Les

Jake Tapper's book "The Outpost" is a two part history of why a base was established there despite all of the negative aspects of it's location beginning in 2005, and the early attempts of the 10th Mountain to establish battalion size or larger Coalition unit presence in the province, and start pacifying parts of the Korengal Valley. For those who don't want to read a full length book on Outpost Keating and the Battle of Kamdesh, there is a Wiki article that summarizes why the outpost was established and held despite it's obvious problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kamdesh

"I think Britain never wanted war. But if the Brits had done proper analysis of the 1912-13 Balkans wars, they should have started preparing and by 1914 would have been in a different position." There are several historial details suggesting Britain was not adverse to planning for a war with Germany as early as 1902, and there are historical facts suggesting thoughts about a war was seen differently by the British "senior" and "junior" services. There was planning and financial expenditures made by the two services, however, the British government itself did not have a unified outlook on how the navy and army together would be engaged in a potential European war. The Anglo-Japanese agreements of 1902, and re-iterated in 1911, effectively allowed Britain to let the Japanese navy stand in for British interests in the northern Pacific, and to readjust British fleet disposition elsewhere (with a view towards building up the Home Fleet vis-a-vis German naval buildups). Britain -always- maintained greater interests in having a large navy which takes much longer and requires far more money to build, and can't be done in the "two years" required to turn out an infantry-man. If you look at the naval arms expenditures among the European powers (and that includes Britain and the Empire), the "Fisher" and admiralty maxim of mainting a two to one supremacy over the combined strengths of the next two largest navies if they ever combined against Britain, suggests that Britain was not about to be unprepared in a sea-war. Even in the matter of land wars after 1815, Britain's interests in the army were traditionally aimed at small armies and forces needed for colonial wars. There was a tendancy to think that European wars on the continent itself should be left to the states on the continent to do most of the actual land warfare while Britain kept watch on what she considered her primary interests...the sea lanes. Henry Wilson, began planning for British participation in a possible European land-war, as early as 1906. In 1910 he became Director of Military Operations at the British War Office. Secret Anglo-French Staff talks had begun in 1906, but now gathered impetus in 1910, when Wilson became direcor of Military Ops at the War Office. Wilson advocated the landing of a British Expeditionary Force in France in case of German attack, and in July 1911 held secret talks with General Dubail (French Chief of Staff) and Adolphe Messimy (French War Minister). The French called the Expeditionary Force “l’Armee Wilson” although they seem to have been left with an inflated idea of the size of commitment which Britain would send. Between 1906-1912, Wilson was a constant visitor to France and the low countries, studying potential routes for troop movements, consideration of where troops could be based/billeted/deployed, etc. The BEF plans put into effect in 1914, were not a spur of the moment plan, but the result of years of Wilson's considered planning and high-level talks with members of the French political and military establishments. The underlying point here, is that it takes much more time and money to maintain and expand a traditional blue water navy if needed in a war against a rapidly expanding European naval rival, than an army, particularly if Britain can use and rely on other allied European armies to provide the ground forces. A trained infantryman might not be made over night, but then neither is a battleship and British military and political thinking at the time relied on British sea power to preserve the Empire, arguably more than the small number of Tommies in the pre-war establishment of 1902-1914.

