Daniel Murphy

Joe, I must concur. They just ooze class and style. Vaulted screwbacks? Even better. When I pick them up I just marvel at the ingenuity of the makers and quality of what they were able to produce. Dan Murphy

Claudio, The lower bar looks perfectly legit. The Baden MKFO is out of place but it could be personal preference since it ranks so high. The upper one I have issues with. 2 red cross awards but with another ribbon between the RC ribbons? Very odd. A Johanniter Order on a ribbon bar? with a mini device? Even more odd. Dan Murphy

Otto, It is great how the collecting community and your extended family have come together to keep bringing more pieces to light for you. Starting with a small grouping and ending up with what you have now, is just fantastic. Keep us posted. And by the way, if you have not found any, I have a pair of enlisted flieger straps I may be able to be talked out of. "Winged Prop" over "1" couple of small nips, nothing that really shows. Other than that in super condition with great embroidery (private purchase style). Dan Murphy

Chip, Great 4th class MVOx. I had one of these mint and cased before I really got into imperial really hard. I sold it for what I had into it (like an idiot). I wish I had it back.

I agree that this piece is probably a real spangenstuck from the 20's. That ball suspension has to be a replacement though. I have never seen one of these with that style. Tony, I thought I was the only one who even gave a second looks to these "substandard" variations. I have 6 in all 2 two piece construction, 3 one piece construction and 1 '39 pattern in one piece zinc. Not to mention the plated brass frames, neusilber frames and tin cores. Dan Murphy

Tim, Thanks, I figured it was hard to ID something from just a description and/or there might be some more info out there now on these. 18 Karat Gold? It is somewhat heavy and bright with no corrosion but I had no idea. Must have been one h*ll of a donation! . I picked this up from George Petersen about 12-15 years ago for $75. He had no idea what it was, and neither did I, but I liked it. Wow 18 Karat, that just blows me away.

And part of the same mark on the pin. I have asked Tim Tezer to check out this thread and give his opinions.

Here is a close up of the marking in the center of the star at the top of the badge. It is "T.C. 18" with a crescent. I have lightened the photo of the Australian piece on my computer and it also does have the same marking as this one.

As you can see this badge is rather crudely cast and finished. There is a crack at the top of one wing and I can see that it is solid brass, not just plated. Reverse...

Ok, here are the pics of mine. Sorry for the wait. I once sent an email to Tim Tezer and described the badge. He thought that it could be a 1920's (from the markings) aviation donation pin. After WW1, the Turkish air service was disbanded and in 1923 it was recreated. The first pilots of the new formation were trained in France in 1924. Training in Turkey did not begin until 1925. Since the written Turkish language was changed from arabic script to latin letters in 1924, why would a later case still be marked in the old language. The badge measures a rather small 34mm wide by 39mm high. The insignia at the top resembles the breast star of the Osmani Order. Obverse.... Dan Murphy

Gentlemen, I ran across this blog while performing a search. There is a link below. About halfway down the page there is a purported Turkish airmans qualification badge from WW1 in it's issue case. This item is in the collection of the Australian War Museum and the description is theirs. The description states that these were issued in bronze, silver and gold grades depending on perhaps how well they qualified. The one shown is in Bronze and there are additional photos at the AWM site. One photo shows the top of the titled case but it is, of course in arabic. All photos are copywrited, so I cannot post them. I have the exact badge in gilt without case. It is getting late so I will post photos tommorow. Dan Murphy Here is the link to the blog: Turkish history blog Here is the link to the search page at the AWM. Just enter "turkish badge" and select period WW1 1914-1918. It will come up at the top of the page: Australian War Museum

Hey, that is the rare TR Chinese colonial officers sword with the foo dog hilt. Dan Murphy

I just picked up a minty pair of original field gray mittens without the trigger finger. In addition to the "ball and slot" straps to keep them together, there is a third strap to suspend the pair from an overcoat button. The body is lined with a dark grey wool and the thumb is lined with tan and brown striped wool. Tom, The reason these are so hard to find is that objects like this had a practical every day use (in cold weather) and were used after the war during the depression until worn out and then thrown away. You may not wish to wear your uniform and either had it converted to a civilian cut or packed it away. Officers had a little more money and could afford to pack their items away. During the depression, the common ex-soldier wore whatever he had, so now to find issue shirts, underwear, trousers, etc. is extremely hard and often very expensive. The stuff that was worn hard and thrown away is now what is the most rare, even if it is just a pair of mittens. Look at the price of a common ammunition bandolier, made to be thrown away after use. The last two I saw for sale were over $200 each. Dan Murphy

Most impressive gentlemen. A round of drinks for all concerned Dan Murphy

Joe, Nice one. I have not seen that maker before. One of the nice things about imperial EK2s, you could probably have 178 variations and still not have them all. 78? Looks I need to play some catch up before all the good ones are gone. Dan Murphy

Now that is a one in a million. Here is a bar that could only have belonged to one of nine officers and somebody goes and finds a picture of that man wearing that exact (down to the minute details) medal bar. Great job and a pat on the back for all involved. But...which one is he? Dan Murphy

Kevin, I would say that the price is usually lower for these because many collectors only want top quality silver framed pieces. To me these are just as interesting, if not more so because I collect variations of the EK2. These are rarely found in top condition, which makes yours just that much better. Yes they were silver plated and then the centers were painted. The plating on some was probably very thin and flaked or wore off over the years. Dan

Bob, Nice bar. Definitely not a military man, the Hungarian medal did not come out until the 30's and there is no Honor Cross. If he were a doctor he would have had a higher grade of the red cross medal, yet there is also that nice Bavarian Red Cross long service (?) cross. I would say a Bavarian Red Cross ambulance driver or stretcher bearer who served at the front in support of Bavarian troops on the eastern or Italian front. As for the backer, it is not a centenary medal ribbon, look at the woven edge of the ribbon at the top of the bar. I believe it is just a wide yellow silk decorative ribbon. Dan Murphy

Claudio, Beautiful immaculate condition piece. You can just tell this has been lovingly care for over the generations. Probably post war but much nicer than some of those made in the later years. Dan Murphy

Claudio, Great hat trick. No doubt about that engraved piece is there? Patina like that does not accumulate in just a few years. The Prinzengrosse crosses are super nice as well. You have been very busy. Dan Murphy

Reverse.

Not trying to hijack your thread, but I might as well show the whole family. The top ones are two piece strikes soldered together and the three on the bottom are one piece strikes. All are brass/bronze construction.

The only real difference I can see, besides condition, is the way the tip of the oakleaves branch curves. Some of these have some really nice details, yours included.

Kevin, I agree with you, this is just too nice to be a fake. Look at how nicely the suspension is put on and with solid materials intended to be used. With a seamless ring, not seen any fakes with those. Can you tell what the base metal is? Perhaps peeking through on one of the corners etc.. I don't know if these were some of those issued in the 20's or whether they are period duplicates. Either way, I like them. Here is one of mine in bronze that is very close to yours. Dan Murphy

I bought a 1950's biker jacket once for $50, just to get the EK2 hanging from the zipper on one of the pockets. That is what your EK2 reminds me of, a biker or surfer painted piece. Underneath it appear to be a nice cross, so I would probably strip it and put it back like it should be. It has a remarkable amount of core finish remaining. But to each his own. Your vaulted piece is very nice as well, for some reason I like that hinge set up. It just looks so late war or depression period to me. Dan Murphy