sambolini

WOW! Thanks for the thread I did not realize he was still alive. Rick's musings on alternative history lines has always intriqued me as well. To go back even further; What if Kaiser Friedrich had not passed away from throat cancer, maybe no WW1 at all and perhaps a constitutional monarchy in Germany similar to Englands...... Regards, Sam

Hi Rick, All the hard work that goes into translating the award rolls is greatly appreciated. You must be almost blind from this and thinking of Sutterlin as your native writing by now. P.S. Will any of this info be published anytime in the near future? Regards, Sam

Surely you jest. Regards, Sam

Hi, Really nice bars with awards not seen too often mounted. Excellent bar in post #5, beautiful patina on the Reuss Merit Medal. Regards, Sam

Hi, Those fellas are wearing some nice medal bars. Sam

Hi Rick, Good point, The Saxons did often favor the triangular ribbon attachment of their Austrian neighbors, but I thought even then they usually mounted them. Perhaps not as often as I first thought. Sam

Hi, I agree with Rick, Wachtmeister, and I would think cavalry with the boots/sword. Regards, Sam

Hi, Thanks for posting this very informative article link. Regards, Sam K.

Hi, That is a really nice pre war rack. It's hard to believe he missed out on everything, i.e. China, SWA, not even recalled to WWI. Is there any information on his post military career ? He lived a looooooong time after retirement (97!!!). Hopefully all the regime changes this guy lived through continued to pay his pension and his descendents still have that nice bar. Sam

Uh... it does make no sense... but there he was, wearing it!

Hi Rick, Thanks for posting these photos. I really like seeing "oddball" awards in wear. These photos often show real oddities, such as the multiple L.S. awards and sometimes home made looking bars that would today be called fakes or "put together " (in reference to the bar in post #2 link). Regards, Sam

Hi, Interesting photos. I'm no expert, but the insignia in the first photo look like one of the post war ad hoc fighting units i.e. Frei Korps , Brigade Earhardt, etc. I also think the photo with the gentleman at cards is interesting. ( note the balloon recognition chart on the wall behind them). Thanks for posting. Regards, Sam

Hi, I have to agree with Rick on this one. I've seen the prices for these go through the roof in just the last seven years or so. although not as sought after as the Godet, I bought my first off ebay back in 2000 for US $ 55.00 (BB&Co). You could get them at that price all day long. Go figure?! Regards, Sam

Hi, I take it from the discussion here that these "Kammerherrenschl?ssel" were worn as a symbol of office. What exactly was the office and the duties reqiuired of the bearer? Regards, Sam

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks Rick, Sam

Hi Rick, That's one great ribbon bar even without the I. D., now it's priceless. I see from his career history he was awarded "Charakter als Konteradmiral". I'm not familar with the term "Charakter". Is this an honorary promotion or a retirement bump? Regards, Sam

Hi, Rick, you mentioned something I thought odd as well: the American practice of making "ribbon only" awards. I spent many years in the Marine Corps and noticed this and thought it odd even then. Lo these many years later my oldest son joined the army (he spent 18 months in Iraq) and it seemed that this ribbon only thing was even worse. It can't be an economy thing because U.S medals are just barely above soviet medals in quality. Very strange. Sam

Fantastic lesson Rick. Greatly appreciated. I just love the history behind these bars. Regards, Sam

Holy cow! Unbelievable how you gentleman do this. Regards, Sam P. S. Great bar. Did he receive his Schaumburg-Lippe Honor Cross and Merit medal as an enlisted man? I've always thought these types of awards affiliated with orders were given to senior enlisted/civilian equivalent ranks.

Hi, That's a Wurttemburg campaign medal, I believe each was different( on the reverse the number of campaigns are in the shield, i.e. zwei, drei, etc)) depending on the number of campaigns the recipient participated in. What does the shield on the reverse read? Some are worth quite a bit. Regards, Sam

Hi, Welcome to the forum. I've visited your excellent web site in the past and it's good to have another knowledgeable person to keep us rookies from making costly mistakes. Thanks for joining and I hope your illness is short lived. Kind regards, Sam K.

Greetings Ivan, Thank you for the link and the ID. The link provided lead to a website with photos of this award. It is very impressive and the construction looks extremely complicated and labor intensive. Thanks again, Sam For Seeheld: below is the shot you requested, At first I thought there were no swords present, but it looks like there might be. The swords location appears "darker". Regards, Sam

Close up:

Hi, Picked up this Photo of Field Marshall Von Moltke recently. Have any members ever seen the "round" star on his uniform breast? I've never seen one and was curious as to what it is. Regards, Sam

Wow, That is a beautiful bar, congratulations. Hopefully Rick can come up with something for you. To a novice like myself it would seem a bar like this would be instantly ID'able, but as the saying goes and I'm learning, "the devil is in the details". Sam K.