Comparing figures isn't always a case of comparing apples to apples, which the article/book implies. There are several important differences that are not mentioned, and comparisons across the board (the other Allies) that are overlooked by people who tend to see battles, the war, and other conflicts through nationalistic eyes. The last hundred days of WWI are worth study, but what happened should be seen as part of an overall Allied (and Associate Powers) strategy implimented by Generalissimo of the Armies, Ferdinand Foch. This part gets overlooked, or worse, flatly ignored because it doesn't support the current thinking among BEF/CEF proponents of how they think the Anglo speaking armies developed their military capabiliies during the war. During the waning days of the German 1918 offensives, Foch was appointed "Generalissimo" of the Armies. Foch's plan was very simple and direct, but not one sucessefully used prior to that time. Starting with the Allied counter-offesnive at the Marne in 1918, Foch ordered ALL of the Allied and American armies in the field to begin preparing for simultaneous offensives all along the line, which would "pin" German divisions in place, and prevent the Germans from being able to shuffle divisions from one hot spot to another as had been done in the past. He knew that unrelenting pressure would drain German reserves, and the entire line would start cracking, and the front would move. He was correct in his thinking, and was able to orchestrate the almost simultaneous pressure along the entire German front because unlike earlier Allied commanders in the war, there was an actual single commander at the top who had the authority to develop strategic plans among the various armies under his overall command. Comparing divisions to divisions, doesn't work for a couple of reasons. During the war, the Allies and Germans changed the sizes of their divisions and this resulted in the numbers of men in units were not always the same or comparable. German divisions during the last part of 1918, could be on the order of 5000 men or less. American divisions on the other hand could be as large as 20 thousand or more men. There is also the matter of how good or effective units were in combat. They were not all the same. German divisions ran the gamut of units that were rated little better than trench lline holdlers, and others that were ranked as top notch assault units, and many were in between. The comparisons of divisions to divisions, almost never state what the Germans units were, their fighting capabilities, etc. German units were routinely rotated in and out of line to avoid being completely ground down and requiring long periods of refitting and retraining. A unit might be pulled out of line for routine replacement and redeployment, and that should not be taken to mean the unit was "destroyed" or "defeated" as period or current accounts often state. "Beaten", "defeated" etc are strong words that are not always accurate. During the last hundred days, the Germans knew the Americans were planning an offensive in the Meuse-Argonne, and intentionally sent many of their best units there to prevent a brakthrough there, and to protect the vital rail junctions not far to the rear and close to Metz. An Allied/American breakthrough in that area could result in the rail junctions that ran from there, almost all along the French-German border and was used to supply the rear areas of the German army in France, would threaten the entire German position in France, and by extension the entire war effort there. The American army during the Meuse-Argonne was relatively new, had much to learn, and was facing experienced German units in an area that had been occupied and fortified for four years to protect the vital rail and communications area less 30 to 50 miles in the rear. The Germans fought hard, and knew they couldn't give ground or trade for time as they were doing elsewhere along the front. Figures of how many miles advanced as proof of anything? Perhaps not. The French army is almost never mentioned for it's participation in the last hundred days of the war, yet from the start of the Marne counter-offensive in July 1918 through November 1918, the French army also fought in continuous offensives against the Germans and advanced all the time, from the Marne, along the BEF/CEF, Americans, and other Allied contingents, to the German border. Pull out a map, and look at the distance and amount of territory re-taken. If BEF/CEF focused writers included that information in their "statistics" the French figures would put the other figures in a diferent light. Get some of the points? If anyone wants me to continue, I'm more than willing. The full story of the "100 days" is too often seen from a very narrow, and almost always from a nationalistic perspective and to get a better understanding of what happened (and why), what -all- of the other armies were doing, the importance of Foch and his principle of unified command and a single strategy of unrelenting attacks all along the line meant and what it did, along with a discussion of what the Germans did (or had done) are important aspects Anglo-centric writers almost always fail to consider as part of the whole.

The Hanoverian archives uses several of Richard Knoetel's plates. As a general interest kind of thing, here's a plate of his showing the Hanoverian army as it looked in 1866, with all branches being represented.

http://www.facebook....53703385&type=1 The plates for the Hanoverian archives page show red uniforms, but not for after 1838. There is a plate for 1866, in color, that doesn't show any red uniforms at all and that doesn't support your claim about "not all of them." The Hanoverian army didn't wear red after 1837. The plate on the facebook page you refered to does show red worn up to 1837. In 1838 when salic law prevented Victoria being the ruler or Hanover and resulted Ernst Augustus's being on the throne instead. Ernst Augustus changed several things including the army's use of blue uniforms along the lines of the Prussian pattern, the later introduction of a Pickelhaube style helmet, etc, before Hanover's relations with the Prussian state began to sour in the 1850's. After the relations between the two states started to sour, the Hanoverians started a change over to Austrian style uniforms as seen in the color plate in the attached link ( http://www.koenigreich-hannover.de/ukuniform.html )

Red coats? The Hanoverian army stopped wearing red tunics in 1837 and began wearing blue ones at that time.

