Eric Stahlhut

here's another type... i like it, and think it is a good one opinions? http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2012/post-4736-0-74820000-1346452017.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2012/post-4736-0-11704700-1346452051.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2012/post-4736-0-43289100-1346452080.jpg

1870 was 4002, 1914 was 13,000...

yes, bigger and flat, plus the makers had to obtain a license in order to make them. not everyone could manufacture them. much stricter guidelines--all controlled by the government

perhaps this may be why there are almost no vaulted 1939 ek1s in existence??? a national socialist 'stick-to-the rules' and do away with the 'privileged few' kinda thing? it certainly was easier for the lower ranks to be awarded the first class during ww2, anyways.. p.s. welcome to the forum, clive!

more like the cat channel and lancelot link, secret chimp...24/7

godspeed, mmeesterrr rrriiiickie! miss ya!

i agree, i guess my question is from a merchandising perspective: did the customer have a choice at the point of purchase to buy the same cross in either form, or did the cross start out as flat, with the vaulted version appearing later as a feature/design upgrade in order to make the model more appealing and competitive in the retail market?

here are two 1914 ek1s from the same maker. one is flat, and the other is vaulted. i've wondered if the buyers/awardees were able to choose which type they received...i don't think i've ever seen the choices listed in a period catalog. perhaps it was up to the discretion of the manufacturer? or a random disbursement? i dunno http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_07_2012/post-4736-0-10076800-1342977897.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_07_2012/post-4736-0-52070500-1342977911.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_07_2012/post-4736-0-59310900-1342977956.jpg

here's the 2nd class version of this somewhat scarce veteran's award. it's of gilded bronze, and is very reminiscent of the imperial-era oldenburg verdienst awards http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_07_2012/post-4736-0-66681800-1342886798.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_07_2012/post-4736-0-49508500-1342886757.jpg

schwarze garde! here is an example of their "treuekreuz" award. this unit consisted of 650 members, so these are considered fairly scarce. this one, in poor condition, has severe damage to the enamel (perhaps from an ek1 hitting it?), and the silvering to the center suum cuique crest is long gone, but i still like it! http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_07_2012/post-4736-0-32314500-1341762334.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_07_2012/post-4736-0-04056500-1341762353.jpg

nice cross! it seems as if the eyelet was removed in order to provide a slimmer profile for the ribbon. the hook should be inserted into the slit on the rear of the ribbon

only a few hours left.... http://www.ebay.com/itm/221057646377?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

today's arrival...nothing extravagant, just a nice example of a cross from what seems to be the CD family, or carl dillenius. looks like it has not seen the light of day for many years. core has minute traces of corrosion (easily rectified). tarnish is uniform, with no irregularities. medium vault a classic! http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2012/post-4736-0-11049500-1340469802.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2012/post-4736-0-31670700-1340469827.jpg

hiya greg, i kind of doubt that, as it's construction fits all of the criteria for a period-made iron cross (44mm and 3-piece, with a nonmagnetic core, etc etc.) the only weird thing about it is the fastening design. who knows for sure how it was used-- i dunno, but it's definitely a curiosity, though!

the other odd thing is that the rear frame is not perfectly flat---it has impressions in the center of each cross arm--sort of like a very faint "reverse pillow back" http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2012/post-4736-0-19183800-1339892090.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2012/post-4736-0-88558200-1339892155.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2012/post-4736-0-63173500-1339892216.jpg

here's one that i got today.... a heavily tarnished, uncleaned and very odd specimen. extremely high vault, and rear plate is stamped '800'. core is bronze or brass, and i can't tell yet what material the front frame is made of--the tarnish makes the highlights on the beading look brassy. the retaining pins are very similar to the pins used for US-style clutch fasteners, and it's very difficult to tell if there was ever a regular pin/hinge/catch assembly affixed to the piece, as the varying shades of tarnish have hidden any signs of buffing. http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2012/post-4736-0-02574400-1339891761.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2012/post-4736-0-51286200-1339891779.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2012/post-4736-0-90543800-1339891796.jpg

