Hello Mr. Erman,
my book will be released next year. It still needs a little work on it. Old German professional quality. I am thinking about translate and release it in English too with the publishing company. Until then it's still a secret ... the title too.
Over many years I created a archive, a collection and a great typology for all the graduations of originals and also listed ALL fakes. That will be a help for all the collectors.
Your 2nd question: Yes, there were (and there are out in the world) 2 types of the original Ottoman made Turkish War Medal. In your book and also in Nikolajew's book there was nothing said about that. Did you really never noticed the 2 various types? Of course I can post photos of the two types but I do not want to until my book is finished. I know you'll notice the typical difference between the 2 various types for your own because you are a sincere Turk and you maybe love the original Ottoman Turkish types as I do.
You did a great job with your book! It's small but a really good introduction. The best on market! There are just a few little mistakes. Even Nikolajew's book is much more extensive, your book is for a thousand times better than Nikolajew's book! Nikolajew made hundreds of mistakes in his book. Also his typology is extremly chaotic and he misinterpreted types and makers of the Turkish War Medal ...
Once there was a discussion about who was the maker behind the marking "B. B. & Co." and the embarrassing guess that it could be the company that is working as "Gebrüder Binder GmbH" today. You asked who has proven it, right? I did! I called the managing director some time ago. I did it just for fun and for falsification of ALL collectors myths, because I knew that it's totally wrong! The company "Gebrüder Binder GmbH" was founded 30 years ago by one of the actual managing directors. This information should be enough. Also: There never was a company named "Gebrüder Binder & Co." in Lüdenscheid.
Mr. Erman, you also asked whether the Germans used the letter type of "&" and the abbreviation of "Co." in Company names. Yes, of course we did. We did this for a long time. Mainly and in extreme numbers from 1890 until the 1940s. After WWII the abbreviation of "Co." no longer was a official abbreviation in commercial law for company names here in Germany. If we find it in German company names today, it is only a part of an old companys tradition but not legally any more. "Co." don't mean "Company", it means "Compagnie". It's a Romance element in old German business language. In English it means "cronies", "business partners" or "other business owners". The letter type of "&" has a looooog tradition in German language, especially in commercial communication. In Germany it is even called the "Kaufmanns-Und".
For any more contact I would be glad about a private message.
For Emperor and Sultan! Sincerely
ABTOMAT