laurentius

Dear Megan I would expect atleast a mark for the silver and the gold since the grandcross is made from silver-gilt and gold. Perhaps you are right about the foreign-made commisioned piece, seems like a viable option. Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear fellow collectors I recently came across this beautiful piece up for auction at auctionhouse Carsten Zeige from Hamburg. Although my collection-area is Germany in WW1 I also have an interest in WW2 awards and awards from different European states, since there was a lot of cross-awarding between states (germans like Max Becker, Ernst zu Lippe-Weißenfeld and Franz von Chauvin received the award for example despite the fact that the order is not-german). When researching this cross I saw a lot of examples, but not a single one of them had their swords crossed in this bavarian style (MVO for example). Other pieces I saw had their swords crossed between the arms. At Emedals I found the same class with the swords crossed in the regular way. Could any of you give me some info on this piece, and on whether it is authentic? I will attach some examples. Kind regards and thanks in advance, Laurentius

Dear Dond I went around the web again and this time I also found a lot with and a lot without the Umlaut. Maybe a variation. But that still doesn't explain the detail on the leaves on your piece and the thickness of the cross. It's becoming more and more interesting. Perhaps some other collectors want to join in on this conversation? Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear fellow collectors I agree with Ixhs, the first piece lacks a lot of quality, the tugra is terrible, and so is the islamic numeral Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear Dond I would advice against smashing this piece with a hammer. The Hohenzollern cross was given out to all kinds of royalty in europe and beyond. Perhaps this was a replacement piece made by a jeweler in Great-Britain or in France, people who would not know exactly how to spell german words. Is there a makermark visible anywhere on the piece? Let's wait and hear some other opinions before you smash this piece into pieces. Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear Dond I don't trust the piece, it looks too thick (as you already mentioned). There is also no maker mark, the 'für' should be 'fur' and I miss a staggering amount of detail on the leaves below the Hohenzollern coat of arms. Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear Eurorders I would advice you not to buy the bar with the silezian eagle, it gives me a funny vibe for some reason. For example, the red eagle (a peace-time order) is placed in front of 2 wartimes order (Hanseatic cross and Silezian eagle). Another problem with this bar is the fact that there is a prussian cross for 15 years of service, which was only given out between 1913 and 1918. A red eagle order was only given out to officers. It would seem weird to me that he would receive an soldier/NCO service cross and a red eagle order only given to officers, and often only after a long time of service. Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear Herman For as far as I can see there are atleast 2 fake bars, and some more bars of which I am not entirely sure. Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear Dond It could also be the 1870 version of the Kreuz für treue Dienste. Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear Dond A nice non-combattant bar, but I don't think that it is a navy bar, there is no FA-cross, and also no hanseatic-crosses. Nice bar nonetheless, wonder what this veteran did during the war. Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear ostprussenman_new Would do you mean by fabricating things? Do you mean fabricating stories or fabricating pieces? I have heard from some people that he makes uniforms which he sells as originals, but I have never seen solid proof of that, opposed to the other things he is known for. Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear Pep I know of cases going as far as 1957 of veterans buying PLM's. The last living recipient of a military PLM is ernst Jünger, who passed away in 1998. So it is most certainly possible that a piece made in the 30's was worn by a veteran of the first world war, this replica sold by weitze might even have been worn by a veteran, it certainly has some damage here and there that can account for that. All I'm saying is is that buying an expensive replica is a bad idea, and that it is better to wait untill you can buy a genuine piece. You never know what the future brings. Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear Pep In my honest opinion buying a replica is a waste of money. I'm not really a fan of Weitze, whether it's his prices, the selling of fakes as genuine pieces or the fact that he splits groups. Paying 1650 euro for a replica is a waste of money, you can get 10 EK1's or 6 BMVO4X's for that kind of money. Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear fellow collectors Here are my shoulderboards. They belonged to an OberLeutnant in the 33th prussian Feldartillerie-regiment ( 1. Lothringisches). Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear alex K That is the order of the crown with swords 4th class. That also explains his crownorder 3rd class with swords on the ring, which were given to any peace-time award which followed a wartime award. Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear Trooper_D As soon as I get home I will take some pictures of the back. The purpose of the miniature shows that one has a higher grade of the order without wearing it. For example at the front officers would only wear a few medals, opposed to the vienna ball. If you only wear 2 or 3 medals you have to show people you also received higher grades, which was done with little devices like these. Another reason might be that an officer could get wounded resulting in damage to a medal, if a medal is damaged you can't wear it anymore. A cross 3rd class with a miniature are cheaper to replace than a cross 1st class. Small devices are not limited to this order, or even limited to the Austro-Hungarian empire. Examples of these small miniatures can also be found on the hungarian order of St.Stephen and the order of the Iron Crown. I have also seen examples of german ribbonbars with miniatures of the grandcrosses or of the commanderscrosses. I will attach a few examples for you. Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear fellow collectors I recently bought this piece, an Austrian Military Merit Cross 3rd class by Friedrich Rothe from vienna. I had been looking for a piece like this so when it came along for a rather good price I didn't hesitate for a single moment. Another extra on this piece was the miniature of the 1.st class on the trifold, which looks very nice and detailed. After talking to several austrian WW1 collectors one of them told me this piece could be from the former Fattovich collection from Venice and that it might be featered in Mericka's book "Orden und Ehrenzeichen der Oesterreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie". I personally do not own this book and I wondered if any of the austrian collectors might have some pictures for me? All help would be greatly appreciated. I will attach a file with the picture of my Austrian MCC. Kind regards and thanks in advance, Laurentius

Dear Chris Both of the red cross awards are from the weimar era, which explains the lack of a crown. Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear fellow collectors I think it has become time for me to make some contributions here. Firstly here is my Military Merit Cross 3rd class with wardecoration with a miniature for the cross 1.st class attached. Secondly my small bar with an Iron cross 2nd class and a MCC 3rd class, also with wardecoration. Both my crosses are manufactered by ´FR´, Rothe from Vienna. Kind regards

Dear spolei Does that mean that a king Ludwigcross had to be given back after a soldier received a MVO? Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear Seeheld Quite an attribution to your collection Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear fellow collectors A good price, a bit too high for me but a good price. I hope the new owner is a member of this forum so we'll get to see more of it. Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear Dedehansen Thanks for the heads-up. Although Ebay is known for their medals (and not in a good way) this bar seems to be good, or am I mistaken in this case? Kind regards, Laurentius

Dear fellow collectors A friend of mine has been offered this medalbar for sale, he asked me for my opinion and when I saw the pictures I was fairly certain I had seen it before and if I'm not mistaken it was here on GMIC. Does anyone remember? Kind regards and thanks in advance, Laurentius

Dear Chris Could you elaborate on what the Klein and Quenzer theory is? Kind regards and thanks in advance, Laurentius