landsknechte

Interesting variant on the standard ribbon there on that one on the far left...

Gotta love them "vons".

My wife affectionately refers to me as "the bottomless pit of useless knowledge".

Obsessively tracking down utterly random details on obscure Bavarian noblemen... A man after my own heart! --Chris

Good haul. I drooled over that White Falcon bar quite a bit. --Chris

#6: a. No Hindenburg Cross, therefore it should be pre-1934. Given that, why is the EK in first place? b. I'm not sure what the criteria for that particular grade of the Princely Hohenzollern House Order was, but I'd wager it probably doesn't jive with the MVO4XmKr. c. It's an officer's bar with a 24 year long service ribbon, and no 1911 Jubilee. #8: a. Shouldn't the Friedrichsorden be in front of the Wilhelmskreuz?

I couldn't find a good way to photograph it, but simply pulling back the fold in the long service ribbon shows a really dramatic difference in the color.

The Hessian decoration being referred to is supposed to be a bright "baby blue", however that ribbon is notorious for fading out to a dingy white. It definately was blue, earlier in it's career. The only way to see it now is to pull back the backing a little bit, and hiding there under the backing is the original unfaded bright blue. --Chris

Ooookay... Now I'm getting it. I had thought that black was associated with the Navy. Perhaps not as strongly as blue, but still linked. Thanks, --Chris

I was unaware that scenarios a and b were even possible, and as such had assumed that c was probably about the only viable possibility. Especially with the black backing. Thanks, --Chris

Was the Hessian Bravery Medal restricted to Hessians, or was it awarded across the board?

Nothing says rebellion like a swastika on a bucket! Sheesh.

I was able to borrow a camera, so...

Honestly I have no clue where this thread would best fit, but this particular spot on the dial seemed to be a little bit less abstract than most everywhere else... Anyhow, I stumbled across this American 1941 edition of Mein Kampf recently in an antique store. Anyone have any ideas as to how much this might be worth? --Chris

Stumbled across an interesting ribbon bar at a local surplus store: 1914 EK2 Hessian Bravery Medal Hindenburg Cross w/ Swords Plain blue long service ribbon Russian St. Stanislaus Double wrap style with black felt backing. I'll post pictures soon (left my camera at work), but in the mean time, I wanted to bounce this combination off the collective wisdom of the group. My gut feeling is Navy, but I'd love to hear whatever the others in the group have to say. Thanks, --Chris

Artillery-in-Law.... I gotta remember that one.

Couldn't have been that many folks that had the Legion of Merit and the Iron Cross...

Go ahead... Rub it in.

Adjusted for inflation and relative income (as much as can be done), how much did ribbon bars cost in the time period around WWI? How much more expensive were different styles (i.e. the Southern German double wrap, versus the "normal" style, etc.). I know this is a bit of an odd question, but I'm hopeful that someone out there with a few period catalogs might have already done the math to satisfy their own curiosity. --Chris

The stitching is the biggest give-away, IMHO. Always the same direction, spacing, and size of stitches. I've only been burnt on two ribbon bars, and baff002 sold me one of them...

Is it just me, or does that skull look a little embarassed?

..

For the moment, I can only dream of a ribbon bar with all three of the NSDAP long service medals...

Ignoring completely what the ribbons are, I think it's safe to say that the devices were added after the fact. I can't recall seeing any legit bars (although I'm sure there probably are some - especially if a decoration changed, and the change could be reflected by just slapping on a new device) where the prongs were poked through the backing like this. --Chris

If you're trying to keep people out of the package, the latter may not always have the desired effect...