Daniel Murphy

Gentlemen, I have tried several times to get a Godet "G" marked EK 2, but they always got snapped up before I got there. On the ones I have seen, I noticed the stem on the oakleaves bent toward the right instead of to the left (or straight) as on most EK2's. As I was looking through my EK2's the other day, I observed that this one that I had always listed as an unmarked private purchase piece had the same feature as the "G" marked piece. All this time I may have had one and not known it. This one however has a custom suspender for the ribbon to fit through. The details on the core are in very high relief and the oakleaves are very intricate. Here is the obverse, Dan Murphy

Joe, Verdigris is a form of corrosion that acts slowly, probably over decades. It is usually seen when metals such as copper, brass or even silver come into contact for prolonged periods with other objects that hold moisture, such as leather, cloth etc. The only thing I have ever done is used a stiff bristled toothbrush on it. That is usually enough to remove it and will not harm the patina on the rest of the piece. If that does not work, you will have to decide how much you like the almost hundred years of patina on the back, because anything stronger will surely remove it in that area. If you ever have any duplicates you want to get rid of, I would love to have one to display with my baby (seen at left). Dan Murphy

There is one other possibility. Troops that fought in the Spartakus Bund in the 20's removed the crowns from their spiked helmets and I have seen aviation badges with the crown removed. There is the possibilty that someone had a jeweler restore the crown on their badge, but one like this would be rare. If you are seeing these in number then there is a problem. Then there is the private purchase possibility, but I would imagine even if a cliche badge like this was offered, if would at least be in tombak or neusilber. Dan Murphy

Joe, Super nice piece. I have only seen a couple real ones of different types before. I have to say this one has them beat. Beauty, simplicity and quality all in one piece. Dan Murphy

Chris, I would say that the unit mark is just for Infantry Regiment 234. Often when it is a line regiment the R alone is just used as an abbreviation instead of I.R. or J.R. (interchangable). If it was a reserve unit it should show R.R. or if a single letter was used it would be a script R instead of a roman R. I have a holster marked like this, but under the flap. If memory serves it was the 144th Inf. Regt. The Luger has the same unit mark with both matching magazines and the holster is also numbered to the gun. It was taken from an officer POW near Monte Cassino by a member of the 36th Div. and I got it from him. If this is something you want to keep, I can look them up and give you their wartime service history. Let me know, Dan Murphy

Rick, Like I said a REAL zeppelin badge is something that has evaded me to date. Dan Murphy

Joe, Does it have the "paddle" boards or regular straps? If Paddles, I would say medal bar, if just regular straps then ribbons. Next question, what is the extreme spread of the loops for the medal bar. This would give us an idea of how many awards he had. Oh, Joe, one more thing, "We want pictures!!!" Dan Murphy

I am not crazy about the white solder on the disc and on the small loop. If this is supposed to a Gold piece, no way. If it is a later gilt piece then maybe real, but in my opinion it is borderline. Dan Murphy

Yes, I know, it is a beauty. Very high quality piece that one. A real Zep badge is something that has eluded me to date.. Dan Murphy

Chris, That is one super bar. I see why you are saying doctor, the War Aid Cross which is mainly given to those in a noncombattant role. Supposedly von Hindenburg was the first recipient of it though. Just a guess really but I would say junior officer since there are no pre war orders. A doctor would be in a position to receive combattant and non-combattant awards if he saw service near the front, as good a guess as any. Christophe, Sometimes the color of the backing is related. Red=Infantry, black or navy blue=Naval, etc. The backing color on this one does look like one color of a Prussian medical officers litzen, it could also be naval. I will let one of the experts tackle it for a definite answer. Dan Murphy

I do not believe this is a promotion document, perhaps just that the individual had been appointed to the command of a zeppelin at his current rank. The appointment could have been verbal late in the war and this could very well be a catch up document for the officer's records. The stickpin is stated to be the insignia of the Marine Luftschiffer Verein, a veterans organization formed of personnel who served on naval zeppelins during the war. That is what the M. L. V. on the insignia stands for. I have never seen this insignia before and have no idea if a full size badge was made. As with most of his items, I believe it is grossly overpriced. Dan Murphy

The last for now, this a an advertising card for Leibnitz cookies. What every soldier really wants for Christmas. Dan Murphy

And this one

I dug out my original albums and found a few more. Dan Murphy

Marc, That is a great piece. The cross is very high quality as are the oakleaves and on a south German ribbon no less. However, I still like these OL on my NC 1870. The swirls look very much like those on a painting by Picasso. Imagine having to cut that die! Dan Murphy

Here is one more that is not a photo but a Christmas card. I have only included it because it is marked "Feldpost" on the back. It was mailed Dec. 12, 1915. Dan Murphy

Here is the only one I could come up with. There were a couple others that were maybes but no greens. This one is marked "Christmas in the field 1916". There are men holding up cards with their regimental number on it. Represented are "Rgt. 101", "Rgt. 14", "Rgt. 193", "Rgt. 3", "Rgt. 108" and one shoulder board that I can see displays an 8. On both tables are wrapped presents (And a couple liters of beer). Dan Murphy

Joe and all, Those are beautiful crosses. I will have to add one of these to my EK 1 want list alongside of the Hansen and AWS pillow back already on it. Hint, hint. Dan Murphy

Blitz, Please add one "G" and one "We" with the mark on the little ring. Thanks, Dan Murphy

I was Floched a couple times myself. However now I have been defloched . I gave them to my friend who needed some display pieces for his uniforms. He was told what they were and how to tell them. Dan Murphy

Here is a close up of the mark. I looked at the list of EK 2 makers and found a "we" as an unknown on the list. This is probably the same mark, but on mine the "w" looks like it supposed to be a capital letter "We" instead of "we". Does anyone else have one of these to compare? Here is the close up of the mm, it is tiny and this is the best I could do. Dan Murphy

Gentlemen, I just received this medal bar today from a fine young man in Germany (thanks again C.L.). When I examined the "unmarked" EK 2, I was struck by the sheer quality of the piece and looked closer to see if there was a weak MM. It was not marked on the large ring, but on the small one soldered to the top of the cross, I found the mark "We". The FA Medal is genuine silver and as you can see, the overall condition of the bar and medals is excellent. Here is the bar. Dan Murphy

Flak88 and Wild Card, Nice to see these rare pieces. The first one posted is high quality and no doubt original, But the second is a real stunner in the way it is made. Reminds me of my Godet Turk War Medal with all of the pieces individualy riveted. Sweet! Dan Murphy

I was thinking the same thing, when I saw this. Then I remembered seeing AS marked on some items for Assmann and Sohne. Is AS a later 20's-30's mark? Dan Murphy

Greg, Glad you could join us, Dan Murphy