Claudio

Dear forumites,

I find these German WWII medal bars with foreign orders and medals (Bulgaria, Rumenia, Italy, Spain, etc.)very interesting. But you have to be very careful; shows in Germany are full of put together medal bars with impossible combinations.

I saw something interesting on Thies last auction's catalogue. I think that these bars are quite impossible to be real, given the combinations of Junior/Senior officer's orders and civilian merit orders or medals on the same bars.

Here's the pictures of the bars...

I would like to hear your comments on them!

Ciao,

Claudio

Hi Gerd,

I saw HH's catalogue and I wasn't impressed by the choice of their medal bars and Imperial medals. This trapezoidal bar, IMHO, it's a baaaaad fake... pretty much everything seems to be wrong: order of the decorations, low quality devices, etc.

Ciao,

Claudio

Maybe in order to optimize profit? I never liked it from the first time I saw it on Weitze's online catalogue... that's why I didn't buy it!

Hi Paul,

This is the missing medal:

?sterreich 1. Republik, Erinnerungsmedaille f?r die Landesverteidigung von Tirol 1914-1918

see picture here below...

Ciao,

Claudio

Dear friend collectors,

I would like to introduce to you my latest purchase: a medal bar of the Weimar Republic era (20ies, early 30ies) with its typical Veteran's associations commemorative medals.

Here's the description of medals:

? Preussen, Eisernes Kreuz 1914, 2. Klasse am K?mpferband (OEK 1904)

? Marinekorps Flandern, Ehren- und Erinnerungskreuz (DN 2.02.14)

? Regiments-Erinnerungskreuz ? Garde Grenadier Regt. 2? (DN 2.02.22a)

? Kriegsehrenkreuz mit Schwertern des Ehrenbundes Deutscher Weltkriegsteilnehmer (DN 2.02.19)

? ?sterreich 1. Republik, Erinnerungsmedaille f?r die Landesverteidigung von Tirol 1914-1918 (fehlt medaille)

? Deutscher Reichskriegsbund ?Kyffh?user?, Kriegsdenkm?nze 1914/18 (DN 2.02.34a+b)

? Preussischer Landeskriegerverband, Krieger-Ehrenkreuz 2. Klasse versilbert am Band (DN 2.02.44c)

My interest about these bars has grown over the last months. They are really fun to collect.

Enjoy the image!

Ciao,

Claudio

Hi everybody,

This bar lies on a online catalogue of a very well known German dealer since months already. The medal bar comes with the miniatures. The reverse is in metal "Feldgrau".

Ciao,

Claudio

I can't say that this medal bar will stay forever in my collection, because you never know. Until now I never sold my favourites medal bars. This one is going to fill a special place in my collection, since I was long looking for a named medal bar with the Italian commemorative Messina's 1908 earthquake medal.

All the data given to me on this site will be put in my personal files (catalogue)... see below. Nothing will be lost. If one day for very important reasons (family, financial difficulties, sickness, etc...), hopefully not, I will be forced to sell this bar, the new owner will receive it with my "catalogue file"... see below!

We collectors don't own "the past" or "the stories"... we could merely preserve history and pass it on on future generations.

Ciao,

Claudio

Hi Paul,

For sure he got a least a KVK 2. Kl. mit Schwertern... I also noticed in the past that not always the recipients of the Clasp of the Iron Cross 2nd class 1939 put the device on the medal bars... some of them preferred to wear it on the botton hole.

Ciao,

Claudio

Thanks to everybody for your interest and your nice comments.

@ Heiko: I am really sorry about bidding against you, but since I don't know your Ebay name and the fact that this medal bar didn't have any colonial medal, I didn't think that you were participating to this auction as well. Btw you already notice my Ebay name, I guess... what's yours? Just in case...

The bar was made by a professional taylor: it's really put together perfectly. The Ehrenkreuz f?r Frontk?mpfer is a "G & S" (Godet und Sohn). I think also the EK could be a G & S... judging from the quality. I noticed that, in a couple of groups or medal bars of Senior officers, you can almost see the difference in quality... that's very interesting.

I am sure our Ricky (L.) will like this bar as well!

Ciao,

Claudio

Here's the envelope in which was the document sent to the Order's recipient about 93 years ago...

I thank you in advance for your interest and am looking forward to hear your comments on this group.

