Scott

Bad indeed.

I'm no expert, but I've never seen a quality, cord-stitched repro cuff title before - and I really like the quality of yours :love:

Just curious - some say a pipd trade badge is for NCOs, some say it represents 1 or more years of service in that trade (regardless of rank). Did piping mean the same thing for all trade badges? What about gold piped trade badges? :speechless:

Thank you Jacques - the photo of the Heer officer above is wearing the award on his pocket - I could not remember the name. Interesting photo with the Cruz Rojo also!

Jacques, My apologies for using your photo - I have removed it. A Cruz Blanco ("1st Class") and a Gold Spanish Cross... very interesting. Do you have any evidence of the Cruz Rojo being awarded with a Gold Spanish Cross? Or any period photos of the white-armed version of the Cruz de Guerra being worn by a German veteran?

Yes - I am confused here also. My references say the Cruz Blanca was awarded for non-combatant roles, yet period photos show veterans wearing the Cruz Blanca with bronze/silver Spanish Cross with swords...?

I put together the illustration below some time ago for my own reference. I think it mirrors what Jacques said above. I'm sure there are period exceptions, and it does not account for the award of the Medalla de Sufrimientos, or non-combatant awards. But overall, it might be helpful.

Nice!

Oops - forgot about the egg-shaped wreath. Thanks gents. Great photos by the way!

Question: What grade(s) of Spanish Cross was typically associated with the Spanish Red Military Service Cross? Either Bronze or Silver? Silver only? Unfortunately, my archive of black & white photos of SCW vets do not reveal a clear answer. Thanks!

Great photos John. I especially like the sharpness/clarity of the first one. That wreath looks more like a 1st patterrn Juncker than a 2nd pattern Assmann to me (but I'm still learning!). :cheers:

Rick, I didn't see a listing for ribbons that were available for the bars.

Just returned from the 09 SOS in Louisville. I made several passes through the entire show in the two days I was there, and I was blown away by the profusion of repro/fake ribbon bars. Either many vendors are quite ignorant, or they all want to be on the "Sucker born every minute" bandwagon. I would guess 75% of the four-place and greater TR bars I saw were repros, most festooned with every device imaginable. I picked up a copy Rex Reddick's latest repro catalog, and he's in the ribbon bar business too (excerpt below). Anyone else out there with a differing viewpoint of the show with regards to TR bars?

Probably hard not to find mint '57 series crosses...

A nice Imperial cross by "FR"...

A minty Deumer...

My frosty S&L...

The photo below shows two modern ribbon bars for WWII German Pilots and veterans of the Spanish Civil War (see the arrows). Are these ribbons authorized by Spain for the Cruz de Guerra, or 'best-guess' by a post-war German ribbon bar maker?. I think they are a guess since the Cruz de Guerra of the type shown on the funeral pillow was not originally awarded with a ribbon.

Lilo, Thank you for posting the photo of Ettore Muti's awards. For what it's worth, German volunteers in the Spanish Civil War who were awarded the Cruz de Guerra by Spain - regardless of rank - seem to have only been awarded the 'blue background' badge, like that shown in your funeral pillow photo. If I understand Hipnos correctly, the badge you posted directly under the funeral pillow photo is that of a Maria Cristina order. Several months ago I posted a question about the same medal in post #4 (above), but I don't recall anyone providing specific information on it. The center enameled design of the medal is different from Spanish Civil War-period medals/badges, which leads me to believe this medal is not from that period.

When I saw the title of this thread, I thought you might be talking about me!

I believe the six-pointed stars are for company grade ranks, so I believe this would be a senior Lt.

Nice!!

Nice set! The embroidery work on the collar and cap look to be very nice quality.

Jacques, your search for a Godet cross brings up an interisting point... Why would any company choose not to mark their crosses with their company name/logo? Or, why would a company have a variety of marking schemes, like Juncker for example: "CEJ/900" on some, "900" only on others, and some with no mark at all (L/12 crosses came later for a reason of course). Very curious.

Hey - way to go gents!