tyanacek

ribbon bar #1:

medal bar reverse:

The medal bar:

Hello to all, I bought this seven-placer at the OVMS Show this weekend. When I first saw this bar, I almost kept on walking as it looked "too new to be real." I'm glad I took the time to give it a second glance as it is completely original, IMO. Other than just a few spots of rust on the Olympic Games Commemorative Medal, this bar is in mint condition. It also came with two matching Feldspangen. Hope you like it. Best regards, Tom

Thanks for the comments, Sascha, Paul, and Christophe! Hello Christophe: No, there is no marking on the Ernestine House Order. And I don't know whether this belonged to a medical officer or not. When I mentioned this in my first post, I used the wording "supposedly belonged to a medical officer..." as I really have no idea whether this is in fact the case. The description of the auction lot made mention of this so maybe it is true or maybe it's not. I don't rightly know. But maybe the guy that sent this in on consignment had some additional information where he could say this with certainty. The description of the auction lot is quoted below: "An unusual reverse order Parade Mount, this Imperial German WWI issue Four-Place Medal Bar is in beautiful condition. It was awarded to a German Medical Officer who served through the war. It includes a Iron Cross 2nd Class, a Saxe-Ernestine House Order (a German Ducal award), a Hindenburg Cross and a Prussian 20 Year Long Service Medal, all fitted on a pin-back red felt backed mount. Individually these medals sell for $800, you can be the judge on this unique set." Best regards, Tom

Hello John, Thank you for responding. Generally speaking, it was probably unusual for a guy to have both a military mount and a frack bar, but maybe not so unusual for a proud medical reserve officer that was a military man some of the time and a civilian for the rest of the time. He wanted to have a medal bar to wear whether in military or civilian attire. In my opinion, frack bars are scarce in relation to the number of military mounts that we see. So a guy having both would be very scarce and therefore unusual. In the 36 years that I have been collecting, I have only seen a few military mount/frack bar matching sets. Best regards, Tom

Hello Claudius, Thank you for your comments. Yes, absolutely! The frack bar was for the civilian tuxedo and the other was for the military uniform. Best regards, Tom

Here is the military mount:

... and here is the reverse:

Hello to all, I just won this 4-place frack bar on an auction. It supposedly belonged to a medical officer in the Prussian Landwehr. The matching military mount was also in the same auction as a separate lot, but I did not win that one. It would have been nice to get them both, but I very happy to at least have this one. Note that the Iron Cross is mounted on a combatant ribbon yet both the Ernestine House Order-Knight's Cross Second Class and the 1914-1918 Cross of Honor are without swords. Hope you like it! Best regards, Tom

Hello Claudio, I am so sad to hear of the loss of this beautiful medal bar. This one has to be the cleanest original bar that I have ever seen and the thought of this gem being in the hands of some thief outrages me. Wherever my travels take me, I will keep a sharp lookout for this bar. Sincerely, Tom

Hello to all, Yahoo! The photo arrived today. Thank you, Sascha, for selling this to me. I am very grateful. The piping on this guy's cap, tunic, and epaulettes looks pretty dark. I wish I knew what Waffenfarbe this is? It is also very difficult to make out the Regimental numbers on his epaulette. But what a great photo this is. I thought that this Leutnant might be a doctor, but there is no staff of Asclepius visible on his epaulette. The inset at the lower left shows the stamp of the photo studio, from the back of the photograph. Best regards, Tom

Hello Ulsterman, Thanks for responding. I think even in the 1939 regulations, the Commemorative Medal for Austria is not specifically mentioned so was probably still lumped in that "foreign awards by date of bestowal" category, placed at the very end of a medal bar. If I am correct, it is first specifically mentioned in the 1940 regulations for the Armed Forces & Police. In these regulations, the Commemorative Medal for Austria is placed after the 1914-18 Cross of Honor and before LS Decorations. Best regards, Tom

Thank you for your comments, Claudius! I agree: That Silesian Eagle, smack-dab in the middle, gives the bar great artistic balance. Best regards, Tom

Hello Claudio, Thank you for your comments. Yes, this bar was definitely assembled in the 1930s since the WW1 Commemorative for Hungary was instituted in 1929; the Commemorative for Austria in 1932 (with the swords authorized the following year); the Commemorative for Bulgaria in 1933; and the Cross of Honor in 1934. So it had to be assembled in late 1934 (at the earliest) and probably before the Austrian Anschluß in 1938. After the Anschluß, the status of the Commemorative Medal for Austria was elevated, taking precedence of both the Prussian Long Service Decoration and the Silesian Eagle. Best regards, Tom

reverse with pin open:

the reverse:

Hello to all, Here is a very, very scarce Deschler Close Combat Clasp in Silver for your viewing pleasure. Hope you like it! Best regards, Tom

...and here is the reverse:

Hello to all, Here is a seven-place medal bar to a WW1 Prussian NCO that also had at least three months of service in Silesia, sometime between 1919 and 1921. Although there is nothing particularly scarce on this one, I think it's a pretty looking bar, well-constructed, and super clean. Hope you like it! The Silesian Eagle is a nice-quality, multi-part, four rivet type. Wasn't real sure where to post this bar: Decided I would post it here since the guy was an Imperial Prussian NCO. But, then again, it does have a Silesian Eagle on the bar so maybe it should of been posted in the Freikorps section. But, on the other hand, the bar was assembled in the mid-1930s so maybe it should have been posted in the Third Reich section. Best regards, Tom

Hello David, Yes, indeed! They really are pretty pieces. Best regards, Tom

And, in case you want to build your own, nataliyaa123 also sells fake ribbons as well as mounting plates in your choice of copper or tin: two metals that original mounting plates were never made from. :rolleyes:

and another one from the "red thread fetish" with the very rare Bavarian medal for going on the longest wine-drinking binge. :cheers:

more crap:

Here is more ebay crap from nataliyaa123: These are some of his past auctions when he was going through his "red thread fetish". He must not have realized that medal tie-downs are supposed to be inconspicuous. Best regards, Tom