VtwinVince

I like that one as well, but the price is stupid.

How about another fake EK? This one on German fleabay and over 500 euro.

Oh dear, it never ends. I'm starting to wonder if any real people are actually wasting this much money.

I saw that one, pretty cool combo. I have a couple with the Kreuz fuer Eltern und Witwen.

Seems like wrecking perfectly good EK's with spurious engraving is all the rage these days. Here's another with a laughable attempt at looking period correct.

Very interesting to see a double Beamter combo.

Yup, saw that. Astonishing gall to try and shill this junk as having anything to do with Ludendorff, looks more like something out of the film The Blue Max.

Other things bothered me about that bar, including the minty ribbons and type of thread used. And the combination of awards, of course.

Rick, I had a good long look at that bar, it's the KO and RAO medals combo, with one on the war ribbon (rare). But I'm not so sure that this bar is legit, certain things about it have me doubting.

It's all fake Rick, the document in its syntax is not conducive with that period, and there are grammatical errors.

Nice little bar at a good price.

Stumbled across this gratuitous crap on both German and US fleabay, apparently the same seller. Not even the EK` is real, and the Ludendorff attribution is about the stupidest thing I've seen.

I'm shocked at the prices being paid for a piece of NK EK2 ribbon these days.

Rick, I completely agree with your synopsis of the hobby. I said some years ago that the fakery would ruin Imperial collecting, just as it did Third Reich a generation ago. I had an old acquaintance get in touch with me because he wanted to collect German flight badges of WW1. Unfortunately he decided to buy some without asking for an opinion first. When I told him that he was stuck with fakes, he wouldn't accept that and broke off all communication. Sometimes reality can be a bitter pill to swallow. And Bernd is right, I bought a group of items and in amongst them was a fake FEK.

Indeed laughable, especially the Braunschweig Bewaehrungsabzeichen! But the Albert is far more worrying, as these latest Belgian fakes are getting downright scary.

These caught my eye today, another dangerous product from our Belgian friends (the Saxon) and a really awful Feldschnalle.

Here is a nice NK Godet ensemble.

Looks like it was glued as part of a display. But the parts are worth the price of admission.

No kidding, and if you know anything about the German language, you'll know how fake this is.

Interesting, I didn't see that one.

The Bavarian MVK's are a real rabbit hole of collecting, so you're right, the marked ones are more highly prized.

Great, looks like Weiss & Co., although maybe spolei can spot whether the swords match the rest of the cross. Sometimes you get lucky and find silver swords that have been bronzed on these.

What he said. I think your EK is marked for silver. Is there a mark on the reverse side of the sword blade on the Merit Cross?

John, I have no problem with the bar, I just find the precedence on some Bavarian bars funny. And I've seen several bars with those type of tailor hooks, not a problem.

Yup, a pretty stupid price for a nice EK2 with a broken WW1 EK1 case.