Troy Tempest

Sorry if this is listed somewhere else, I typed in german sports badge but couldn't find a specific thread listed. I received my DRA bronze today, and was wondering if anyone could give me the correct German name for it please? Thanks gents!

Okay, I take it from Tim that Warren is an honest guy who probably has been taken by the French dealer, so I sent him this reply:

Hi Warren, it sounds like you're having a lot of interest in your Resch & Sohn EK mate, I just hope you haven't been burnt by your French dealer. I still can't find anything on a maker called Resch & Sohn, and the makers number on the pin, I can't be sure if it's a 25 or a 26 doesn't correspond to a maker called Resch & Sohn. I checked a listing of makers marks I found through the internet, that use numbers instead of letters or names, and the number 25 is for the maker known as Arbeitsgemeinshaft der Graveur, Gold und Silberschmeide-Innengun from Hanau, and the maker number 26 is for B H Mayer from Pforzheim. Is it possible the French guy is pulling your leg?

troy

Much as I thought it was wrong to take $106AU for a HK, as someone who has been burnt myself, I don't want to see him get taken. If he bought this as genuine, he probably paid a lot for it, which is not fair. Out of interest, has anyone heard of the French dealer called medaille-medailles? Stay tuned...

Hi Steve, I wan't sure if it was a 25 or a 26, do you know what maker used the number 25? Just to be sure!

Hi Nexos! I was wondering about that as well, does that number actually correspond with a real maker of German awards? Would it be Resch & Sohn by any chance!

I don't know where to source a list of all the makers of the HK, I'm already up to 18. I will post all my medals once they are photographed properly. I know I keep saying this, but it is going to happen!

Hi Hunyadi, I have no plans whatsoever to buy the Resch & Sohn EK! I don't have plans to spend $800 on anything at the moment! If I did, I would most certainly check in here first! And yes Hunyadi, my Hindenburg Cross collection grows! As there were so many million made, I'm pretty sure they are not worthy of being faked, is that fair enough? I'm going to try to get one of each maker of all three classes of the HK.

Okay, I have the reply from the seller of the Resch & Sohn 1870 EK, quite lengthy but unfortunately no imformation on the maker 'Resch & Sohn' as I requested. Better open those cheque books up gentlemen, this medal is apparently worth a looooooooot of money!

spitfire_ace_68@westnet.com.au to meshow details 21 Sep (1 day ago) <script>Hi Troy,

I picked this cross up from a French militaria seller in France who

runs a website called medaille-medailles. He has some excellent stuff

listed there, and is quite the expert.

I will be lsiting this cross around late November this year again, as

I have had a lot of interest in it. Seems the time difference when

the auction ended meant that everyone was either asleep or having

dinner when it ended here Saturday morning!

I thought this way would be fairer on all the people who've emailed

me, even a chap in Japan who wanted it for $1100!

I hope this fair outcome is palatable for everyone.

As I mentioned in the listing, there is one Australian seller who was

knocking off these EK1 1870 copies here a few years ago. His user

name on ebay was a1originals. After I exposed him as a copy and

reproduction fraud, he changed his name to elitemilitaria. If you

check out his items even today, they are just cheap repros. The guy

hardly sells a thing that is original, it's either a fake from Poland

(1957 knights crosses) or a repro from the states (US Purple Heart).

I think that you have even realised that all the items in my lsitings

and auctions is, as we'd say in Australia, 'Ridgy didge' - correct.

Thanks,

Warren

I must say though, I am somewhat alarmed at his statements about elitemilitaria. I have bought a few things from him, because I like the fixed prices, but according to spitfire ace 68, I've just bought fakes and repros! I did buy one of the boxed Purple Hearts, would that be true that mine is an American repro does anyone think? Some people have told me that his prices are a bit high, and another GMIC member thought his medal bars were either too expensive or possibley put together recently, but nobody has said his stuff is fake or repro. That does have me a tad worried now. Still, I'd better start saving hard to beat the Japanese collector who was offering $1100AU for the Resch & Sohn 1870 EK!

Hi again! I'm stringing this guy on to see where this leads! Here is my reply to his statement about Resch & Sohn being the maker of his 1870 EK:

Troy Tempest to spitfire_ace_68show details 07:03 (0 minutes ago)

Hi Warren, thanks for your reply! I am very interested in your 1870 EK, but $800 is a lot of money for me, so I need to be sure of what I'm getting you understand! I've been caught out before buying eastern European copies in the past, so I am trying to learn as much about these old EKs as I can. I was told that Deschler & Sohn never made an 1870 EK, and that the makers mark on the back of yours could have been a bad one from a known source of copies. I was relieved to find out that it was not Deschler & Sohn, but in fact Resch & Sohn, so that's good to know!

As I said, I don't know as much about medals as you do, so I appreciate your knowledge about such things! I have, however, been unable to find anything on this maker, I can find no mention of Resch & Sohn in any articles on the internet about makers of German awards. Would you be able to tell me something about Resch & Sohn please? As I said, I'd be happy to pay $800 for this, as long as I am satisfied that it is genuine! Thanks again Spitfire Ace 68!

