Daniel Murphy

Sal, A Hollow WW1 Bavarian by Poellath should have a "crown well" like this one. This one is mine.

It would appear they were an all over military outfitter. For one thing they made some very nice quality officers spiked helmets. Here are the labels from one. Dan Murphy

Steve, Now that I know you have a real Mecklenburg fetish, I must show you my Upside-down Mecklenburg-Schwerin MVK some day. Or have you seen it? Great collection and well displayed. Dan Murphy

Sorry, but what is inside the border looks like Mount Fuji. Perhaps a rare Japanese made EK2 for the Germans in the POW camps. Ok seriously, I have no idea. It is just one of those undecipherable marks from what I can see. Very odd looking crown on the obverse, I see why you didn't get a match. Sorry Dan Murphy

Thanks for the compliment, I am a kid at heart. But I do remember the Marx brothers and not from CDs. I'll be 48 in a week or so. BTW, Nice cross you have there. Dan Murphy

That is a magnificent early bar. I have never seen the 1866 Mecklenburg MVK before. How a Prussian officer that fought the Austrians got the Iron Crown must be a very interesting story. I hope you can find out and eventually re-complete the bar . Dan Murphy

I would say the medals are 1. Red eagle order with crown. 2. 1870 EK2 3. 1870-71 Kriegsdenkmunze. 4. Schaumburg-Lippe Military Merit medal with crossed sabers. He is a Hauptmann probably of the Koenigs Uhlanen Regiment (1 Hannoversches) Nr. 13. It is hard to say, but that could be white facings. Dan Murphy

Just goes to show there is no limit to the depths of stupidity in the human being. Or on ebay for that matter People are destroying their own heritage and don't care. Dan Murphy

Okay Mike. Just a little good natured joking going on. I promise it won't happen again. Dan Murphy

Ralph, Nice "naval" variation with the brass core. Must be pre LDO and therefore a type A S&L. Can we get Dietrich to analize this one? Dan Murphy

Ralph, Great close-ups of the little devil. They are magnificent pieces. Is either bar ID'd? Dan Murphy

A number of us have found that several firms used more then one core design. Some makers used several. Whether some makers outsourced parts to other makers has not been proven, but is possible. These companies dealt with the smelting of iron and silver. A fire that damaged one part of a factory could lead them to purchase the items needed to complete their allotment of crosses to be delieved each month under their contract with the government. Then as now, a violation (Say delivering 384 crosses instead of 500 that month) of a contract is not a good thing. It would not be a major violation, but is still a violation. Especially when you are dealing with the government. This is just one possible scenario that would lead to the core differences you state. It is known that J. Wagner & Sohne and Sy & Wagner used some of the same cores. Dan Murphy

I would say that the holes in the back of the seat are where the cloth seat belt was attached or where the seat was attched to the framework. Looking at what is left of the plane, the souvenir hunters literally busted the plane apart to get the guns and engine off. Looking at how the seat is bent up, they did the same thing here. The enlarged rivet holes are only natural if an item is ripped apart. To have a bullet actually hit where one of the rivets was, is not impossible, but unlikely. What are the odds. Whether he was shot by Brown, the Aussie gunner or by some unknown frightened Aussie when he tried to get out of the plane, we will never know. All of the particpants are long dead and their stories for the most part support themselves. Were an Aussie vet to say years ago that he shot MvR out of hand, he would be reviled and called a liar. So if it happened, that story remained untold for a good reason. Should every gory detail of his death be rehashed over and over again in a vain attempt to find out who shot him? No. The man was a soldier, he did his duty under some of the worst conditions possible and excelled at his job. He wasn't a saint and he wasn't evil, he was a soldier who had to kill or be killed. Eventually he was killed. Thats all. The fact that many people only remember him by how many planes he shot down, how many men he killed and his death do him a great disservice. Here we have a theoretical death by gunshot: If a man is shot in a house and then the house is torn down and carted away before the investigators get there, will we ever know exactly how he was shot and by whom? Probably not. There is evidence he was shot, but there is no bullet remaining and the only evidence points that he was in the house and not much else. Then if two men who were at two different places and had never met each other come forward and confess to have shot him with the same calibre of weapon, how do we decide who to proscecute. There is not enough evidence to prove or disprove eithers confession and both men, with a good defence, would probably be acquitted at trial. This is one of those great mysteries that will probably never be solved. If it were solved one day, I think most would be disappointed that the investigation was now over. Others would still argue about how the conclusion was obtained. Thanks for the great photos of where he crashed. Dan Murphy

Unit mark.

Here are some of the auction photos before they disappear.

Great pieces of history. I have seen very few flyers like that that have survived. Most people looked at them, a few actually read them and then just about all would have thrown them away. I still don't see how they hold up the books though Rick, excellent photos to demonstrate the periods. Those 1914 reservists don't look very happy to be yanked from their peaceful lives and thrust into a war. If they only knew what was to come. Dan Murphy

Ralph, Beautiful items and a great display. Just one thing though, your LS Bar is upside down. Dan Murphy

At the very least it saved him from a particularly nasty wound. Most were worn at the waist and a pelvic wound would be rough. Nice display to honor your ancestors too. BTW is the watch running? Dan Murphy

Chris, Already taken care of. Right now I have no idea what they are going for. I would say at least $4.5K and up for the rig. I took out a short term loan at the bank to get that one, but the good price ($2K)more than made up for the interest I had to pay. I wrote the guy at the show a check on Saturday and I had my loan to cover it on Monday. Having done this a few times, the loan officers know me and are very understanding. Dan Murphy

Oops, for some reason I can see it, but you can't. New Avatar enroute. Dan

Rick, I have seen you work a number of minor miracles here on this forum. You are in the majors now and have stepped up to the plate. Here in the little leagues I am rooting for you, I know you've got what it takes to get the job done. Dan Murphy

Richard, Get them in some water and see what happens. Maybe lots of mini clams! Great crosses BTW. Dan Murphy

That helmet being unit marked to G.G.R. 1 is unique as far as I am concerned. Don't hesitate now, get that payment out. I have had my collecting mentor (and best friend) help me out years ago and tell me to get off my butt and buy an item. I have never regretted it and neither will you. An original cut out helmet unit marked to a Garde regiment, I mean Wow, this would be a major piece for anyones collection. Oh, don't worry about what I said above, that was just the Jewish mentor guilt routine. Some people believe anything found on ebay cannot be real, plain and simple. The thing about ebay is, you have to sort out the 5% of good stuff from the other 95% junk. When you learn how to do that, you are good to go. As far as price, a little high. But there is that old saying "The high price will be forgotten long before the joy of high quality" You've already got a few knowledgable people (here and elsewhere) saying it is real, so I see no problem. There are always a few that will poo poo anything and everything. But I will tell you one thing, I would love to have that helmet in my collection. Anytime you don't want it anymore let me know. Now, get it paid for, get it in your hot little hands and get us some great pictures of it on this thread. Thats an order soldier. Dan Murphy