Beau Newman

To revive this old topic, this popped up at the SOS this weekend:

Nimmergut states 8,086 total (3,250+ in gold and 4,800+ in silver-gilt).

The only thing I can offer is that the 1870 campaign bar combo is rather unusual and does not match up with any of the combinations associated with any of the Army Corps. You might be looking for someone who was a staff or inspectorate officer in 1870/71 to explain the "wandering" campaign bars. There also appears to be a Lippe House Order on the end that might help narrow the field somewhat.

I've posted this before but, here is an 1860's era mounting on a narrow bar: http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2012/post-6181-0-11480600-1325776413.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2012/post-6181-0-24532600-1325776443.jpg

The 1st Class is gilt with an enameled obverse center medallion. The 2nd Class is silvered with an enameled center. The 3rd Class is bronze with no enamel. There was also a late war version of the 3rd class in zinc. All classes were awarded with and without swords and with and without crown. True "without swords" awards are rare. I hope this is helpful,

Another group from a long serving NCO.

My contribution. The bar combination makes sense for the X Corps, which included the 91st IR. The 1866 Cross is a "Spangenstucke" private purchase type.

Nimmergut gives a number of over 40,000 for the combatant medal and over 5,000 for the non-combatant. As I understand it, one did not actually have to serve in China to receive the non-combatant award. Those that were involved in planning, equipping and other support activities were eligible, even if they never left Germany.

The reverse:

This arrived a couple of days ago. The medal combination and the campaign bars would seem to point to the 80th Fusiliers or the 13th Hussars as these are the only 2 units that I can verify at Weissenburg that also got the 22.NOVEMBER Kurhessian Jubilee Medal. The blue/white 4th ribbon missing a pendant is a bit of a mystery. Probably a veteran's type piece. Have any of you got a suggestion of what I should be looking for? Thanks in advance.

Close-up of the suspension:

My understanding is that the swords with squared crossguards are usually seen on the early medals made of solid bronze, silver or gilt silver. The swords with swallowtail shaped crossguards are seen on later, plated zinc awards. If this is an early example, the medal should be marked "SILBER 990" on the edge near the suspension. You can see a very similar set of swords on the silver example 3317 on Page 1356 of Vol. III of "Nimmergut" and on the silver gilt example on this group:

A close-up of the marking:

The reverse:

I picked this up in a lot of several items at a local estate auction. It is steel with a silver wash. I have found a piece of identical construction and markings (No "M" before the "4/27") for sale on a reputable website but, that doesn't necessarily mean that it is original. This is outside my normal area of collecting and I wouldn't feel comfortable selling or trading it without some idea as to its authenticity. Any opinions?

Much of the lettering is not crisply defined. I personally would pass on this one.

I picked this up at a local gun show last weekend. Nothing spectacular but neat. Does the Ernestine/Wurttemberg combo suggest a particular unit?

The 1st medal is probably the Reuss gold or silver Verdienst Medal on the peacetime purple ribbon.

The spange appears to be the Reuss 3rd Class Long Service Award for 9 years with the cypher of Heirich XIV. Reuss stuck with these up to 1917, several years after the other states had gone away from the spanges.

It looks good to me. I don't think I've ever seen an out and out fake of this award. I have seen a couple of what were probably private purchase examples for a medal bar with a more conventional (non-fixed) suspension.

And a neat WF Merit Cross pair:

A couple of items that were shown previously but are appropriate for this topic: Ribbon bar & minis - http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_03_2011/post-6181-0-13188100-1299794945.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_03_2011/post-6181-0-26870600-1299794982.jpg

This year's SOS provided the missing piece to last year's Lippe group - Thanks again to Solomon for the heads up.

If you're asking about the Gold Miltary Verdienst Medal, Nimmergut gives at total of about 4,400 for 1914-1918.

Here is a similar one except marked "SILBER" on the pin.