Claudio

Hi Sandro! Congrats! I tried twice to buy it, but destiny didn't want to give me a chance to successfully bring to a happy end the deal. I know the previous owner, so it comes from a really very trustful collection. I also know that in the past fellow collectors tried to research on the original owner of the bar, but without any results. Nonetheless it's a fantastic medal bar of a brave long serving Prussian officer. That Rettungsmedaille is quite interesting... I thought because of that the name of the officer could be found. I have also a couple of nice bars with either exotic combinations or orders, but sometimes these bars cannot researched, or maybe you must pray that somebody has the time, money and patience to find and research rolls of orders of States like Reuss... I haven't heard that this has been done or even if there's a slight chance to find something lying around in some dark archives in Germany. But who knows... ciao, Claudio

Salut Christophe, It's already some years that I have that Ehrenkreuz 3. Kl.. Once I bought a Reuss Ehrenkreuz 3 Kl. with swords and crowns from a German auction house, which has been sold as mint conditions, but the crown has been added quite crudely and I had to send it back... The third class with crown and swords it's quite rare.. here one in a medal bar of General der Infanterie Rudolf GERCKE I badly wanted and bid on it, but unfortunately I wasn't lucky to get it! Ciao, Claudio

Hi Tim, I think it can be only a Swedish Order of the Sword... If I were you, I would search among the officers of the Fusilier Regiment Queen Victoria of Sweden (Pomeranian) No.34... Ciao, Claudio P.S.: see also my thread http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/11870-interesting-new-nco-medal-bar/page__p__114533__hl__schwantes__fromsearch__1#entry114533

Nice one Chris! These crosses were privately bought by the soldiers, before WWI, I suppose when they went from active to reserve or were discharged, as souvenir, like the beer steins... Ciao, Claudio

Hi Elmar, Is there also a picture of the reverse of the medal bar? I can't find it on the catalogue... Thanks for showing... ciao, Claudio

Thanks Elmar for showing this amazing group with a great story to tell. I cannot stop thinking, if this group will be auctioned, how much will be sold for. Hopefully this group will be kept together, but I seriously doubt it, also due to the high value on nowadays market of each piece. Ciao, Claudio

Hi Thomas, I guess you got the rest at Kube's auction, didn't you? I might know some details I don't (in red); can you provide them to me? 15.07.1903 Diensteintritt in die bayerische Armee 1904 Kgl. Bayerische Armee Patent als Fähnrich 08.03.1905 Leutnant im 2. Fußartillerie-Regiment 1905 Luitpold-Medaille 28.10.1912 Oberleutnant 25.12.1914 MVO 4. Klasse mit Schwertern 14.01.1912 Hauptmann (28.11.1914 gem. bayr. Dienstalterliste, Nr. 63 gem. Reichsheer-Dienstalterliste) 23.08.1918 MVO 4. Klasse mit Krone und Schwertern im Dienste der Untergruppe Süd der schwersten Flachfeuergruppe, 18. Armee 31.01.1924 Rücktritt vom Artillerie-Regiment Nr. 7, 31. Januar 1924 02.10.1936 Dienstauszeichnungen 1. u. 3. Klasse 12.10.1937 Oberstleutnant (E) gemäß der Stellenbesetzung im OKH, Wa Prüf 4 01.02.1938 Dienstalterliste Oberst (E), Nr. 2 gem. Januar 1939 Stellenliste 1938 Anschluss-Erinnerungsmedaille Sudentenland 01.05.1940 Oberst z.D. gemäß Dienstaltersliste der Offiziere z.D. OKH, Wa Prüf 4 30.01.1941 KVK 2. Klasse mit Schwertern 30.07.1941 Anstellungsurkunde als Oberst, OU von Brauchitsch 01.02.1943 Generalmajor, gem. Rangliste 1944-45, Oberes Kommando des Heeres OKH, WaPrüf 4 Any other decorations (WWII) missing? Thanks in advance! ciao, Claudio

Reuss, Ehrenkreuz 3. Klasse mit Schwertern ciao, Claudio

Hi! My contribution to the thread: Reuss, Ehrenkreuz 4. Klasse mit Schwertern ciao, Claudio

Well, well... For starters the yellow ribbon with black stripes must be for the Mobilisierungs-Erinnerungskreuz (1912-13), see http://www.medal-medaille.com/sold/product_info.php?products_id=1070. The sixth should be a Hanseatic Cross of Lübeck, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanseatic_Cross, but worn uncorrectly. The whole ribbon bar doesn't convince me very much, on the contrary... The combination is odd if not quite improbable, the order of the ribbon wrong, the stitching on the back quite messy and also the sword devices worn up-side-down... There isn't very much I like in this bar. I am sorry. ciao, Claudio

Hi Rudi! I join the comments of the fellow forumites; it's a fantastic, and what more important, complete group! Congrats! :jumping: :cheers: Ciao, Claudio

Yes, many more but not as many as we might thing...

That was what I thought, too. What about the Lübeck rolls as well?

