tyanacek

Hi guys, I haven't posted on here in quite a while, but I thought I would show this nice Imperial medal bar that I was fortunate to acquire last weekend. Hope you like it! Looks to be to a Prussian senior military official that was also recognized by the Kingdom of Bavaria, Kingdom of Württemberg, and the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt. Quite a unique combination. Best regards, Tom

Hello there, I agree that the posted badge is a fake. The attachment hardware, the weak lettering, and the rough texture of the reverse are all dead giveaways. In addition, the original SA defense Badges by Werner Redo were always stuck in iron so the badge must be magnetic. If it is not magnetic then it stands no chance of being real IMO. Best regards, Tom

Hi guys, I bought this Radio Operator/Air Gunner Badge at the recent MAX Show. It was made by Imme & Sohn of Berlin. It is a transitional badge having a Buntmetall eagle and a zinc wreath. Best regards, Tom

Hello to all, Here is an NSDAP 15-Year Long Service Cross that I bought at a pawn shop several weeks ago. It came with a really nice stickpin miniature made by Steinhauer & Lück. Hope you like it. Best regards, Tom

Thanks, Scott. Best regards, Tom

Hi Scott, Very nice! Love them police medal bars having an Olympic Medal. And the Silesian Eagle makes it nicer still. Best regards, Tom

Thank you, Nicolas. Here is a three placer from the OVMS Show back in June. The NSDAP 15-Year on this one is by B.H. Mayer, Pforzheim. Best regards, Tom

Hi guys, Went to the M.A.P.S. Show today and got this 5-placer with an NSDAP 15 Yr/10 Yr combination. As soon as I saw this I knew it must go home with me. Hope you like it and thanks for looking.Best regards,Tom

A medal bar from the recent SOS. Although consisting entirely of decorations and commemoratives for the First World War, it is still a medal bar of the Third Reich Period by virtue of the Hindenburg Cross (mid-1930s). Best regards, Tom

Nice bars, guys! Here are a couple of my recent pickups: Best regards, Tom

Hi guys, Here is a zinc General Assault Badge that was most likely made by Juncker of Berlin. Best regards Tom

Hello to all, Here is an L/21 marked Heer Flak Badge that I picked up recently. Best regards, Tom I went and made a replacement catch for the badge as it was a simple fix. Here is a closer look at the replaced catch: .... and the 'L/21' maker mark:

A perfectly matched set: a fake badge and a fake box. Best regards, Tom

Hi Claudio, Yes! And how about Helmuth Weidling? Another big name for sure. It is really quite an education to go through these ranlk lists, looking for officers with a certain combination of orders/decorations. Thank you also for the link to the supposed von Saucken medal bar. That could very well be his. It's interesting that the ÖM3K is placed after the Hindenburg Cross and before the long service decorations. But it looks like the placement is correct on his Feldspange. Thank you & best regards, Tom

Hi Dave, Thank you for being such a work saver! But wasn't Johannes Lentzsch a Luftwaffe General during WW2? In fact, I see him as having the same medal bar as my unknown except that Lentzsch would have the Luftwaffe 25/12 combination rather than the 18/4. Thanks again & best regards, Tom

Hello guys, Thank you for all of the comments and information. I agree that the combination of orders & decorations on this bar is not unique enough to make an identification. That is, without anything short of a miracle. I did start going through the 1924 rank list, just to find some possibilities, but I realize too that many other possibilities would not be listed there for the reasons cited by Dave. In going through the 1924 listing, I checked the Leutnante, Oberleutnante, and Hauptleute/Rittmeister sections. I figured there was no need to check any ranks higher than Hauptmann. I was surprised to find only sixteen officers with the Iron Cross, Hohenzollern House Order-Knight's Cross with Swords, Austrian Military Merit Cross 3rd Class with War Decoration, and no other Imperial orders or decorations. The officers that I found with the combination were: Ansat von Chappuis Figg von Hanstein Hilderbrand Hoogklimmer Keiper Koch Lentzsch Marschhausen von Saucken Sinnhuber von Sommerfeld Weidling Wosch Wrede I just did a quick search, so I may have missed a few. Now to start checking against the WW2 Luftwaffe Officer listing. Thanks again & best regards, Tom

Here are some pictures of the attachment hardware. The top hook, catch, and hinge all have plates to facilitate a stronger bond to the zinc badge.

Hi guys, Here is a Deumer Destroyer Badge that I just bought at the OVMS Show. It's in pretty nice shape and the finish on the wreath is completely intact, although faded. I thought that the darkening/antiqued look around the bow wake and ship's superstructure may have been added by someone. However, after closer examination I now believe that this effect is original to the badge and was done to enhance the visual appeal and bring out the detail. Best regards, Tom

The Hohenzollern House Order is a Godet. Here is a picture of the markings "J G u S 938'

The pin catch on the reverse is kind of interesting too.

Notice that each of the Luftwaffe eagle devices is different. The eagle on the left is slightly larger and silvered tombak. The eagle on the right is silvered iron. Both the long service cross and the long service medal are iron.

Hi guys, This was my prize purchase this weekend at the OVMS Show. Of interest is the placement of the Austrian Military Merit Cross. Rather than being placed at the very end of the bar as a foreign decoration it is placed immediately following the Hohenzollern House Order and before the Hindenburg Cross. This is a clear indication that the bar was assembled or re-mounted post-Anschluß. Austria was no longer a foreign country but was now a part of the Greater German Reich and so the precedence of the Austrian decorations was elevated. Of course, the presence of the Czech Annexation Medal and Prague Castle Bar also confirm a post-Anschluß assembly/re-mount. This bar was probably assembled in mid-1939 and the owner was most likely an Oberst. He was obviously on active duty in the Luftwaffe. Best regards, Tom

Hi John, I measured the width of the catch on my Osang Paratrooper Badge at it is 2.45mm. Its definitely not the "standard" Osang catch so I'm not exactly sure what this means. Maybe a factory replacement or possibly done this way initially with a non-standard catch? If it was a repair done after leaving the factory then it was sure one incredible repair job. Thank you for posting pictures of your Wiedmann Flak. I don't think I've ever seen one in nicer condition. Here are pictures of a needle-pin Wiedmann that I have. The zinc on this badge has taken on a plasticky appearance on the front. I have also attached pictures of another wide-pin Wiedmann that I have owned since the 70s. I've had a few other needle-pin Wiedmann's as well and all of mine had the logo at the center reverse. I've yet to get one with the logo on the lower left of the wreath like on yours. Thank you & best regards, Tom

Hi John, Here are some pictures of the catch on the Osang Paratrooper Badge. As far as the wide-pin Wiedmann Flak goes, I saw two of them at the MAX Show. The one I opted to buy was not only in better condition but cheaper too. Best regards, Tom

Thanks for the replies, Scott and John. John, I agree with you that the Osang Paratrooper is a bit odd, but I like it all the same. The eagle is a very dark gray Kriegsmetall and there are only traces of gold finish that do not show in the photo. I like how the overall appearance of the badge mimics most other Luftwaffe qualification badges, having a dark gray eagle on a silver wreath. Tom Durante also looked this badge over at the MAX. Both he and I thought that the catch looks a bit too wide when compared to the normal catch found on Osang Paratrooper Badges. Tom Durante thinks the catch was possibly replaced. He may be correct, but when looking closely at the catch I do not really see any evidence of a replacement. But whether a replacement or not, I really do like the badge. I will post some pictures of the catch and look forward to your opinion about it. Thank you and best regards, Tom