Claudio

Hi Everybody! My little brother Marco just added another fine single mounted RAO 4th class. This is marked J . H . W.: Do you know what that is for? I found in my files just a maker/Hersteller that might be correct if it was not for the order of the initials: Wilm = H. J. Wilm, Berlin, Hof- und Silberschmiede Is my assumption correct? Thanks in advance for your kind replies. Ciao, Claudio

Joe, I am happy for you! Sometimes you come across such immaculate pieces.... I have also one medal bar with very brand new looking ribbons: a Bavarian bar ... even tougher, because it seems that Bavarian were quite proud to wear more often bars at every occasion - more traditional part of Germany - and also the Bavarian light blue looses so easily its original colour... Nice found! What you want more ... Ciao, Claudio

Hi Joe! Beautiful bar The ribbons surely look like brand new... and that even almost after 90 years! I don't want to be to picky or critical, but did you try to make a blacklight test the bright looking white parts ribbons? I have never seen such an immaculate white on ribbons of the Hanseatenkreuz Hamburg and the RAO 4th class. Nowadays you're never 100% sure... My congratulations again for your great mint looking bar! Ciao, Claudio

Dear all, I just wanted to add another picture of a S?chsische Spange featuring these particular and odd style of mounting medals together. This was on ebay some months ago... Ciao, Claudio

Detail of the Steck/Offizierskreuz...

this is a black and white scan of Zeige's catalogue...

What about this spange? It was on Zeige's catalogue, I think last year. It came with other medals of the same recipient (officer). It didn't sell the first time this bar came out on a auction's catalogue, but was sold later separately... The order of the medals, more precisely of the KVK 2. Kl. without swords (also with the front worn backwards), is not correct, but I think it was quite a common mistake to misplace medals like KVK or WiO. If Jens' bar is rare... imagine this! Ciao, Claudio

Sehr Sch?n Jens! The military Merit medal with swords is not so common... I don't have a medal bar with such medal, yet...

It was on Thies Auction... tried to bid on it, unfortunately I wasn't successful. It's a very simple but to me "sexy" bar. The enameled Baden's LS Bar denotes a quite a delicate touch and particularly good taste of the wearer who had surely to be very "fashion aware" and maybe quite a rich guy... I've already seen such enameled LS bar beauties but only on Prussian medal bars, not on Baden's medal bars, which makes this bar definitely something rarer and very desirable. Something for our "Badener fetish" aka Antti... Ciao, Claudio

Thanks Rick... Here's a picture of a bar with the VK OZL on Friedensband supporting my statement. Ciao, Claudio

Dear all, Just a detail more: the Verdienstkreuz of the Order "Z?hringer der L?wen" should be worn on the first ribbon (yellow with two parallel narrow green stripes). This ribbon was meant for the VK in peacetime. In war time or for merits at the front the VK was awarded to senior NCOs with the war time ribbon (yellow with wide red stripe in the middle). Ciao, Claudio

@ Chip: you're quite right. It seems like the ribbon for another veterans' decoration. I know that there was a very similar ribbon to be worn on the such Treu der Batt/Regt. crosses for the Kriegsmarine, but then the inscription on the cross shouldn't be Treu der Marine? By the colour of the fabric on the back of this bar (dark red), it doesn't seem to be Kriegsmarine, though... Ciao, Claudio

Hi Bob! Nice bar you got... I still have to find a medal bar with the Mecklemburg's Tapfer und Treu cross. The owner of this bar was a bit naughty... he shouldn't have put his "Treu dem Bat/Rgt" cross on this bar, since these veterans' decoration were not permitted to wear after the introduction of the "Ehrenkreuz f?r Frontk?mpfer". Nevertheless a really nice bar! congratulations! Ciao, Claudio