Christophe, by the way...nice "chest".

"He would have most likely played a huge role in the formation of the Luftwaffe." Paul, the potential for a post-war contribution to the formation and operation of the Luftwaffe was there, although someone who was awarded a PlM during WWI did not always get preferential treatment during the Third Reich era. Politics (in all uses of the word along with all that it implies) and the old-boy system could help or hinder a PlM-traeger. Josef Jacobs for instance who was a PlM-flieger during WWI, did not support or approve of the Nazi's and the path taken by many of his fellow PlM fliers who at one time were close friends. As a result, he found life in Germany not to his liking. He moved to the Netherlands and started an aircraft business. When the Germans invaded and occupied the country, he was expected to play nice and work for the Nazis, and decided to close down his business instead of working with them. That didn't endear him to the German leadership, and he was watched by the Gestapo for the duration of the war. Goering's Luftwaffe leadership used those who were willing to take their lead from him, but not as potential competitors to his power and position. Most, but not all of the surviving WWI PlM recipients who were in their 20-30's during WWI saw service in WWII, but not all of them held important positions. Several were not general officers, and held relatively low level positions on staff or training jobs, etc. During WWI they might have been incredibly brave, however, there was also the question whether they had (1) political connections and close personal ties to Goering, etc, and (2) had actual command level abilities, etc.

The French article uses the word "lavoir" or what used to be rural communal washing and laundry areas. If that was the case, I'd expect the "washing" to be done where something dropped could be easily recovered. Instead, the shaft is deep and was made by slip-forming concrete. I wonder if the guy who did the digging wasn't wearing better protective clothing than he had on, and if he thought about getting a tetanus shot before/after starting playing in what looks like something other than gooey clay or muck. If the Germans built the concrete shaft, a couple of points come to mind. First, the use of concrete was normally restricted to building fortified positions (m.g. posts, bunkers, etc.). The shaft in the photo isn't large enough for more than one or two men, although it would make a great officer's privy if roofed over, and because the walls aren't dirt there is no danger of the sides collapsing and the shaft could be cleaned out by you guessed it, enlisted men who were expected to use far less comfortable and commodious field methods. The highly organic nature of human waste material if the shaft was used as a latrine, would be useful in preserving many of the items recovered in the pit. Once they were removed from the pit, the helmets and other items would be subject to new environmental conditions and items would begin to deteriorate quickly. Leather would start drying out and cracking, metal items subjected to being wet and in aerobic conditions and then exposed to air are going to rust. Most of the helmet camo patterns look painted with the same pattern and colors. There are period photos of units wearing similarly patterned helmets, and even some photos showing men painting helmets in batches. The pit probably doesn't contain items from most of the war, but more likely a much briefer period of time. The similar camo patterns, the late war helmet with ear "cut outs" suggests sometime in 1918. Usually German units moved around during the war, and that tends to indicate the pit doesn't reflect what "one" unit did over the course of the war, or more than a year at the most. In 1918, Austro-Hungarian troops serving on the western front were pulled out of the lines when Austria-Hungary capitulated to the Allies on November 4th. Austrian and Hungarian troops in the Meuse-Argonne and St.Mihiel sectors didn't bother carrying what they considered useless gear "home" with them and dropped helmets, gas masks, weapons, in the trench lines. American units opposite the Austrians reportedly found many of these dumps and engaged in easy souvenir hunting. When the Germans capitulated a week later, many units also left items they no longer needed. The limited range of items (no weapons for instance, the lack of large chucks of scrap metal and battlefield junk indicate the stash is not the result of some farmer cleaning up his field after the war. The "large" number of steel helmets, gas mask can/carriers in light of what Austrian troops did, suggests that some of the Germans literally and figuratively dumped their stuff down a cess pit.

