Eric Stahlhut

that's something that an average ek1 collector doesn't see every day. thank you very much for sharing your images!

hello kay, very nice to see you back on here any chance of starting a thread with that one? it could generate a bit of discussion with the klein und quenzer crowd, etc etc p.s. what happened to your wonderful EK web page???

i think it has all of the characteristics of an original piece, but it is not necessarily an interwar piece, as this type of starburst, clamshell, or 'strahlenschraubsheibe' attachment disc was used during ww2 on all kinds of awards--for example it was used by Deumer, Alois Rettenmaier, and Schauerte & Hoehfeld on wound badges, submarine badges, infantry assault and general assault badges, 1939 and 1914 ek1s, and on 1939 ek1 repeat clasps (spangen).

something which (in my view) is infinitely harder to find than the official zinc commemorative badge: an official PAPER commemorative day badge!!

regarding medal #6 on the thurn bar--it is a romanian order of merit from the era of the quite controversial king carol the 2nd--probably very rare!

very interesting, btw the pin is definitely a keeper!

andy, thank you for the correction! i thought 72 and 74 were both stationed at bergnicourt in 1918. in any case, impressive badge in a style that looks to me kind of french

what a great looking badge! never seen one before...at 60mm too big for a kappenabzeichen, i'd think. both jastas were saxon and both were stationed in the ardennes in 1918. you can find basic info for both on wikipedia

Nice cross, but wow....$5780..... never in my dreams!

here's one that is often attributed to the berlin retailer friedrich sedlatzek, as they can be found with that firm's hallmark, and were available in both 800 silver and plated versions. this unmarked exa mple is magnetic with a copper wash, which was then silver plated. two vent holes

i do believe this example of a very rare cross has an extremely good chance of being authentic. the pre-ww1 versions have a crudely made appearance--especially the pinbacks. the gilding and base metal look correct for this cross--it's a rich subdued shade of yellow on a nice chocolate bronze (probably from captured cannons, etc etc) it's hard to replicate that old bronze, imo also, you can adjust your setting on your internet browser to automatically translate foreign languages--(my setting prompts me first). it's extremely helpful!

that's why he's sporting this seldom-seen badge, which was a late-war creation. not very many were issued https://antique-photos.com/en/awardsdatabase/german-empire/bavaria/661-golden-wedding-of-royal-couple-commemorative-badge.html

what's he wearing above the twm? one of those bavarian golden wedding badges in bronze, or is it some type of bulgarian award? also, is the last medal on his bar a spanish award? as you say, quite the impressive array

correct maker and excellent choice of wound badge, these are neat! if i may, i'd like to suggest that a little strategic touch up with renaissance wax could be very helpful in controlling the rust. works great on iron crosses, too--a little goes a long way

the condition of the frames (with minute traces of tarnish remaining) indicates that it has probably been cleaned at some point. the core shows virtually no wear at all as it has all of the finish intact. a very well taken care of cross that was most likely never worn very nice specimen!?

there were also specific collar badges for motorcyclists (kradfahrer) which are even harder to find nice badges straps and photos. great thread!

perhaps it was affixed to the frame of a portrait?

you have to click on the arrow or on 'Interesting '14 EK1'

thanks, chuck here's a link to some more crown and moon marked crosses. this time the hallmarks are incused i have not yet identified the maker

here's an UNUSED golden nail... this thing has gotta be rare-- the gold grades went for a lot of money back in the day; the ones used on the very famous 'der eiserner hindenburg' in berlin, went for today's equivalent of $500 USD really well made

struggling to get a clear image, i am reluctant to clean the pin, but ultimately that might be my only option-- there is a full word in there, to me it looks like " f. richter, 1. F(or R)????e?."

it could be, but in my experience these hand-etched markings done by the owner with whatever sharp object is handy usually denote the unit or the date that the cross was earned. i probably missed the rest i'll mess with it some more in hopes of finding and capturing an image of the minute chicken scratches when i get a chance. i have to find a loupe first, as my eyes no longer work so well on macro mode, lol

hi, here's something that i haven't looked at for many years; i may not have even posted it on this forum. if you were to see this at a show or displayed in a store it would be very easy to overlook the most important features of this particular cross: it's in one of those cloth tape, buttonless styles of case you know, the type with the blue velvet raised dais-- take it out, inspect the godet style core, looks like a nicely worn example flip it over, and yup! godet but then as you are fiddling with it, you notice that in the shifting light there seems to be something else other than the G on the pin, so you look at it real close at just the right angle !!! then you look at the back of the pin to look for a control stamp or something up near the hinge, but you notice some faint scratches and you have to REALLY get the angle just right to me it reads "f. richter, .1.???"

AND you could also invest with them...here is an early document that shows a modest return of 4% interest and here is their company logo from the 20s/30s...i've never noticed it before so i thought i'd share it. it's a rather unique design

hiya greg, hope all is well! about the cast appearance that both you and blackcowboybs brought up--it's the original finish! these crosses had some type of phosphate/? layer put on over the frames in order to protect from tarnishing and also increase wear resistance. the casted appearance comes from bead blasting before the "parkerization-type" chemical bath, producing a surface that is irregular on a microscopic scale. below is an example that has not aged as gracefully as jonas' example, but still has the original finish intact. please note a wear spot to the right of the catch assembly where the base metal of the silver frame is showing sorta like the rhodium 'frosting' on ww2-era pieces