landsknechte

#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?

Hi, again, Landsknechte -

Faded baby blue it is. As a matter of fact, a close look at the reverse of the bar shows a patch of the bright cornflower blue of the long service ribbon; accenting how  faded the obverse has become.

Yikes! I do not how the creative spelling of your signature happened; I apologize; and hope that this one comes out correctly.

Best wishes,

Wild Card

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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

Anybody could get it. Enlisted Hessians in Hessian units would have gotten a Hessian long service award, but Hessian officers got the Prussian one. So this is

a) a native or non-native officer's bar or

b) a non-Hessian NCO's bar or

c) a naval any ranks ("Reichs" long service) bar

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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

This belonged to an artillery in-law of the REAL von Ribbentrops, and between me and Neal O'Connor we got most of it back in mail catalog days.

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...

heh, heh, heh.......

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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

I think our state motto is, "Que pasa?"

My favorite declarations on customs forms are "Human Remains" and "Cocaine for making local anesthetics."   

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

A group shot!

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A certain ribbon bar in there looks awfully familiar...

Sometimes a little comic relief is a good thing...

I guess you collect iron crosses

       don

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There's a fine line between collecting something, and wallowing in it. I daresay that line was just crossed...

Wow.

--Chris

As Stogieman has noted it is suspected this fellow wasn't on active duty very long. Perhaps the act of insane bravery that earned this medal also produced wounds serious enough for him to be discharged.

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Perhaps lending a bit of creedence to the presence of the wound badge in that group...

--Chris

Why yes, appears to be a Prinz Alfons brooch mini (!!!???) on a Luitpold Jubilee ribbon! 

Just to compare the designs, the full size silver class=

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That's about as much as I was able to discern out of the whole thing.

Hrm.

Curiouser and curiouser...