I've had a repro and original crankhandle in hand at the same time and could compare the differences. Brian is right, the copies are made to fool people who have only seen them in photos. I hate to break it to you, but this one isn't good. The repros are very close to the originals, and I've seen scabbards from original trench knives swapped over to aid in passing the fakes off. Usually Imperial German era buttons on equipment have a star shaped design on the top of the snap button (look at canteen covers for example); the scabbard on the one you posted doesn't have the design and the button looks larger than normal. The scabbard can be switched with a less-expensive trench knife and I've seen that done. The knife's markings on fakes follow the same general style of the originals. The stamped letters on the fakes look larger and cruder than the originals. I sold my original crank handle a few years ago, and may still have the repro I had at the same time around somewhere. If I can find it, I'll post photos of the markings which are the most obvious signs of a good/bad piece.

http://www.kaisersbunker.com/hp/hp18.htm

He's a very senior ranking NCO who is probably an officer-aspirant/cadet. The patch (serpent on a staff) on his sleeve indicates he's in the medical branch. You didn't ask, however he's wearing a ring or possibly wedding band on his left hand rather than on the right hand. His ribbon bar is difficult to determine, although it's big enough to suggest two awards. As a non-combatant (and NCO at the time) he might have been awarded something like the Prussian war service decoration, etc.

Alex, richtig! Jacobs learned to fly shortly before the war. In August 1914, he enlisted directly into the aviation service, and was sent to the training depot at Darmstadt. He was never in a cavalry unit, nor part of a Bavarian unit. I agree with Alex saying there is nothing in common with Jacobs and a (Bavarian at that!) Uhlanka and or cavalry unit. The Pour le Merite Urkunde looks odd. The basic document type is the generic orders form, although the handwriting combines traditional Suetterlinschrift with "Latinische". Clerks who filed in the details usually had a very fine hand, and were chosen so their handwriting matched the printed document. Usually the added information is slightly larger than the rest of the document but otherwise close in style, etc. This document does not convince me that it's genuine, but appears to be a copy. None of the "Parks" Pour le Merite's are genuine wartime pieces, and were not made prior to the end of WWII. The ex-O'Connor piece in the Technical Museum does appear to be a genuine WWI era piece, and not a copy. The "navy ace" giving Jacob's one of the pieces, is a reference to Theo Osterkamp, a naval PlM recipient in WWI, and RK recipient and double ace in WWII, who was the titular head of the Ritter des Ordens PlM (aviation recipients) from the late 1930's until his death in the 1970's. On the 50th anniversary of Jacob's award of the PlM, Osterkamp is said to have had a new cross with an attached "50 year crown" made and given to Jacobs. Edkins and O'Connor both show the same piece in their books. The Jacobs' diary has been translated and published in parts, in Cross and Cockade (starting in the 1990's) by Stephen Lawson. It is not a complete book, and is missing sections, particularly the last few months of the war. Josef Jacobs was an interesting man. During the 1930's he started an aviation firm, and then relocated it to Holland after the Nazi's came to power. He did not want to do business with them and was outspoken in his opinions of the NSDAP and it's members. Shortly before WWII, he ended the company and returned to Germany. During WWII, he held a reserve major's commission without a leadership role. After the war, he attempted to start other businesses, but none of his efforts went anywhere. In his later years, he fell on hard times and survived through a government pension and social welfare programs. He died in Munich, during 1978. Discussions of Jacob's items in various collections, usually say that he gave the items to so and so. I'm not so certain that was the situation. Stephen Lawson, who has been associated with the Parks Museum, says that after Jacons died in 1978, Jacob's widow Tatiana Jacobs sold parts of his collection to a small number of aviation collectors (see http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/2002/13190-josef-jacobs-diary-pieces.html ). Parks, O'Connor, Theimeyer and J. Gross bought items offered by Jacob's widow from his estate. Jacobs has been dead for over 30 years, and instead of Jacob's giving items away, his widow may have sold his estate in an effort to raise money for her needs after the death of her husband. Who bought what and how much was paid may not be possible to determine. What we can do however, is consider whether some of the pieces were actually Jacob's, or if there was a chance his widow "added" items to his estate and make it seem larger than it really was. The Bavarian uniform group seems out of place, and whether or not his widow (living in Munich) picked up a Bavarian uniform group to add to the "group" so it could be sold would not be the first (or last time) pieces were "married" to a collection/grouping that was going to be sold to competing collectors. Is it possible Tatiana Jacobs added a few items to her late husbands estate, and then sold parts of the estate off to make more money and to ease her financial situation a little? The American expression "you betcha!" comes to mind. Some of the items are clearly not Jacob's, and that calls into question whether his widow wasn't adding items with a profit motive in mind, knowing that many people wouldn't or care that various details didn't quite add up.

