Brian Wolfe

Beautiful stars throughout this post. Getting weak...must resist temptation to add more stars to collection...can't resist...now MUST add more stars. What a beautiful addiction, one which has no cure but to purchase more TWM's. Thanks for the great posts. Regards Brian

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

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

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 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

Thanks for helping me "round out" the post. Regards Brian

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

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