

Thanks so much for this very informative article.

Regards

Brian

There is a saying that you learn something new every day.

I guess they're correct.

An interesting post with some nice material to view.

Thanks for posting them.

Regards

Brian

Hello Everyone,

I purchased three Japanese Badges which should be here within a week or two and I am hoping that I can get some help as to identification.

They were offered as:

Saeki Branch Badge

Enno Branch Badge

Ghtsa [branch?] Badge

I will post them when they arrive but in the meantime I was hoping that someone might know something about them. Are they something like fire fighter's association badges?

I know this is asking for comments on something I can't show yet but the suspense it killing me!

Why would someone buy something he knows nothing about? Well, I just liked the looks of them.

Regards

Brian

Hi Bob,

What a great group of badges.

It's nice to see a full range, though I don't know anything about them and am only speculating that this is the full range.

Thanks for posting them.

Regards

Brian

Hi Bob,

Of all of the badges and medals for some reason I have always liked these above all others. I hope to have one for my collection some day soon, real soon (if luck and the post office Gods are with me). I agree with Dieter3 these are pricey (ouch) but worth the money in my opinion.

This is a very nice specimen, is the "flaw" on the bottom arm just a lighting issue?

Regards

Brian

Beautiful indeed.

As I have said before these are true works of art.

Thanks for posting it.

Regards

Brian

Hello Everyone,

This is a lapel pin made for the Staffordshire Police Museum which is now closed. The building which housed the museum, I am told, was a Victorian era structure that was sold to be demolished for new development.

The pin measures 18mm wide and 22mm in height. The back is unmarked and has the usual spike and double wing washer grip that is common to modern lapel pins.

It is a shame with Staffordshire being one of the largest shire counties in England with an area of 2,600 sq. km. (1,000 sq. miles) and a population of over 1,000,000 that a permanet musuem location cannot be found to house and display the material that was in the former museum.

I'm happy to have the only unofficial Staffordshire Police Museum here in the colonies, located in New Hamburg, Ontario. Ok, so it's a self-appointed unofficial Staffordshire Police Museum. Admission by appointment only, dependent upon the supply of beer in the fridge. All GMIC members are welcome.

I hope you like the pin, I will be keeping it in the sealed envelope as that was how it would have appeared in the original museum's gift shop (if they had a gift shop).

Regards

Brian

Hello taquito22,

Any chance of posting the medals that reside in these cases?

Regards

Brian

Hello Dieter3,

Can't help with the questions but I wanted to say thanks for posting these beautiful medals.

They are true works of art.

Regards

Brian

Hi Brian,

just a small correction........ it is Oldenburg , not Oldenberg...

cheers

Heiko

Hi Heiko,

Oops, you are correct, of course. It was a typo. I grew up in a"burg" so I'm surprised that I made that error.

Regards

Brian

Nice specimens Tom, thanks for posting them.

Regards

Brian

Non-commbatant ribbon:

Dan

Thanks for helping me "round out" the post.

Regards

Brian

Here is the 1914-1915 Star.

Ring is unfortunately broken off. Probably impossible to restore. I got his MIC as well (will post it up, when my friend can convert PDF to JPG).

I just wondering how rare unit Royal Irish Rifles awards are - just do not know do I keep it or not.

Hi Noor,

I think it would be very hard to repair the missing ring as it was all one piece and only the most expert repair would suffice.

As to keeping the star or not. Yes, by all means keep the star, you can always display it resting on a piece of ribbon making it look like a court mount, if you know what I mean. I think the Royal Irish Rifles is a great regiment to collect. Lots of history there.

Nice medal.

Regards

Brian

Nice one...and BTW it was in 1914

Many thank avadski, I missed that error.

It has been corrected.

Regards

Brian

I just realized that the ribbon is not showing well on the above photos due to the cross being on a stand.

Here is the ribbon for the combatants cross, the non-combatant's ribbons being reversed.

If any of the members have the non-combatant's ribbon please feel free to post it here for future reference for members who might be doing a look up on the Oldenberg Cross.

Otherwise I'll do so when I get one, which might take a while.

Regards

Brian

Here is a view of the reverse of the cross.

Thanks for taking a look.

Regards

Brian

Hello Everyone,

I just got this Oldenberg Cross 2nd class in on Friday and wanted to show it off.

It's not the most impressive medal ever but I like it all the same.

For those not familiar with this medal here is a little information.

The Oldenberg Cross was founded by Grand Duke Friedrich August on 24 September, 1914 for outstanding merit. This could be for merit at the front or at home. The ribbon shown on the specimen below is for combatants. The non-combatant ribbons have the ribbon colours reversed.

Regards

Brian

Hi Mervy,

I like the idea but it seems to tie up the hand as far as grip is concerned. Don't they issue Kevlar-lined leather gloves in the UK? They are slash and punture resistant, if not "proof". also if the officer finds a metal object in a pocket wouldn't they still have to retrieve it?

An interesting concept though.

A photo of some kevlar gloves showing the lining is below. At least with these you maintain total grip on the perp and if your checking pockets you are not far from a very delecate area is he (would have to be a he)gets a little out of control.

Of course the exterior of the pockets should always be felt before diving into a pocket and the suspect should be asked if there is anything in the pockets that you should be aware of, such as needles, blades and even fish hooks, yep, somtimes even fish hooks.

Regards

Brian

Hi Mervyn,

I'm not sure about the second one but I don't believe the first Coat of Arms is the one.

This is a true mystery.

I have been looking for Canadian Police possibilities since I purchased the photo locally. I don't think they wore a St.John's badge, so I am still thinking the officer is British.

Hi Tom,

The attempts at using my scanner was a bust. My dear wife intervened otherwise it would have been in the bin this morning.

I do have a new camera with a closeup feature that allows photos withion 1/2 inch distance and when I read all of the instructions and get it loaded into my computer this may give us the answer.

Many thanks to all for your time spent on this investigation.

Regards

Brian