VtwinVince

Hi Rob, Great items, I love documentation relating to the Napoleonic period. I don't think people realise how much of the Grande Armee was composed of German contingents. One of my ancestors died in Russia whilst fighting with a Saxon unit. Your guy was extremely lucky.

Hi Roman, Beautiful orders with interesting history, as usual. I particularly like the minis, the Eagle is not something you see every day.

Agreed, the forums are now full of people looking to abuse the talents of others for profit. This is why Rick started charging a flat rate for his research capabilities back in the day.

Hi Peter, It is amazing the number of spurious, engraved items ostensibly to German aviators that have flooded the market in recent years. Most of these come from eastern Europe, and some are very convincing.

Hi Peter, Having collected German orders for some 45 years, I can honestly say that engraved EK1's are a veritable minefield. I have only two in my collection right now, and I've only ever owned one to an aviator that was absolutely correct. I don't like the style of engraving of your cross, period engraving was usually in a cursive script. And no self-respecting German would leave an Umlaut out, just wasn't done. In addition, I'm always very suspicious of crosses or aviator badges engraved with the names of famous pilots, as they are invariably fake. I think the cross itself is a good piece from Godet with spurious engraving to enhance value.

Hey, if people make political statements, don't try and stifle what I would say is an appropriate response.

Nice condition on that Schnalle, and a far less common combo than with a HK.

Es gibt leider keine echte deutsche Einheit mehr. Seit 1945 ist Deutschland besetztes Gebiet, und die 15 Millionen Fluechtlinge hatten bei der 'Wiedervereinigung' nichts zu sagen!

Need pictures, as noted above fabric stars were the norm until the middle of the century.

Don't know if I've shown this one, the lower bar with the Russian 1905 connection.

Wow, another incredible Schnalle.

You sure that's a Centenar in second position? Looks to me like it might be the Russian Red Cross Medal, which would make sense in conjunction with the St. Stanislaus for 1905.

Pretty ridiculous, the way brave German officers were treated for having 'Jewish blood'. My grandfather quit his government job under pressure to divorce my grandmother, who was part Jewish.

What grade of gold does this one have?

This just gets better and better. Great group of documents. Notice that he is referred to as a Rittergutsbesitzer und Kammerherr on the RAO3mdSuSaR document.

Very nice Steckkreuz. I'm still kicking myself that I missed Bronsart von Schellendorf's cross without swords some years ago.

Nice one, these are not so common. Of course it has an extra suspension loop.

Cool, unusual Schnalle for sure.

LOL, it's amazing what suckers will pay on fleabay.

I've never seen an original example with the loops on the back, although I'm sure Christian has confidence in it.

It's an interesting piece, wonder what sort of provenance it has?

Tarnished? That's the understatement of the century. As an avid road cyclist, I never believed all the hype surrounding this guy, and when you research the scale of the conspiracy surrounding his 'achievements' you get pretty cynical about the state of this sport.

I don't collect minis, but here are my nicest examples, a pretty rare VKmdK, and a Kette which belonged to Rittmeister Roger von Boch of Villaroy&Boch fame.

Thanks, need to get some new eyeglasses!

Wow, that is quite the Frackschnalle. Interesting that he got the NC EK but the KDM is for combat.