Yes Joe, all Waldeck's decoration are rare, since the principality of Waldeck was a very little state: by 1910 had only 60'000 inhabitants on 1'120 Km2 or 340 square miles. The here shown Waldeck's silver merit medal seems to me to be the first model (altes Modell 1878). Accordingly Gert Efler's book (Die Orden & Ehrenzeichen des F?rstentums Waldeck und Pyrmont, ISBN 3-926621-31-1, published in 2004) between 1878-1918 these silver medals were awarded to meritous citizen, traders, commerciants and people working in the local industry. A silver medal costed in 1884 7,30 Reichsmark, in 1908 RM 6,75, in 1913 RM 6,00 and 1915 RM 8,50. Efler mention that about 5'422 silver medals were awarded in this period, of which 4'200 were issued with swords. The first medal was given to a Revierf?rster on 26.09.1878 (silb. VDM). I hope this helped. Ciao, Claudio

Hi Joe, The medals are: W?rttemberg Wilhelmskreuz (Wilhelm's cross) W?rttemberg Silberne Hochzeitsmedaille 1911 (silver wedding's medal 1911) Anhalt Silberne Verdienstmedaille zum Hausorden Albrecht des B?ren (silver merit medal of the order of Albert the bear) Silberne Verdienstmedaille Altenburg des Ernestinischen Hausordens (silver merit medal of the SEHO) Silberne Verdienstmedaille Waldeck (silver merit medal) K?nigreich Bulgarien Bronzene Verdienstmedaille mit Krone Zar Ferdinand (Kingdom Bulgaria, bronze medal with crown, king Ferdinand) Ciao, Claudio

Hi Guys! I like these combinations very much. As Rick said, sometimes you can find one of a kind combinations of awards... some of them are really interesting! I have seen some quite weird but beutiful array of medals given to Bandmasters, Meisterkutscher, etc... Here's the back of above mentioned bar. Ciao, Claudio

Very nice Jens! I found also this medal bar with a Bulgarian bronze medal of merit on Zeige's Actionhouse online catalogue. What do you think? It's a very nice array of Verdienstmedaillen for a civilian servant (Beamter). Ciao, Claudio

I mean it looks like this... Germans were quite quick and prolific in creating new freikorps' badges! Maybe this was already around in 1920! Could be?

Hi Rick, It looks very much like a Freikorps badge: Bug-Stern der Schutztruppe Bug (Niemann's calogue 2.01.16), since the visor cap with the cocarde and wreath is definitely post WWI, maybe mid-late twenties??? ...just only my guess. Ciao, Claudio

Hi Marshall, If you can't find your socks I can give you mine in exchange of the Blue Max... Very, very nice family gathering you had in your socks' drawer... they should drop by my socks drawer for a visit... Beautiful group of extremely rare decorations... the top of the line! Congrats! Ciao, Claudio

mmmmhh.. I guess I have a bit of a problem with space limit... Damn! How annoying...

This type of medal bars would also qualify for being extremely rare... Prinzengr?sse!!!!

These are pretty rare, too: a KO 4.Kl. with swords in "Prinzengr?sse"... even more rare! Notice the botton on the back of the ribbon with maker J. Godet Berlin.

Another rare "Steckkreuz" of WWI: the war merit cross of the Principality of Reuss, instituted by F?rst Heinrich XXVIII (!!!). It was awarded for bravery in the presence of the enemy and could go to men irrespective or rank who held the IC 1st class. It could also be awarded to someone who had not as yet earned the IC 1st class but whose deed in action was do distinguished that an exception could be made. I think that this cross was awarded less than 400 if I do remember correctly... I don't have the picture of my example unfortunately, but I can show one cased gone for quite a lot of many, much more than the starting bid! With the compliments of HH...

This Herzog-Ernst-Medaille mit Schwertern is pretty rare, too. It was created very late in the war by Duke Ernst II. It was meant for military personnel who were native of Altenburg or serving in the 8th Thuringian Infantry Regiment No. 153. In addition, the awardees had to possess at least the IC 1st class first, to be considered for bestowal. This medal became one of the least frequently bestowed Imperial German awards of the war; total number of awards only 86.