Beau Newman

The next to last one is the Barbara Cross, a veteran's piece for former heavy artillerymen.

And a close-up of the 2 VMs:

The reverse:

Here is a Baden group I have had for a while that has both the Silver VM and the Large Gold VM. Both are on the combatant ribbon and both appear to be late plated zinc types. One problem - According to all the infomation I can find, the Large Gold VM was never awarded on this ribbon although about 500 awards of the small version were made. I can't find anything wrong with the bar that would indicate that it has been played with or is a recent fabrication. The wear and aging is consistent with a group that has been together for a long time. Any thoughts?

The new edition is available on German ebay. Do a search for "Nimmergut" and several should come up. About 40 Euros plus shipping. The new edition is quite a bit larger than previous years.

Amazing, just amazing. I don't know how you do it.

I've had this bar for a while and I've never been sure about it. The construction looks ok and the wear on the ribbons is what you would expect to see. My main issue is the crown & sword devices look a little odd. Any opinions?

In Prussia, the schnalle was awarded up to 1913 with the medal being awarded after that.

I've gotten a couple of different opinions on this piece. I've been told that the Wagner nameplate indicates that Wagner just did the customizing work (added hooks) to a customer's cross. I've also been told that this is an all the way Wagner piece. Any thoughts? http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_03_2009/post-6181-1238028817.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_03_2009/post-6181-1238028848.jpg

Wartime 16th Ulans: http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_03_2009/post-6181-1237859883.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_03_2009/post-6181-1237859915.jpg

7th Kraftfahrer http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_03_2009/post-6181-1237859751.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_03_2009/post-6181-1237859794.jpg

Gladly -

The reverse. The small metal tag is from the firm of Friedrich Sedlatzek.

I obtained this pair many years ago before I became aware of the scarcity of Saxe-Weimar groups. According to Neal O'Connors book on aviation awards, the Gold Merit Cross with Swords was only awarded 166 times between 1914 and 1919, of which 148 went to "natives". The same reference noted that the General Honor Decoration was awarded in fairly large numbers in the 3 grades, leading me to believe that any "native" recipient of the Merit Cross would have almost surely received the General Honor Decoration, as well. Is it possible that there was a very senior NCO or Warrant Officer rank that would have been eligible for the Merit Cross but was too senior for the General Honor Decoration? Or, is it possible that this could be one of the 18 "non-native" recipients.

No marks that I can find.

3rd Sea Battallion Volunteer.

I'm not sure if these are anything more than private purchase pieces but, here is a silver one.

And the reverse:

Gladly - The obverse:

The reverse:

I've had this pair for several years and it has always puzzled me a bit. The Colonial Medal is definitely the small size for native troops. However, the Kreigs Verdienst Medal is the large Prussian style, not the small Empire type. I have been told that this style was awarded to some non-Germans during WWI in lieu of the EKII but, have not been able to confirm that. Is this combination legit?

Looking at the ribbon, it's probably a Saxon Long Service Cross.

It looks like Ernst II to me. Oddly, only the cross for Arts & Sciences was awarded during his era, according to Nimmergut.

With the HC flipped back:

This Saxe-Coburg Group arrived from Germany a few days ago. It's an interesting example of a Weimar era group with a later addition of the Hindenburg Cross. Rather than have the 1920's Kyffhauser Medal removed and replaced with the HC, per regulations, it appears that he had the HC simply sewn into the top of the backing and made to drape over the top of the bar.