webr55

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Alert! A new flood of fakes currently on ebay, a style which I haven't seen before:

BTW, I have a dumb question: Were the Hanseatic Crosses given to soldiers and civilians alike?

If he had had a Schnalle prewar, I think he would most probably have exchanged it at least postwar. That's why I think he really didn't have a LS. I agree with the civilian theory, no military official. So probably NCO level, with Gen. Hon. Dec.

Back:

EK2 on white-black ribbon, General Honor Decoration (or RAO4?), Hamburg Hanseatenkreuz (colors blurred), Centenary, Weimar Ehrenlegion. What do you think? An NCO-level Beamter with the General Honor Decoration? Or rather a senior one with RAO4? Either way, no long service.

Makes sense, yes. But still, he would have had to be very effective in dodging both the Centenary and the XXV (AFTER WW1) while still getting the RAO4. Like for example, in from 1898-1910, RAO4 right before dropping out, recalled 1914-19, according to Imperial math makes 13 + 12 = 25 ... oops ... already there ...

I'm not too worried about the Ehrenlegion, bars like this exist. Wearers who just didn't care mixing official and non-official awards. Back seems ok, last medal was added later, but better pics would be needed. What I don't understand, but maybe it's just my fault: This guy was in the armed forces in WW1 (Hindenburg!). He's got an RAO4, so was at least a senior Hauptmann (or equivalent) rank in 1914. But how come he doesn't have ANY LS decoration in 1934?

Yes, the second bar has got it right. And I also think mine came from IR162.

And apparently he couldn't make up his mind how to align the Lübeck ribbon!

Here are my new two bars, which I bought separately. One of them went back and forth across the Atlantic, but here they are - reunited after all : Style of the bars says officer to me, also no WW1 long service medal for NCOs. From Lübeck, in any case, and later got the KVK2 for working in the Luftschutz.

and these last ones all come from Austria again. This seems to be the new Ohio indeed!

Is that possible? I always thought that the CoLs were only given to officers?

I didn't notice that! But you are right, of course! Like this:

The back:

Here's a new one I just got. Am I right that this should be a dR officer with either a prewar LD2 or a postwar LD1? Can't be an XXV, or he would have got a higher grade of the Cross of Liberty. So this should be a 1918 Oberleutnant dR - or maybe a senior Leutnant dR?

And the back:

Here's mine I got from ebay. It seems this is 1) Commander (3rd cl) Order of the White Elephant 2) Commander (3rd cl) Order of the Crown of Thailand 3) Commemorative Medal Silver Jubilee 1971 4) Commemorative Medal Crown Prince 1972 5) Commemorative Medal Princess Sirindhorn 1978 6) Commemorative Medal 84th Birthday 1984 7) Commemorative Medal 60th Birthday of Queen Sirikit 1992 8) Commemorative Medal Longest Reign (2000?) 9) Commemorative Medal King 72nd Birthday 1999 What I would really like to know: - What rank did this person have, approx.? - Are these bars already faked?

His awards in 1908/09 were: BMV2a, RAO2mE, KO2, XXV, Centenary, AOR2b, Japanese Holy Treasure Officer's Cross, Italian Crown Order Grand Officer, Austrian Iron Crown 2nd cl, Star of Romania Grand Officer.

I agree with regard to the bar Grant has shown. The missing LS is yet another sign for fake here. But the ebay bar that the link points to is another matter, I think. This could well be the bar of a junior officer who served in the east, and got medals from Slovakia and Croatia.

BTW, has anyone ever seen a bar before with KDM 70/71 AND Hindenburg? Wow! A first for me, at least.

Yeah, that's what I thought too! 25 - 40 - 50 yrs, maybe?? (any ideas how to survive 50 years in agricultural service? )

Ok, so this bar is probably ok. I was just surprised by the many devices. This is the Bundesverdienstorden 2nd cl, which at least by some recipients was worn behind the EK1, but before the EK2. The last ribbon is the Dutch Nijmegen march, can be found in many Bundeswehr groups.

Back says all:

And another Vienna sausage, comes from an Austrian seller whose other bars look ok.