landsknechte

War Lord has asked me to post this for him

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That may be a record for the most plain single-color ribbons on a single bar...

Non-combatant's grade of the Turkish War Medal (aka Iron Halfmoon)?

Alas, no medal bars. Plenty of Bavarian ribbon bars, but no medal bars.

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride...

My only Bulgarian decoration is this St. Alexander:

Not nearly as pretty as Stogierick's example, but here's my White Falcon:

I once asked about the particularly inapt symbolism of the obverse and was told it symbolized America's miniscule "take to the trees, boys!" inter-wars military, equipped with ancient equipment, and realistically able to thrash any opponent...  slightly smaller than a squirrel!

Somehow, I do NOT think that is what the obtuse heraldry experts intended!  cheeky

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Thank you... That just made my entire day.

The most plausable theory that I've yet heard for the identity of the mysterious plain blue ribbon in last place is that it's either a peacetime Wurttemburg Friedrichsorden or a peacetime Prussian Crown order, with the ribbons arranged with all wartime decorations first, followed by all of the peacetime decorations. However, having some new faces in here, I wanted to bounce this off the collective wisdom of the group to see if anyone might be aware of any plausable (and most likely fairly obscure) foreign decorations that this could possibly be.

--Chris

P.S.

...and yes, it is the same blue as a FO/PCO, it's just faded.

I've posted this elsewhere, and had the suggestion made that the ribbon in last place might be a stand-in for the Spanish Civil War commemorative medal.

...any second opinons?

--Chris

It is against the club rules to discuss politics... but there are historic parallels at work....although perhaps a lot more benign 

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Well, there are a number of gaps in that parallel. The advent of a highway transportation system that actually works being one...

I found this website quite by accident some time ago, and is the best resource that I've been able to find online that deals with German Red Cross decorations:

http://www.richardajordan.com/Red_Cross/GermanStatesRK.html

--Chris

My one and only Austrian medal bar and matching ribbon bar on a familiar background.

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There really is something about astroturf that brings out the subtle nuances of ribbon and medal bars... (Although I have heard rumors that various untoward things have been done on said astroturf by various four legged entities.)

I don't really have all that much that's Austrian, but I've always found this ribbon bar to be rather interesting. The owner has kept his interwar Republic award in first place, in violation of Third Reich regulations.

--Chris

Unfortunately, this is one of those pieces that doesn't command a lot of collector attention. In fact, other than the gold 3.kl, or the versions with swords, the PKO (Preussan Kr?nen Orden) is neglected by many......... Think $100-150 in this condition, if you can find a buyer. There's so much that we all search hard for but civil orders/decorations rarely gather much collector attention.

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Being someone who can almost never bring themselves to sell anything, finding a buyer won't really be an issue. I've inherited my grandfather's infamous packrat genes. I picked it up for $50. I knew it was a deal, but I didn't know how much of a deal it was.

Thanks,

Chris

Chris is this a full-size, or a mini? Yours??? Can we see the back?

Thanks!

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Not mine, just an interesting find on eBay. Someday when I get more money, I'll venture into medal bars. For the time being, I'm strictly a ribbon bar guy.

--Chris

And let's not forget the Fatal Lesson that political extremism with petty rivalries from inflexibly dogmatic nonentities trumping the national interest, and obssessive me-first-you-never partisanship leading to utter ruination...

nah, that could never happen in any democracy again! 

animal

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Of course not! As a Californian, I can't imagine another scenario where a right-leaning Austrian could ever come to be elected to a major political office in a foreign country during a time of economic uncertainty.

--Chris

Close but no ceegar. THAT is a "BZ3aXmE." 3a was the gold Knight 1st. 3b was the silver Knight 2nd.

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Doh. :speechless-smiley-004:

The term goes at least as far back as the early 16th century, in use within German mercenary formations. There was a tradition of them wearing either red or white (I can't remember which, off the top of my head) ostrich plumes in thier hats in battle as an marker.

--Chris

Most early war and pre-war pieces will be found in bronze gilt. Higher grades of most orders can be found in gold. The gold pieces are hollow and feel light as a feather! Gold pieces will rarely be hallmarked...

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Cool... How much do these guys go for typically? (I know I got a deal, I'm just wondering how good of a deal.)

Thanks,

--Chris

...and one of the reverse side that shows the blade a little bit.

My flea market miracle...

Ca. 1820 - French or English smallsword.

$40 from a seller that thought they just had some sort of theatrical prop. It's been appraised for between $1500-$2000. jumping

--Chris

My lone contribution is a single ribbon bar...

--Chris

Has anyone seen this particular veteran's decoration before?

--Chris

For the benefit of anyone staring at a "mystery ribbon" on one of their ribbon bars...

--Chris

No idea who the maker might be - any ideas?

--Chris