Hi Christophe! Thanks for pointing that out... however in the text the medal was awarded to a Lady... Los Nr.5199 Konvolut Urkunden zu Oberleutnant der Infanterie Richard Scherzer. Beförderungsurkunden zum Leutnant (1910), zum Oberleutnant (1916), Verleihungsurkunden zum Ritterkreuz 2. Klasse des Albrechtsordens und zum Ritterkreuz 2. Klasse des Verdienstordens, jeweils mit Stempelunterschrift König Friedrich August III., dabei auch eine Verleihungsurkunde der Carola-Medaille in Silber an Auguste Natalie Schluttig mit Tintenunterschrift des Königs (1914). Weiterhin Dokumente zum Werdegang des Militärztes Dr. Hans-Joachim Scherzer (geb. 1914) sowie Fotografien von Familienangehörigen. ciao, Claudio

Thank you all for your kind words... ;)

back...

My last acquisition... small but indeed very "colorful"... Interesting for a Saxon field officer to have the Carola-Medaille's ribbon.

With the group came also a ribbon bar that it's evidently not of the owner, but may be of some other member of his family. It's a Prussian servant (non-combattant) combination, the Allg. Ehrenzeichen ribbon being placed first (just half of it, because very likely they couldn't find the 15mm ribbon for it).

The Mecklenburg-Strelitz cross for bravery (für Tapferkeit) is really heavily worn, even more than the Iron Cross 1st class. Interestingly this cross was also made by Paul Meybauer... the catch on the back has been replaced, but I think this was made by his original owner, since he proudly wore it quite frequently. The upper arm of the cross shows the copper-bronze colour of the metal, since the silvering is almost worn off. Although these crosses are not in pristine conditions, they have a lot of character and it shows that soldiers like the one above were really proud of wearing them, even in battle. I presume that this gay has seen a lot of action during WWI!

Iron cross 1st class, very heavily worn, but typical very good Paul Maybauer quality with the maker mark (coat of arms) and the silver mark (800).

Miniaturkette; as you can see also the miniature of the Treudienst 40 J has been denazified.

As you can see the Treudienst-Ehrenzeichen 1. Stufe für 40 Dienstjahre was taken off (denazified) from the medal bar. I just bought one in order to complete the bar. Picture of back:

Dear forumites, I'd like to present my latest purchase... it's quite a complete group of a pre-war NCO who was then promoted as office during the war. In fact the seller told me that he also got from the family a badly damaged Officers Pickelhaube and some shoulder straps but, unfortunately with the regiment number no more in place. The seller told me that strangely this officer was Prussian (Pickelhaube was Prussian), although it's quite clear that this soldier had very quite tight connection with Mecklenburg Strelitz. The combination Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz + the Hansa cross of Lübeck is quite unique to me, so very likely, if I can't get it from the seller as he promised to ask again the family who sold him the whole group, the wearer of these medals can be identified. I am pretty confident about it. Here's description of the medals: Medaillen: • Preußen, Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse, 1914 (OEK 1909), E/S • Mecklenburg-Schwerin, MVK 2. Klasse für Kämpfer 1914 (OEK 1352), G Br • Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Kreuz für Auszeichnungen im Kriege 2. Kl. für Kämpfer, 1914 (OEK 1412), S • Lübeck, Hansakreuz 1915-18 (OEK 1265), Ku Br vs • Deutsches Reich 1933-45, Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer (OEK 3803/1), Herst. T&T L. (Tweer & Turck, Lüdenscheid) • Preußen, DA 2. Modell (1913-1920), 1. Kl. für den Soldatenstand nach 15 Dienstjahren, Kreuz (OEK 1974), Ku • Deutsches Reich 1933-45, Treudienst-Ehrenzeichen 1. Stufe, 40 Jahre (OEK 3522), Br vg • Ungarn, 1. Weltkriegs-Erinnerungsmedaille 1914-18 für Kämpfer Steckkreuze: • Preußen, Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse, 1914 (OEK 1908), gewölbte Form, Herst. P. Meybauer, Silberpunze 800 • Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Kreuz 1. Kl. für Auszeichnungen im Kriege „für Tapferkeit“, 1914 (OEK 1414/1), Herst. P. Meybauer, Ku Br vs, Haken auf RS zeitgenössisch nachgelötet Any comments or clues in order to identify the possible bearer of this medal group are most appreciated. Thanks in advance! ciao, Claudio

Hi Detlev, I saw that bar at the show in Kassel. I didn't even ask the dealer to inspect it more closely, because I didn't like the fact that the order of the medals on the bar is completely off... The KVK should come after the EK (quite a common error for those soldiers who put together by themselves), but even worse the Finnish should come at last, as foreign order, not to speak about the fact that it's medallion is missing. Ciao, Claudio

Hi Paul, That is a great picture! Congrats! The IC 2nd class has been taken away and replaced... you can clearly see from the pictures (see below, the sloppy sewing and the position of the iron cross - lower than the Hambung Hansacross). Why people do that? I can't really understand... But at least the medal bar is the original one... some of the ribbons are exactly folded like on the picture. ciao, Claudio