Wild Card

I will see what I can do - it may take some time. Thank you, Wild Card

MGS medal.

The Bar.

Gentlemen, I don't know if this one is any good or not. Best wishes, Wild Card

Waterloo Medal.

Gentlemen, Having covered most of the formats of the Napoleonic campaign medals, I will finish with something quite different. At the risk of violating forum rules, I would to present two British (Gasp!!!) medals; but first, some background. During the Napoleonic Wars, the British army contained ten regiments and six battalions known as the King?s German Legion (KGL). These units were fully integrated into the British table of organization; and when the British Waterloo medal and Military General Service medals were instituted, the men in the KGL were eligible on a basis equal to their British counterparts. The Waterloo medal was founded on 18 June 1815. It was awarded to anyone who took part and all soldiers present and was the first campaign medal awarded to the next of kin of men killed in action. Through the tireless efforts of The Duke of Richmond, the Military General Service medal was founded on 1 June 1847. It very much follows the theme of the Baden award presented above in that it consists of a standard medal and appropriate bars; but in this case the bars represent victorious battles from 1793 to 1814, rather than years. Although there was a total of twenty-nine bars, with many of them representing victories in places such as Egypt, Malta and North America, the men of the KGL were eligible for seventeen of them. There were two men who received the highest number of bars (15) to an individual, one of whom, Daniel Loochstadt, served in both the 60th (British) regiment and the KGL. True to British custom, both medals have the recipient?s name and unit impressed on the rim. Below are examples of each - a Waterloo medal to Pte. Henry Sondmacher of the 4th Line Batt. K.G.L. and a Military General Service medal with eight bars to Friederich Neumann of the 2nd Line Batt., K.G.L.

Commander?s star to the Hannoverian Ernst August Order.

Gentlemen, I would have to choose this commander?s star to the Hannoverian Ernst August Order. I had admired it for some fifteen years plus while it was in the collection of a very close friend and purchased it when it came up for auction during this past year. It is marked to Carl B?sch and is the only genuine example I have seen outside of the museum in Hannover. Best wishes, Wild Card

Hi Stogie, My first impression was that it looked "awfully fresh"; but beyond that and the suspect ?se, there were two other things. Now, it may be the lighting; but it looks to me that the outer ring (rim) of the center medallion between the arms at twelve and three o?clock has a flat spot and the inner ring between eight and eleven o?clock appears a bit wobbly. Such a flat spot is characteristic of copies which have been around for quite a few years. Am I seeing another one here? Best wishes, Wild Card

Waldeck Napoleonic campaign medal.

In 1850, Waldeck joined the party by issuing a decoration for her surviving veterans of the Napoleonic campaigns. This one is also worth a mention because, again, it shows a unique approach. This medal shows the royal cypher on the obverse and a laurel/sword pattern on the reverse within which is engraved or impressed the appropriate year(s) for the individual recipient. It is worth noting that this medal was again used in 1862 to honor the veterans of 1849, with that date engraved on the reverse. Following is a Napoleonic campaign award with the dates 1813 and 1815. Wild Card

1815 Anhalt-K?then medal.

Following with our theme. In 1818 Anhalt-Bernburg instituted it?s decoration for the Napoleonic campaigns. In the style of this medal it?s sister state, iin 1839 Anhalt-K?then, introduced it?s medal(s) which is also made of blackened iron. Aside from the royal cypher on the obverse, the main difference between the two is that the Anhalt-Bernburg medal took a ?one size fits all? approach by showing the years 1814-1815 while Anhalt-K?then produced a series of seven medals, showing the appropriate year, or combination thereof, for the individual recipient. Following are pictures of an 1815 medal from Anhalt-K?then. Best wishes, Wild Card

Baden 1809-10 bar.

Gentlemen, Because the concept of campaign medals was quite new at this time, the several states, once caught up in the spirit of the cause, tended to take some different approaches. One of the most unique and, in my opinion, pleasing examples came from Baden, which awarded a medal with a bar, or bars, on the ribbon signifying by year the appropriate campaign(s). This field service decoration (medal) was instituted in 1839 and was awarded through 1871. There were seventeen bars awarded with this medal - eleven of them for the Napoleonic campaigns. Following is an example with a bar for the campaigns of 1809-10 which has been posted before; but it seems appropriate to show it again here. Best wishes, Wild Card

Daniel, That is a very nice pair (post #25). Is that Red Eagle a full sized or reduction piece? Also, can you tell me what the difference is between the Prussian medals with the rounded end cross arms and the squared ones? Best wishes, Wild Card

Just having some fun - Wild Card (and his darned minis)

Gentlemen, How about this one?

David Gregory, Thank you. Your suggestion, a totally new theory, makes as much sense as any I've heard so far. Best wishes, Wild Card

Gentlemen, I would like to point out that this ribbon (sort of) appears again among Imperial German decorations. For some inexplicable reason, the impossibly rare Brunswick 1827 officers 25 year long service cross has this ribbon reversed, so it comes out blue, white and red in a 40 mm width. I have always been intrigued by this ribbon because it does not fit in with any of the other Brunswick ribbon color patterns - blue/yellow and red/yellow. Also, while it obviously emulates the French tricolor pattern, the Brunswickers were among the fiercest enemies of Napoleons armies. Unlike many other German states, Brunswick never had any alliances with the French. Any ideas out there? Wild Card

Silver merit cross to the Hannoverian Ernst August Order

Gentlemen, For this thread, I would like to present a silver merit cross to the Hannoverian Ernst August Order. I suppose that you could consider it to be rare in that there were fifty awards of this decoration - far fewer than the higher knight?s crosses The main reason that I chose this piece, though, is that Claudio?s post #2, the Lippe-Detmold merit cross, offers us an excellent opportunity to compare the two. It has long been speculated that they are identical except for the center medallions. Since both were, as I understand it, made by Carl B?sch, this is a very likely possibility. Best wishes, Wild Card

Agreed! Wild Card

Bar to the Brunswick horseholder.

Gentlemen, Following is what I guess would be a bar to the Brunswick horseholder. There are two things about this bar to which I would like to direct your attention. Most obvious is the presence of the medal to both the Red Eagle and (Prussian) Crown Orders. Second is the Russian medal (third from right); or more importantly, its ribbon. I have seen many discussions on ribbon bars with this ribbon, where it is automatically assumed that the ribbon goes to a Lippe decoration; which, while possible, even most likely, is not as you can see here, a given. Best wishes, Wild Card