ALBANIA The House of Wied GENEALOGY 1913 - [1920] H.H. Vilhelm I, Prince of Albania (Mbret i Shquipëria), GCVO (19.2.1914). b. at Castle Neuwied am Rhein, near Coblenz, Germany, 26th March 1876, as H.S.H. Wilhelm Friedrich Heinrich, Prince zu Wied (Fürst zu Wied), third son of General of Infantry H.S.H. Wilhelm Adolf Maximilian Karl, 5th Prince zu Wied, Count of Isemburg, Lord of Runkel and Neuerburg, etc, sometime Presdt of the Prussian House of Lords and Mbr Imperial German Council for Colonial Affairs, by his wife, H.R.H. Princess Wilhelmina Frederika Alexandrine Anna Louise Marie, Princess zu Wied, younger daughter of Admiral H.R.H. Prince Willem Frederik Karel of the Netherlands, educ. Univ of Jena, Germany. Cmsnd as Lieut in the Gardes du Corps of the Royal Prussian Army, prom Capt of Cavalry 1911, GSO 1911-1912, sqd cdr 3rd Guards Regt of Uhlans at Potsdam 1912, resigned 1914, rejoined and prom Maj 14/10/1914, served in the Great War under the nom de guerre of Count von Kruja on the German divisional staff on the Eastern Front 1915-1917. The six European powers selected him to be sovereign prince of Albania 23rd November 1913 and formally informed of his selection, following ratification by the provisional Albanian government at Vlora, 3rd December 1913. He formally accepted signified his consent in writing to the British, Russian and French Ambassadors in Berlin, 6th February 1914. He received a delegation of Albanian representatives from every province of the country led by Essad Pasha Toptani and Eqrem Bey Vlora, who bore a casket of Albanian sand, earth and water, when he formally accepted the government, and was proclaimed as Vilhelm I, Sovereign Prince of Albania with the style of His Highness*, at Neuwied Castle, 21st February 1914. Arrived at Durazzo and took up residence at the Konak, 7th March 1914. He left the country after the withdrawal of the Great Powers and the stoppage of the subsidies from France and Italy, 3rd September 1914. Deposed by the Albanian National Assembly in June 1920, but he never abdicated his rights to the Albanian crown. Became a Rumanian citizen in 1934. Founder and Sovereign Grand Master of the Order of the Black Eagle, in five classes and three medals, 26th March 1914. Author of “Denkschrift uber Albanien” (1917). Rcvd: Knt of the Order of St Alexander Nevski of Russia (27.2.1914), GC of the Orders of North Star of Sweden (1896), Friedrich of Württemberg (29.10.1898), the Star of Rumania (4.12.1913), SS Maurice & Lazarus of Italy (10.2.1914), Leopold of Austria (13.2.1914), Legion of Honour of France (19.2.1914), and the Red Eagle 1st class of Prussia (25.2.1914), Knt of the Johanniter Order, Knt 3rd class of the Order of the Prussian Crown, Knt’s Cross of the Order of Military Merit 5th class without crown of Bulgaria, Zentar Medal, 1914/18 War Cross of Honour of Germany (1934), and the Carol I 40th Anniversary Jubilee (1906), Carol II Reign Anniversary (1934), Carol I Centenary (1939) medals of Rumania, etc. m. at Waldenburg, Saxony, 30th November 1906, H.H. Sofia, Princess of Albania (Mbretëreshë i Shquipëria) (b. at Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany, 21st May 1885; d. at Fântânele Castle, PaÅŸcani, Moldavia, Rumania, 3rd February 1936, bur. Evangelical Cathedral, Bucharest), née H.S.H. Princess Sophie Helene Cecile of Schönburg-Waldenburg, younger daughter of H.S.H. Otto Carl Victor, Hereditary Prince of Schönburg-Waldenburg, by his wife, H.S.H. Princess Lucie Franziska Euphrosyne Anna Alexandrine Georgine, eldest daughter of Lieutenant-General H.S.H. Prince Emil Karl Adolf of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, sometime ADC General to the Emperor of Russia, by his first wife, H.S.H. Princess Pulsheria, daughter of Prince Nicolae Constantin Cantacuzino, of PaÅŸcani, Moldavia, Rumania. He d. at Predeal, near Sinaia, Rumania, 18th April 1945 (bur. Evangelical Cathedral, Bucharest), having had issue, one son and one daughter: 1) H.H. Prince Carol Victor, Hereditary Prince of Albania (Princ i Shquipëria). b. at Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany, 19th May 1913, as Prince Karl Viktor Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst Günther zu Wied, educ. privately and at Berlin Univ (Dr jur). Raised to the title of Hereditary Prince of Albania and the style of His Highness 21st February. Succeeded