landsknechte

Here's the EK:

The seller knows very little about German militaria. He made mention of there being other items, but wasn't able to provide any more info. I already got the items, and thankfully paid really good prices for them: $45 for the long service, $48 for the Iron Cross, and $22 for the tab.

The antique store where I purchased this also had a 10 year NSDAP Long Service medal and an EK2. All had apparently come from the same estate sale. Wonder if they might have been part of a group.

You guys might be onto something. Perhaps this is a homemade example with a little creative license taken by whomever made it? The basic shape is reminiscent of Railway tab, so maybe the backing is recycled from one of them.

...and the reverse:

Apologies for the repost (in another section), but I recently came across this curious collar tab, and I'm trying to figure out just what the heck it is. It dawned on me that it might just be something Freikorps related. Anyone recognize it?

...and the reverse:

Anyone have any idea what this might be?

For what it's worth, I've got that same mystery ribbon on a ribbon bar along with a VFW membership ribbon, that belonged to my great-great uncle from Missouri. I know I've seen it somewhere before, but this thread is the only mention of it I've seen anywhere.

I was able to get a little bit of a zoom in on the medal bar in the photo courtesy of my old friend Photoshop.

I think the medal bar in the photo begins with an EK then an OZL. Can't make heads or tails of what comes after it, and even whether or not it's a three or a four place medal bar in the photo. I'm trying to see if I can track down the original seller, and get a better scan of that photo. (It's a long shot, but maybe it'll pay off.) I'm pretty much a novice when it comes to Imperial German uniforms, and I really haven't a clue what sort of uniform the man in the photo is wearing. Can anyone "translate" that for me?

2 of 2

I got ahold of a couple more pictures from that original sale. Not sure if these will clarify things, or confuse them further. Either way, here goes:

Slightly confused... What isn't related to the shown bars?

Do you have pictures of the bits that your dad bought? Even if scattered to the four winds, it would be nice to keep a record of what else might have been part of the group originally. Also, do the right records even exist to possibly ID this one? Not really disappointed, as that opens up the possibility for something more romantic ;-)

I just got this nice little grouping in my grubby little paws this afternoon. My first OZL with salad tongs and salad The seller that I purchased it from missed out on the medal bar that was part of the group, but saved a picture of it: The following was the original seller's description. Can anyone confirm if this attribution makes sense? (Seems like he would have been quite elderly by the time he would have pinned on that buttonhole ribbon): Aus dem Nachlass des Grossherzoglichen Badischen Geheimen Oberregierungsrats und Ministerialdirktors im Ministerium des Innern Otto Braun 1852 - 1906 Stationen: 1878 Amtmann in Pforzheim 1884 Amtsvorstand in Adelsheim 1885 Oberamtmann in Buchen 1889 Oberamtmann in Karlsruhe 1891 Ministerialrat im Ministerium des Innern 1892 Vorsitzender des Gewerbeschulrats 1898 Geheimer Oberregierungsrat 1899 Landeskommissar für die Kreise Karlsruhe und Baden 1900 Mitglied des Kompetenzgerichtshofs 1906 Ministerialdirektor im Ministerium des Innern unter Minister Dr. Schenkel --------------------- !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ORIGINAL FELDSPANGE um 1900 -----zu den ORDEN vom ZÄHRINGER LÖWEN - RITTERKREUZ MIT SCHWERTERN UND EICHENLAUB + EISERNES KREUZ + FÜRSTLICH WALDECKSCHES VERDIENSTKREUZ sowie ein KNOPF mit SCHWERTERN ------ ALTERSBEDINGT GUTER bis SEHR GUTER ORIGINAL ZUSTAND

I think that soundly qualifies as non-mundane. Royal Order of Dogwashers 3rd class was more what I was fearing. Would something like this be potentially identifiable? I also picked up a two place bar with the Ashante Medal and the Order of the Crown of Romania, similar, but not identical in construction. (Folded slightly differently in the back, and the thread is different.) I wonder what the story behind that oddity is.

Admittedly I'm a complete and utter neophyte when it comes to UK ribbon bars (I specialize in German), but I found this bar last night. Did I manage to score a Victoria Cross ribbon bar, or is the first ribbon something else more mundane? Can anyone help me out interpreting it, and making sense of the couple of ribbons that appear to belong to a couple of different decorations. Note that the middle ribbon has two small holes where a device or devices once were. Thanks, --Chris

Do you mean the edge stripes? In one photo, they do look silvery, and in the one on the right it looks more like a dingy white. I sent off an email to the seller, and hopefully I can get a little clairification.

Only took me five years to get this far... :speechless:

I think, after all these years, I have a winner... Anyone recognize the veteran's association?

Logged back in to that certain internet auction site for the first time after becoming re-employed, and stumbled across this blurry bit of interestingness. No closer to knowing what it is, but I've got another one now.

I've got a cousin that's conversant in 15, some people are just freakish prodigies in that sort of thing. Granted, it's just as likely that he was fluent in a handful of them, and then could merely as for directions to the nearest bathroom in the rest. I can't help but think of Black Adder though: "...when I joined up, I never imagined anything as awful as this war. I'd had fifteen years of military experience, perfecting the art of ordering a pink gin and saying "Do you do it doggy-doggy?" in Swahili."

Half-digested too, by the looks of the x-ray photograph. Thanks, -C