Stormrider59

Hi, this is a very neat picture GreyC, as for the General to the right of the LW General, he is Hungarian, they have a uniquely shaped set of collar tabs upon reaching the rank of general, the pocket of the Hungarian uniform is a bit inspired by the Uniforms of the Reichsheer as well. I vaguely recognize the German LW General too. Can't put a name to a face, but I'd recognize his sad face anywhere.

I've got a 25 Year Civil Service Medal with an eagle attached to it, I'm sure we could work out a deal on it if you're needing that device. PS - Nice looking two place bar!

I am so glad this topic got refreshed, I have photos of all of the Patton's awards on display at the Museum at Fort Knox so if you'd like to see them, please let me know! As for the Order of Kutuzov 1st Class, here you go!

Hi, the brass in this box (which is a lot nicer than most) is from at least post 1900. I would imagine someone bought some raw .45-70 lead and spent casings for reloading purposes and did this to keep the loops taut. Original Indian Wars era .45-70's will be copper cased, which partially contributed to the massacre of the 7th Cavalry at Little Big Horn. Early .45-70's are also rimfire in lieu of being boxer primed like these are. That is a very nice McKeever, so many of these are getting torn up over the years. Congrats on a nice pickup!

Hmm, at first I thought this was a Silver Star recipient, then I remembered that the France & Germany Star has identical ribbon to the US Silver Star. I would imagine the recipient was strictly in a non-combat role.

Ah, thank you for the information! Nice looking bar Don!

Hi Gary, I figured as such but with this hobby (and that medal in particular), anything goes. Hi Chris, I agree. I wonder who this man was?

Wow! That is one heck of a thread, judging by what I could gather from the thread, should the cross not have flames to be compatible for this bar? I will also have a check under the ribbon to see what the story is. Thanks for the lead!

Stellar collection! I has been dabbling in Finnish militaria lately after reading some fine books about the "Talvisota" and to start it off, I found a very rare example of a Finnish converted Russian M91 Mosin rifle. I am not here to hijack your thread, just haven't had many medals to run by (I recently bought a Continuation War medal that was issued in the 1960's). This is an impressive display of Finnish awards and a nice bit of knowledge to retain to boot. I look forward to updates!

Thank you so much for the info, I do find it odd that the Tyrol made it on there then. I will have to track down that MVO. In your opinion, what should that MVO look like? Thanks for the info, I have seen the "coin silver" FAM's before, but I don't know who any of the makers are.

After a local, advanced collection started to get parted out, I couldn't let these three pretties get away. All three had thick urethane on them (the collector who had them probably dipped these in the 1950' or so) and after a little acetone, they cleaned up to look like they do now. First, the two versions of the Boxer Rebellion Relief Medal, these were a sight more affordable than their American counterparts (which I still lack and will likely lack for quite a while). To cap it off, another Südwest Afrika Medaille, complete with a bit of Kaiser Centennial ribbon to bolster the mount. I had to be careful to not get any acetone close to the ribbon so it was done with a cotton swab, I'll complete the job eventually. Thanks for the views!

After perusing many of the great threads on here dedicated to the German States in the WWI era, I had to post this cross. It truly is a mutt IMO and cannot be specifically attributed to anyone other than Prussia, but if this bar could talk about who it's recipient was, it would have one heck of a story to tell. From what I can gather, this bar has the following: Prussian WWI War Merit Cross for War Aid (worn backwards) Prussian XV Year Service Medal - sadly the dye in the ribbon faded horribly. Südwest Afrika Colonial Service Medal (thankfully the gunk on this one is merely caked on, I'll clean it eventually) Württemberg Wilhelm Cross for War Merit Tyrol Service Medal Saxon Friedrich August Medaille - The ribbon is throwing me, is it for a different time period (Pre-WWI)? Thanks for looking!