Chris, could you clarify which piece in which museum you've referred to as being doubtful?

"Soooooo.... here we are... Cannot think of anything missing? Maybe a few Hand Grenade varaitions? " You should know better than to ask.... The guys reading this could probably work up a very, very long wish list for you. The Gew88 or Commission Rifle doesn't seem to be in the photo. More than a few troops were given them. Revolvers (i.e., the "Reichsrevolver")and semi-autos (besides the P08, there are quite a few others that were made by Mauser, Walther, etc for NCO's and some specialist troops. Oh yeah...flare pistols can be used for more than signaling, and during daylight at close range might be more intimidating than an American "trench trombone" aka the Winchester m97 pump shotgun. Then there's the foreign stuff that was captured and used. Got any infantry spades and e-tools? The short handled jobber with a sharpened edge can be a nasty close up weapon, and every infantryman was expected to be carrying one. The special "machine gunner's shovel" would go nicely with the '08 along with optics for the gun.

Mervyn, no money, not even a beer or cup of coffee riding on an answer.

Neat item to find intact! The tag puts me in mind of the old song.... Oh, the old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be, Ain't what she used to be, ain't what she used to be. The old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be, Many long years ago. Many long years ago, many long years ago. The old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be, Many long years ago. The old gray mare, she kicked on the whiffletree, Kicked on the whiffletree, kicked on the whiffletree The old gray mare, she kicked on the whiffletree Many long years ago. Many long years ago, many long years ago, The old gray mare, she kicked on the whiffletree Many long years ago.

A question came up while I was talking with a friend about the British Army church parade and importance of CE observations during the reign of the first three Georges. George I, a Hanoverian by birth spoke no English. George II was also born outside of Britain and spoke English with a definite accent. George III, unlike his father and grandfather was born in England and spoke English as his first language. During the Seven Years War, the 60th Regiment of Foot was raised and initially recruited from the ancestral homeland of the Georges in Hannover, and from Swiss cantons. The was understrength when it was sent to the Americas, and continued recruiting among the German speaking people of eastern Pennsylvania, and accepted recruited males from other ethnic backgrounds. Although most of these men were probably Protestants (Lutheran/Evangelish) , they would not have been Church of England. Normally, a British Army church service would be in English and something from the Book of Common Prayer or something else acceptable by the Church of England would be read out as part of an obligatory Sunday church parade, or funeral service. Since the 60th Foot, aka "The Royal Americans" had a large component of Europeans recruited directly in Hannover, German speaking Swiss, the amount of English the men understood beyond basic drill commands was probably minimal. Sergeants and NCOs were probably required to translate non-drill related commands and orders so the men could understand them. Here's the question. A CofE Church service to German/Swiss/Pennsylvania Germans delivered in English probably made little or no sense to the men standing in ranks listening to an officer who probably spoke no German. The King of England and in his first role as the reigning sovereign of Hannover also spoke German as his first language, and may have shared many of their religious beliefs although he would have been expected to rule as the head of the Church of England. Does anyone know if the Crown made any exceptions for German Hannoverians and German speaking foreigners in the ranks of the 60th Foot (aka "the Royal Americans") and if church services were given in English a language most of the men didn't understand, or in German, one they would have allowed them to understand what they were being read/told, and also, bonded them closer to the mutual German king and sovereign of both Britain and Hannover? Or...were stiff necked regulations that were forced on the rest of the British Army applied willy-nilly to all and sundry, including the German speakers of the 60th regardless of whether the men understood English, and did not belong to the CofE? Any "facts" or period references would be appreciated.

