Mike

What does the red cover indicate?(engineer?)

Hi Paul ..For some reason I remember these as being used by Terminal/Platform level . You can tell by the common NCO style chin strap that the red top didn't signify a rank position. I have another earlier style red top that never even had a chin strap. Maybe someday Bender will come out with a nice RB ref book . I'll try to post that early style tonight

Mike, very nice visor. Though I'm more of a Medal collector, I am occasionally intrigued with unique uniforms and visors. They say, "Good things come to those who wait" and that is the case here. Awesome condition and love the color and insignia on this one.

Regards,

Joel

The years seem to have left the outside alone, the colors and the wings are still almost perfect ...you can see how the sweatband and lining has dried out though but ..not really that bad.

As Fran mentioned , many people overlook RR items and search for combat realated for the collection. I bet if someone does a book on Reichsbahn Uniforms and insignia ..that will change fast , and the prices will rise ! .....again

Mike,

Nice visor...these sure are pretty with the red tops. Most people pass these by to get to the combat pieces but I like them all. Can we see some of your other pieces that are hiding in the back?

Fran

Thanks Fran ..My other collection shots are on another thread , here's the link ---

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=3240&hl=

I've been looking for one of these for quite a while now ....glad I waited !

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Hi Gents ...it came in yesterday and , I thought I'd share it with you. It's in fantastic shape --

We're not exactly talking about Oxford or Harvard graduates here ...the Hadji's don't know the difference themselves and could care less if the ribbon matches the medal. All they want to do is sell it. The way I look at it is ...even if the item was a knock off (like the Saddam money they've been printing to sell) it is still a Vet bring back ..not something bought from Ebay and made in China. Many times I've had items right from the WW2 Veterans that had been "embellished" ..Army tunics with SS armbands added ..a Navy tunic with an SS cufftitle sewn above the elbow ..my latest was an EK with a Mothers Cross ribbon ..I never turned anything decent down because of the wrong ribbon or add-ons

Maybe you can find and match the ribbons at a later date .

Hey Akmed ..are you trying to rip me off?? Everyone knows that the Order of the Golden Turban has a purple ribbon with the rare Saddam Mustache Bar !!! what are you trying to pull ??

Thanks Mike, no third tour for me I ETS in April . I'll post more as soon as it's scanned.

ahhhhh...the start of a whole new adventure ..A CIVILIAN

the promotion offers, maybe cash bonuses and promises should be starting soon ..

Well worn AK-47 bayonet with unit stamping on the leather. I learned this year from a translator who was in the Iraqi Army that stamping on the leather indicates the piece was issued. If you don't see it then the item was likely confiscated froma depoty before being issued to the soldier.

Looks like your Iraqi collection is realy growing fast, nice medal group Greg...are you going back for a third tour ?

Thanks Joe , it's no where near the condition of John's mounted EK (what a gem ) but it's still a nice addition to my group . This is my third DKiG this year . I guess the collector mentality has taken over here ...now I'd like to find a heavy version.

date

MM

Starburst defect and "dimple" on ribbons at 12 o'clock position

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Here's my "Christmas Cross" ...it's a Klein .

I've always tended to ignore the so-called "1957" types and have lumped them with the so-called "collectors copies." Also, there are more than a few of us who consider any Imperial medals made or restruck after 1945, as not entirely "collectable."

That being said, there appears to be more than one or two of Imperial medals that were re-struck in 1957 when the new "sano" TR medals without the swastika were redesigned and restruck. Some people think of the 1957's as collectable, some don't.

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I find the 57's interesting because many of them are made using parts of the original TR dies ..like the S&L flawed type B frame RK ..as opposed to an outright reproduction using new dies and made only to fool collectors. This EK1 is the only 57 I own right now but , I won't be passing on any in the future ..I think they've earned a special category as a last generation example of the original award

What you have is a Seventh Grade Order of the Rising Sun. You can read more about them and see several of the other grades here.

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?act=ST&f=91&t=728&st=0#entry4044

The ribbon is indeed the same colours for all of the grades, though some grades have the addition of a small rosette to the ribbon.

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Thanks Gordon ..I looked at the other thread you did on Japanese Medals but ..the back on mine is not finished. One that you posted had the leaves on both sides , mine has a flat silver (almost mirror) finish on the back with Japanese characters embossed.

If a Soldier was wearing only the Rising Sun ribbon on his Uniform ...how would someone know what class he was awarded ?

And the reverse.

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My God they look related !!

I'll try to take a less flashy picture later tonight ...the frame is really bright on this and Tony's as well

Well, the only problem with these is that yes, the style/material & workmanship is consistent with 1957 forward manufacturing... the problem becomes how far past '57 were they made. Currently, there's a "Model '57" decoration for almost all Imperial Prussian pieces. They are marked and sold as such, but IMO, they were made like last year....

I think the fake 57's are a lesser quality than the original 57's (if that makes sense since we're talking about repros of more or less repros/replacements) the 57's will never fool a collector and the copies of them are even worse ..the guys faking the Medals already know that so (like that Latvian RK) they try harder and make better fakes ...which causes us a lot of grief. I've seen a lot of collectors paying more attention to the 57's as collectibles in thier own right. That's interesting because in the 70's , nobody ever wanted anything to do with them. I can understand why they are attracting attention now though ..

This came with that 1914- 57 EK1 I just posted from the same local shop .... $60. I remember something about these having 7 or 8 diff classes but all used the same ribbon. Can anyone out there explain how that worked ? Great detail on it

Here's the back --

Does anyone know if the 1957 style EK1's are common ? I can't see why they'd have made a lot of these as replacments. I just bought this yesterday at a local shop ..for $40 I couldn't pass it up. I noticed it also has the "dot" on the top of the 12 o'clock arm to mark where the ring would go if they were making EK2's

Just a quick snapshot of a case that I recently filled.

Thanks

Don

Great Army Ryker Don ..are you doing a Luft and a Navy also ? I like the way you set it up, nicely balanced .

I've been thinking about buying a Cholm shield ,but heard there's a new repro being made ...when did you get yours and how did you lock it in as a period piece. I'd love to see a closeup of it (if poss).

Thanks --Mike