My lone Bavarian Bar:

I figured I'd contribute a few pieces as well: Neither medal is rare, but to see them together is quite difficult to find. KVKII is marked 67 for H. Kreisel of Gablonz, the EK might be a Deschler (one of the many core varieties). Court Mounted, unmarked Wachtler & Lange EKII The humble Frontkampfer court mounted, curiously it appears it was mounted via clipping part of the backing plate to something. Not so commonly encountered solo mounted 18 Year Service Medal, I do also have two 4 Years (Luftwaffe and Heer) and a 12 year court mounted. I do also have a LW 40 Year Service Medal that is essentially mint, probably unissued. A bit battered (laundered) but still impressive 11 place Ribbon Bar, I'd love to know which Austrian Ribbon pertains to which medal. An uncommon combination of a Saxe-Coburg-Gotha medal involved with any TR era medals. It's nice to see some purple and green on a TR bar. This medal bar was wrapped in Saran wrap for many years (and many of the medals that came out of this collection also were dipped in heavy urethane, the 4 Year Service medal is no exception, the medals were also wrapped individually) so the ribbons maintained their color while some of the problems with the medals went unchecked. It's a shame the KVKII on this bar is zinc instead of bronze. I'll clean the gunk off of the 4 year eventually. Bulgarian, Hungarian, Prussian, Austrian and TR all in one. I do believe this bar has a 25 year service medal that has been placed in ersatz on it (or it was earned prior to 1923). It was placed backwards to highlight the XXV in lieu of the Imperial Cypher. I bought this one out of an older collection and this one was wrapped in Saran wrap for at least 30 years. It may explain the crispness of the ribbons. Please let me know of any concerns or comments! I love medal bars, they each can tell a story in their own special way.

I bought a Cased Commander Grade Vasa Orden last year (it was produced in the Gustav V era and was made by Carlmann, the official Court Jeweler of the Swedish Crown) for around $450 last year, I do think I got very lucky on that set. I wound up giving it to one of my friends who is Swedish and he treasures it very much. I am a big fan of the Order of the Sword and Order of the Polar Star, the Vasa Order is a beautiful award in its own right, but it is more of a non-military award.

This one looks okay, but clearer pictures would tell a better tale IMO.

Late WW2 to be precise too, the BS Case like this one is typical Late WW2-Post WW2 issue with the steel reinforcement plates in the top and bottom of the case. The Ribbon Bar looks to be post WW2 issue as does the lapel badge. The engraving is commercially done and well executed IMO (typical 1940's style as well, looks like it could be from an ad agency with that kind of kilter and font). I did find an Obituary for a Master Sgt. Thomas E. Davern of San Antonio, Texas who served in WW2, Korea and Vietnam. He was born in 1920 and passed away in 2009. The timeline for an award like this certainly could be possible, especially if he was a triple war veteran, the Oak Leaf cluster on a BSM is not uncommon for lifers. He is buried in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. Nice medal!

Terribly out of place thread bump, the two leftward medals on both rows are American Legion medals, I will ask my buddy who is in the Legion what they are for (if he knows). He is/was a big WWI collector.

Very nice set! The die pattern on the reverse of the OPW2 is a new one to me, but I really like it.

I hate to bear bad news, but this one is no good in my book. There are quite a few things about this badge that are incorrect for a period piece. I do hope you can get your money back. I'd be curious about the weight and dimensions of it though. Whomever made this badge at least made an attempt to give it more realistic age than most. Edit: I do believe this badge was cast from an original or possibly made with original tooling.

Looks to be a postwar S&L piece, well made but definitely not of the era.

Judging by the hardware, It wouldn't really be necessary to use such large pins on a CIB, but to look at this one, I suspect it was made by EF Weidmann.

Nice goggles for the Regimental commander! Great research and history as always, Igor.

This helmet is definitely a case for IV Corps service, I am at a loss for the O.H.B. as well (certainly could be initials). I will ask my WWI collector buddy to see what he thinks. OP, do you have any photos of the edges with the other paintings in more detail?

I think this might be a hat device from prior to WWI, I will have to check with some of my US insignia folks to be sure.