Yes, there are groupings in museums that belonged to former aces and less well known fliers. The late Neil O'Connor, knew many former fliers from the WWI era, created an aviation history foundation to gather and preserve donated and purchased items. Much of what he acquired for the foundation was published in his series on Imperial era awards that went to members of the aviation service (Luftstreitskraefte). He died a few years ago, however, before his death he transferred ownership of the foundation's collection to the Transportation Museum in Berlin. O'Connor also had RAF items that went to Britain at the same time. There is also a German military museum maintained and operated by the Luftwaffe.

Christophe, There are no current negotiations, nor have there been for quite some time. The family inquiries took the form of letters and attempts to meet one on one with Russian politicians and embassy types before the "wall" came down, and then again afterwards. The Russians replied saying they knew nothing and promised to look into the matter. Although the Richtofen family knows the materials did not vanish into thin air when the Russians captured Schweidnitz, the Russians have never even formally admitted having the items.

Both of the Richtofen brothers medals were part of an in house museum created by their widowed mother after WWI and for a while during WWII. During the final months of WWII, their mother and sister left Schweidnitz shortly before the Russians arrived. They buried some family items in the backyard, and were forced to leave whatever they couldn't carry. When the Russians arrived in town, they immediately seized town hall and police records, and the Richtofen home was searched (with mine detectors that turned up the family silver in the backyard, etc). All of the relics and war trophies, medals, etc, were crated up and shipped east to Russia....where they still are. Although the family has been in contact with the "Russians" regarding the items being returned, there has been no joy in that regard. From what I've heard from a well-known aviation historian who knows the family, the feeling is getting the items returned will require high level state level discussions, and very likely a quid pro quo trade of very important Russian cultural artefacts, etc, to get the stuff back. I'm not certain about all of Voss's medals. When he was shot down, it was on the British side of the lines, and whatever he was wearing was not returned. Whatever he wasn't wearing at the time, would have been returned to his family along with his personal effects.

Chris, Feldgrau changed during the course of the war, so the paint colour you might want to use would depend on what time period the item was made, and whether it is going to be painted 'as new' or something that's been in use for a while. Circa 1914, the earliest feldgrau paints were very light green, tending towards the paler shade(s). The color is lighter than early WWII era "apple green" seen on pre-war German m36 steel helmets. Some of the early feldgrau I've seen can also lean towards a very light grey, or grey/green -green/gray combination that is highly changeable depending on the available light, distance from the object, etc, Mid--war, the color began moving towards a medium green, and later in the war, the paints begin to pick up brownish tones that look similar to olive greens, etc, Floquil's old "Pullman green" is a typical colour for mid-war feldgrau in new condition, that hasn't begun to weather or breakdown into the component colours and tints used. Whatever it is you're about to paint, try to avoid using latex paint and focus on a flat enamel. Most of the paints used during the war contained lead to allow greater adhesion to metal, wood, ,etc, and also allowed the paint to smooth out by itself without leaving major brush marks. Paints often contained minerals mixed with turpentine to make black paints, earth tones, etc. If you want to create a naturally flat colour without using modern additives, carefully adding a very small amount of bath or baby powder does the trick very nicely. Be careful not to overdo it, and sprinkle it on a little bit at a time. If you're using an enamel paint, darkening it with dirty motor oil helps remove the freshly painted look. Rub it on, let it set for a little bit, and wipe it off. Oil will cause the surface to shine while it's drying, however, it can be dulled down after it's dried.

