Carlo

As far as I know, the "alpacca silber" is just the mark that indicates the material of the bar, the alpacca, which is an alloy of copper, zinc and nickel.

I see some interesting pieces, beautiful collection!!

Many thanks!! Thanks graham!

Very interesting, I remembered the "A" mark on the rim was introduced in 1872, not 1867. Many thanks! The beauty of discussing with more experienced people is that you never stop learning!

Hello everyone, in this topic I wanted to show one of my few miniature chains with box. Precisely this is a chain made by Köchert of Vienna, marked with the lion's head, which indicates that it is made of 750 silver. Excluding the KTK, the chain and the miniatures seem to be of high quality compared to those made after the end of the Great War. What do you think? Carlo

Interesting, I didn't know that, thanks a lot!!

Wow! Many thanks for the info! To the eye and to the touch you can immediately see that it is a very old ribbon, but honestly I did not think so old! Thanks a lot!! Carlo

Yes, I also checked the unexposed areas, and the color is the same, just a little darker.

Hello everyone, with this topic I wanted to share this Signum Laudis in a small cardboard box, which as far as I know is from the Great War period. Do any of you have any similar pieces? I know this type of box existed in various colors, but I've never seen the others. Carlo

Hello everyone, I wanted to share with you my first additions to the collection, nothing special, they are 5 lapel rosettes, one with the miniature silver merit cross with crown, marked BSW; one with a miniature crown (I think it indicates the Signum Laudis medal) marked Raimund Schmidt Wien; one with the miniature of the Karltruppenkreuz, marked BSW; one with the bravery ribbon with "ne coupant pas le fil" written on the button; and the last one with the ribbon of the 1873 war medal, marked Rothe et Neffe Wien. Carlo

Hello everyone, I recently got this military merit cross with small decoration, but I have some doubts about the authenticity of the small decoration. The cross itself seems 100% original to me, but the small decoration doesn't convince me, it measures 13mm at its widest point, and is applied to the ribbon with two folded clasps on the back of the ribbon. The small decoration seems original too, but it's really small, all the others I've seen are bigger than this one. Any help from the more experienced is greatly appreciated! Carlo

Hello everybody, I've had this silver bravery medal 2nd class for a while and I've always wondered if the color of the ribbon was born as it is or its color is due to the effect of time. The medal is not marked on the rim, so as far as i know it was made before the mandatory hallmarking of 1872. As always, any help is greatly appreciated! Carlo

Hello everyone, today I want to show you my small collection of ribbons made of synthetic material, both in full size (trifold) and in reduced form for the field uniform. I've been looking for information on these pieces for a while, and for now I only know that they were produced by a small company at the beginning of the 1900s and that they were purchased privately as an alternative to the classic silk ribbons. I was wondering if any of you have any in your collection or have any info to give me about this type of ribbon, any help is greatly appreciated! Carlo

Hello everyone, today I want to show a particular piece from my collection: an officer service cross for 25 years of military service with mother-of-pearl inlay on the back. In particular, this cross is marked on the ring with Diana's head and the number 2 without the letter, which places it before 1872. It is also marked GR (Gebr. Resch) on the back of the ribbon ring and AAA on the rim of the ribbon ring. I'm not sure what the AAA mark means, having never seen it on other decorations, maybe someone who knows more than me knows what it means. As far as I know marked crosses are quite rare, do any of you have any in your collection? I've searched a lot but I've never seen anything like it. Carlo

Many thanks!!!!

Hello everyone, I recently bought this Marianerkreuz and I wanted to ask some opinion from the more experienced. The cross is contained in a box marked Gebr. Resch, but the cross itself is not marked (no maker's mark and no silver marks), consequently I am not sure of the manufacturer, is there any detail by which the manufacturer can be identified? Apart from this, any other information about this cross is very welcome!! Many thanks in advance! Carlo