landsknechte

Also, the beamter ribbon is in first place, which leads me to believe that he earned a lower grade of the regular version first.

Apparently not all of them.

Consider yourself fortunate, as the bar I sent you is one of only two bars I've ever traded or sold. Yeah, Bavarian is my specialty / fetish.

I assumed that it was a faded green, as I've got a Saxon Albrechtsorden that faded to a similar shade of sickly yellow. I'll confirm the actual color once I've got the bar in my grubby little paws. I bought it from "Mount Antique" (aka cbdx21) on eBay. Edit: I emailed the seller, and he said it was a uniform silver or gray color on both front and back. He could detect no trace of any other residual color. Will confirm when I get it in hand. Strange...

I don't think the regulations differentiate between the two versions of the MVK, so probably the one is a higher grade than the other.

Awesome! Even if the bars have been permanently separated, it's still neat to be able to hang onto the images and the information. I'm guessing enlisted level but I'm not really sure. Definately some sort of story in that bar.

Quite happy with this one. My first China service ribbon bar. I'm assuming the plain blue ribbon in first place is a Prussian Crown order, given the other Prussian decorations. At first glance, this bar looks like it might have belonged to a medical officer, but what then of the combattant Anhalt in 4th place? Anyone have any thoughts or observations on this one?

I traded Saschaw a ribbon bar that matches one of his medal bars for this unusual little Bavarian. I think we both came out ahead on the deal.

Thanks for the help guys!

If you look closely at a couple of the eagles, you can see an almost circular "distortion" that that reeks of a Photoshop clone tool.

Perhaps Rick can confirm what the regs were. I know I've seen a number of bars with two of them on there, but they may not have been following regulations. If I remember correctly, the Generaloberst Otto Dessloch bar was amongst them.

I thought that Bavarian officers didn't get a long service decoration until they hit 25 years, and in that case wouldn't there have been a 1905 Luitpold to go with the 1911?

That particular award was continued into the Third Reich, FWIW. Note how the acorn has been replaced with a Swastika.

Officer? I had always assumed it was a MVK.

No, these two bars couldn't be to the same person. I only posted one of them, but I have two identical examples of the sew on bar.

The first two ribbon bars, which very obviously belong to the same person and were made by the same person, came to me from two different continents. What ever it is, it was meant to be. "No sir, you are the caretaker. You have always been the caretaker."

Once I get it in hand and have a chance to really look it over, I'll post my observations. Seems like a strange ribbon to have found it's way to a fake ribbon bar. As far as I know, I own the only other two German ribbon bars in existance with that ribbon on it. Interesting that this bar has the civil service DA, and mine has the BMVK on the Beamter ribbon. Two bars hardly makes a broad sample, but that might prove to be a clue right there.

Here's the reverse:

...and now, at the dawn of 2008, this bar is winging it's way through the labyrinth of the postal system. No closer to having any idea what it is, but at least I now know that it wasn't a one-off ersatz fix for some other decoration.

Some of you with longer memories might remember my strange, and perhaps unhealthy, obsession with a little blue and white ribbon which seems to be eluding all attempts at identification. Been wrestling with it for more than two years now, ever since landing two identical ribbon bars with it tucked in there...

Given James' description of the criteria for that last ribbon, which to me implies that the owner was a Croatian, does the Polizei analysis still work?

I misunderstood your saying that "I believe that is all there ever was to it" to mean that you believed that there had been nothing else attached to it.

There's no trace of any device ever being put through it. I'd presume it couldn't truly be a peacetime decoration, as it only existed (I believe) from 1941-1945.

Aha... Croatian.... That would make #3 a Zvonimir on a civil ribbon. Croat SS volunteer perhaps?

Yep, that is a Ludwigs Order.