Andreas said this piece was/is a Rothe. It's similar to one, but wasn't made by them. I'd agree with him saying this one was and is bad. (1) The presence of silver solder marks along the feet of the eagles, etc, is a sign of being made AFTER WWI, and isn't an Imperial era piece. The usual way gold and silver items were soldered together, was to use filings from the same material of the medal itself, and mixing them with another metal that melted at a lower temperature. Prior to the 1930's, most solders used by jewelers was made in house, not bought from commercial sources. The alloy mix in most cases, closely matches the color of the pieces being joined, and the result would be an a seam line that would be hard to see when the excess was filed and smoothed flush. During WWII, the use of commercial solders appeared, and were often made using lead or other low melting alloys. The resulting seam lines are often easily seen because of the different metals used. If the solder used has any traces of lead, it wasn't made before 1945. Silver solder was used on some gold pieces after WWI and prior to 1945, however, the underlying silver would likely have oxidized over the years turning dark or black. Usually, silver soldered pieces made after the Imperial did not have the solder lines gilded over. (2) The eagles are far too large for any known PlMs made after 1870. If you look at any/all of the Johanniter style crosses with their over large eagles, the piece shown here has eagles that are in the same size range. (3) The weight of the piece is far heavier than any hollow gold PlMs (which are more likely to be roughly 20 - 23 grams in weight), which suggests without even handling the piece in hand, that it may be solid, or even solid bronze gilt. Even solid silver pieces from the later part of WWI are not as heavy as yours. Jim's comment that heavy gold plate can not be differentiated from solid gold without relying on non-destructive means is not correct. Heavy plating over the core material or formed blank, will obscure details (particularly fine ones), and is difficult to plate evenly over the entire outer surface. In the past, it's been very difficult to plate pieces and get close to the density of pieces formed by stamping/pressing or even some casting methods. There are a few simple tests that can be conducted on pieces to determine plating versus pieces made mostly of coin grade metals or better. All metal pieces can be measured to determine density. Plated materials will have different densities than something made from one metal only. Two related methods are to heat the item in hot water and measure the rate heat spreads from one point to another. In upper crust English society, women often took note of how quickly heat moved along silver teaspoons in their hot tea cups and cold tell the difference between a plated spoon and a spoon made of stamped silver. Different metals and alloys react differently to heat: some conduct heat quickly, others slowly depending on their purity, etc. Also, electrical currents move through metals at known rates, and that can be used to suggest whether pieces are "pure", the amount of alloys, etc. XRF (xray florescence ) may indicate areas where plating is thin in certain spots, and according to the claims of some, is accurate enough to measure the (elemental) content of gold and other metals. XRF is said to be able to penetrate metals to a depth of 3mm, which is more than enough to examine the eagles and suspension system which isn't -that- thick. ( http://www.niton.com....aspx?sflang=en ) There are other problems that come to mind, however, I'll leave things by saying the presence of clearly visible whitish looking solder indicates a piece made after the Imperial era, and the overly large eagles is anachronistic on PlMs made after 1870. The weight of the piece is another problem. These are all major negatives, regardless of the maker name, details of the eagles (the uncut areas around the tail feathers) etc.

This is the whole package the item came in, box, "certificate" and a small two sided paper print out describing what the item was. Pick it up, shake it and it has something inside that rattles. Inside these were small items taken from battlefields, such as buttons, small pebbles, pieces of shrapnel, etc.

You said ANYTHING.... Indoor lighting can mess digital images up. Sorry for the poor image quality. There is a whole series of these little tombstones with an Adrian helmet on the top. One side has a standard inscription and the other, the name of a battlefield.