Troy

Stay tuned.....

Wow Naxos, is that the second longest medal name ever? Thanks for that!

Hello again all, I received this today, and was just checking that the description was correct for my ever expanding files! It was labelled WWI German Honorary Commemorative Medal of the German Legion of Honour. It was apparently awarded by the Council of the Order of the Union of Nationalist Soldiers to men or women who served the Fatherland during and after WWI.

Thanks again Gents!

I sent a message to the guy selling the "Deschler & Sohn" 1870 EK, saying I was interested, but that I'd done a bit of research, and asked him about whether or not Deschler & Sohn actually made 1870 EK's, and here is the reply he gave me:

Hi,

The maker was in fact Resch & Sohn, rather than Deschler & Sohn as

you mentioned. Hope this helps you out.

Warren

Is this a newly discovered maker?

Thanks yet again Alex!

Thanks Biro! I was also looking at some more Hindenburg Crosses today on ebay, and saw a 1813 Iron Cross, have you seen it? He claims it is in Gordon Williamson's book, but it doesn't have a date or crown on the front, it's just a plain Iron Cross. He says it had to be sown onto a uniform, it doesn't have a pinback. Does that sound right? I certainly can't afford anything like that at the moment, but I was intrigued by this 1813 EK. I am the first to admit I don't know much about EKs, but I was always under the impression they had a date on them. Here are the pictures:

Hi Greg! So what is the give away with this one? Is it that Deschler and Sohn didn't make any 1870 EKIs or is that partial stamping of the makers mark the give away or what?

Okay Mike and dond, thanks for that! I actually posted this for a new collector. I am currently buying Hindenburg Crosses, I have 18 now, with 9 more on the way. While I have learned not to go crazy at ebay auctions (took a while!), I now don't bid more than 10 euros or $15US for Hindenburg Crosses, I've actually bought plenty for less than that, got one for $6US! I put a bid on one for $18AU, and missed it. I couldn't believe that it went for, get this, $106AU! That has got to be a world record for a Hindenburg Cross! Now, as you helpful blokes know, I'm certainly no expert, but I did know that this was crazy, and felt the urge to contact the winner and tell him not to pay it.

I explained what I buy, and my limited knowledge and experience, and how much Hindenburg Crosses go for, and advised him to just not pay it. As he only has a history of 8 purchases on ebay, even if he got a bad feedback, he could just start a new account, it's not like he's losing hundreds of feedbacks if he just ditched the current account he has. I have bought one item from the seller of this 1870 EKI, a Kyfh?sserbund medal, the first one I ever bought. I now have three, but paid way too much for the one I got from this seller. The photo showed some ribbon, and I assumed it would have a full ribbon, but it has about 1" either side of the ribbon ring. Grrrr! I have since bought two more from dealers, and got some ribbon from another dealer, and combined, the two with ribbon cost me less than the one with the tiny amount of ribbon.

The winner of the Hindenburg Cross thanked me for my advice and asked about collecting militaria. Naturally I directed him here! (and the GCA site), and gave him the addresses of some dealers I have had good service from, and told him to join up here and to feel free to ask the GMIC brains trust for help. He then sent me the message about the 1870 EKI, so not knowing anything (yet) about EKs, I posted the photos here for him. He is keen to get into collecting militaria, and I'm sure he will make a fine member of GMIC, I shall pass on the kind advice you have provided!

When I get the photos of all my collection, I shall be glad to repost them all here, especially as many of you have helped me correctly name the items I've bought! Thanks again!

Hi Gentlemen! I saw this on ebay, from a dealer with good reviews, what do you think? Started at $800AU but no bids.

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Thanks again gents!

Thanks for that dond and wildcard, I didn't know that about the Victory Column and the French.

I think 10 dollar is a good price, in my country(the netherlands which is next to Belgium) you can buy it for about 5 or 6 euro, sometimes even 10 euro, so 10 US dollar doesn't look to bad for a country that far away.

Hi Roeland, that's good to know. $10US is about $12AU, and 5 or 6EU is about $8 or $10AU. By the way the ones I bought off you are great!

Hi Veteran! Do you mean the cross can be bought for 15 euros or the palms or stars can be bought for 15 euros please? Thanks!

Hi Hannibal, I am getting all my medals photographed, and will repost some better pictures soon. The ones I've posted are the ones supplied by the seller, and I realize that they are not the best. Shouldn't be too long now! I've bought nearly 100 medals and badges in the last three months and I want to get some nice photos of them all, and then I'll post the lot. Thanks for your reply!

Hello again, could someone please tell me the correct German name for this medal please?

Thanks again gentlemen of GMIC!

Hi Ed, thanks for that link, that's another militaria site I can pursue! I'd never heard of it before, so I've learned something else again.

Hi Ed, thanks again for reminding me about omsa!

Thanks again for reminding me about omsa Ed, I will endevour to spend some more time over there!

Excellent Ed! Thanks mate!