on the death of his father as Head of the Princely House of Albania (Wied) and Sovereign Grand Master of the Order of the Black Eagle, 18th April 1945. m. at New York City, USA, 8th September 1966, H.H. Princess Eileen, Hereditary Princess of Albania (Prinkësh i Shquipëria) (b. at Chester, England, 3rd September 1922; d. at New York, USA, 1st September 1985), widow of Captain André de Coppet, DSC, late US Army, and daughter of George Johnston, Esq., landscape gardener, by his wife, Alice, née Percival. He d.s.p. at Munich, Bavaria, 8th December 1973 (bur. Neuwied am Rhein), when this house became extinct as no arrangements were put in place for a successor. 1) H.H. Princess Maria Eleanora, Princess of Albania (Prinkësh i Shquipëria). b. at Potsdam, Prussia, 19th February 1909, as Princess Marie Eleanore Elisabeth Cecile Mathilde Lucie zu Wied, educ. privately. Raised to the title of Princess of Albania (Prinkësh i Shquipëria) 21st February 1914. Press & Information Officer at the British Legation, Bucharest after WW2, arrested and imprisoned with her husband by the Rumanian Communist authorities in 1950. m. (first) at Munich, Bavaria, 16th November 1937, H.S.H. Prince Alfred of Schönburg-Waldenburg (b. at Castle Droyssig, near Zeitz, Saxony, Germany, 30th October 1905; d. there while on active service, at the Military Reserve Hospital, Zeitz, 10th March 1941), Lieut in a Panzer Regt, served in WW2 1939-1941, elder son of Colonel H.S.H. Prince Heinrich of Schönburg-Waldenburg, of Droyssig and Quessnitz in Saxony and Szelejewo in Poland, sometime ADC to the Emperor of Russia, by his first wife, H.S.H. Princess Olga Amalie Wilhelmine Ernstine Marie Pauline, eldest daughter of Colonel H.S.H. Alfred Ludwig Wilhelm Leopold, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg, Count of Limpurg, Princely Count of Umpfenbach, Lord of Freudenberg, Breuberg, Mondfeld, etc. m. (second) at Bucharest, Rumania, 5th February 1949, Ion Octavian Bunea (b. at GalaÅ£i, Moldavia, Rumania, 13th November 1899; d. at Muncih, Bavaraia, Germany, after 1977), arrested and imprisoned with his wife by the Rumanian Communist authorities 1950, later escaped and arrived in the UK in 1968, son of Aurelieu Bunea. She d.s.p. in a Communist internment camp at Miercurea Ciuc, Rumania, 29th September 1956.yright©Christopher Buyers *The title and style used for the Prince in Albanian was Mbret (King or Emperor) and Madheri (Majesty), the same terms previously used for the Ottoman Sultan. END. Copyright©Christopher Buyers ZOGU ORDERS & DECORATIONS MAIN Copyright©Christopher Buyers I would be grateful to hear from anyone who may have changes, corrections or additions to contribute. If you do, please be kind enough to send me an e-mail using the contact details at: Copyright©Christopher Buyers CONTACT Copyright© Christopher Buyers, August 2003 - October 2011

ehrenbund sachsischer weltkriegsteilnehmer e.v. without swords... ...ooops! too slow ;)

i think there is a pretty extensive thread on this guy somewhere on this forum...courtesy of the esteemed RR

and another http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2012/post-4736-0-83977600-1339359405.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2012/post-4736-0-85451400-1339359624.jpg

thanks, vince it's my impression that the version without the inscription is even harder to find. i haven't found one yet, but someday one will come my way. cheers!

hi d, thanks very much for taking the time and effort to provide an image of some of the reproductions this russian fellow is known for. i can see that he has two different styles of baltic cross 1st class displayed, but based on the above image it is difficult to establish an undeniable match to the cross depicted in this thread. thanks again, and happy collecting!

yep! welcome to the forum, thomas!

here's another period-repaired vaulted eagle that i like. this one is quite nicely done. front shows some repair to the enamel, and reverse has a finely executed pin system attached. the bar that the hinge and carch are attached to consists of actual silver http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2012/post-4736-0-01285900-1339110764.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2012/post-4736-0-99320700-1339110887.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_06_2012/post-4736-0-86456800-1339110906.jpg