Ciao,

Claudio

The group was split in several parts... some documents, some headgear stuff and the medal bar. Unfortunately I wasn't enough to get all the other document, but luckily enough the Ebay seller was enough intelligent to sell the medal bar with the document to the Oldenburg's House Order, RK 2. Kl.. So the name of the officer and its unit before WWI is known to me:

As for mid 1913 this officer was still a Leutnant zur See bei der 5. Batterie der II. Matrosen-Artillerie-Abteilung.

It would be great if anyone, especially the research gurus on this forum, could add some valuable info about this officer after WWI and with which rank did he end WWII.

Here's the picture of the document, very simple design...

On the last image I have erroneously put the ribbon up side down... sorry! The last ribbon used for the Italian commemorative medals is a Saxon, since they couldn't find anything better.

Here's a close up of the ribbon of the "Hindenburg Cross's" ribbon with the stickpins...

The medal bar came with some medals and pins...

Here is a pic showing the obverse and the reverse. Very typical is the reverse made of black fabric, which denotes quite clearly the provenience: Kriegsmarine!

Dear forumites,

I am quite glad to present you my latest acquisition from Ebay. It's a very simple yet nice medal bar in very good condition of a Kriegsmarine Career officer who was involved in some way in the terrible earth quake of 1908 in Messina (Sicily, Italy), see last medal.

Here's the pic of the front:

Ciao,

Claudio

Hi Antti,

Great to know that you could make it to the SOS!

Right now I am still in vacations in Brasil, which is not bad either...

I noticed a medal bar (picture posting # 7, top row), which was offered to me during a break at Thies Auction for "mere" Eur 4500.-

I wonder if you still remember the dealer's name and the price of the medal bar. I remember that it was in pristine conditions.

Ciao,

Claudio

Just wanted to add my contribution to this interesting thread... here are mine Honor crosses:

Ciao,

Claudio

Looking it better I noticed that some swords are on the ribbons of decorations that they would need them and on the other hand on some ribbons that you might or must have the swords, there aren't... strange!

... whoops just read now webr55's comments; I do understand your point and fully agree with you.

Ciao,

Claudio

Hi Stogie,

I am sorry to say that but such ribbons (9mm) ARE on the market. My brother has about 5 or 6 of them, of course original, but these are still to be found on the market. Many of these ribbons were used as laces for larger neck ribbons for orders to be worn on the collar.

Nevertheless I like the material being used for this Feldspange; swords, metal pieces, type of fabric used on the backing. On the other hand we should closely to the combination of the medals and ask ourselves is such combination is possible.

I saw some pictures of Generals or even Generalfeldmarschalls (like von Blomberg for example) wearing such narrow type of ribbons.

Heiko; I can only hope and cross my fingers for you that this Feldspange is a good one!

Nowadays I don't really want only to trust my instinct anymore... I was fooled a couple of times, unfortunately also with ribbon bars...

Ciao,

Claudio

Here is R?der's ribbon bar and Epauletten as an example which were sold by Hermann Historica Auction House a couple of years ago.

Ciao,

Claudio

Hi Chris,

I don't think there were limitations but usually it was common that the German officers with lots of decorations could wore their ribbon on two rows. I have never seen Senior officers wearing more than two rows, though. There were quite a few exeptions of Senior officers who would wear their ribbon bars on two rows. I could name soldiers like Sepp Dietrich, Ritter von Epp, Erich R?der, etc. Usually officers who had many ribbons they used the narrower type of ribbons (10 mm instead of 15mm)... I have these type of ribbon bars being worn by Ritter von Epp, GFM Keitel, GFM von Blomberg, etc.

My biggest ribbon bar ever does show 17 (!!!) different decorations. Mostly in these cases officers wanted to show all their decorations even the Foreign ones...

Ciao,

Claudio

My brother's first medal bar: this purchase of his dates back in the mid 80ies. It's quite nice to see to have such medal bars with its ribbon bar.

Here's a 1st class Silesian eagle (!!!!) mounted on a medal bar of a Schwarzburg's police officer... very odd, but quite nice!

Ciao,

Claudio

...and here's my 1st class with Swords. The construction of the pin on the back is typical of the 30ies.

Ciao,

Claudio

Here's my enameled Silesian Eagle first class... notice how clean the rivets are. Usually the constructions of the medals during the late 20ies and early 30ies wasn't so good, since the LDO's didn't exist and also because of the economical crisis.

Ciao,

Claudio