peter monahan

Excellent. Yes, my money was on unofficial but I don't know enough about Pakistani practice to be definite on that. A nice looking piece, presumably worn on a wide ribbon.

" the morning star that stands for the battle of 1302 (golden spurs battle) faught and won by the Flemish against the French ...The axe stands for the 600 Walloons (from Franchimont) killed by the French in 1468 at Liége. " And I thought the Irish had long memories! An uncle of mine was reduced one winter to reading the 19th century records of his parish here in Canada and one letter to the pastor from a group of disgruntled parishioners assured him that they knew how to 'treasure a hurt'. Thats' the Irish! but, claerly, the Flemish are no slouches when it comes to harbouring ancient grudges either. Fascinating info. Thanks!

Yes, it looks like a commemorative piece. possibly official or semi-official but given the respect with which Jinna is held in pakistan, quite possibly a prvate piece made for sale/presentation during the celebrations.

You're probably right. i must confess I didn;t know that Italy was involved in that particular imperila adventure but if she was, your theory makes perfect sense.

Perhaps a private visit to Italy, enroute to of from postings in the Middle East or Far East? Just a thought.

I'm Canadian, so we don't get to CHOOSE cold weather but why would any Kiwi in his/her right mind choose Antarctica? More seriously, though, why would Scott Base have Ammunition Technical Officers, who I assume are some kind of ordnance techs? Surely they penguins aren't such a thread that the assigned personnel have to be armed?

Good luck in the hunt! You'll need both luck and patience, but it does happen. And welcome to the GMIC!

Thailand may well be a contender. Hard to say too much about the cryptic symbols except 'Not Roman letters nor Arabic numerals'.

The vast majority are British [or Imperial/Commonwealth]. Most public libraries will have at least one book about them. If you can attach names, even if only in your own head, to medals, these dialogues will be far less confusing and your chances of selling them much improved.

And I wonder how the knife made its way from Argentina to SA - probably the easy half to explain- and then to Somerset! The joys of collecting.

My only contribution is to say that when I lived in West Africa we were told that bone will scorch in flame and ivory will not. tested that theory with a match and a piece of 'ivory' and it's true! I raised a nice blister on my finger touching the very hot but unmarked ivory. You probably don't want to risk scorching what looks like bone to me too but there may be other methods to distinguish - I haven't needed to check in 30 years now. I'm glad its genuine, as its a lovely piece! A friend of mine has a number of faux scrimshaws - made of high grade acrylic in the form of sperm whale teeth - which he acquired in Hawaii years ago, and which I've always been fascinated by. I believe they're copied from originals and the detail on some is exquisite.

Unusual and quite attractive, IMO. Thanks for sharing.

I love the photos of His Majesty on the horse: one rider, two handlers and 4 cloak holders. Gotta be a government job!

Sadly that's the case: without provenance it could be one of many many things and, unlike military wear, there are no regulations nor lists by which to ID such items.

Lovely. Well up to his usual standards.

I've never tried Trstram Shandy. Is it made with ginger beer as well?

Ooooh! Shiny! A very attractive award. Thanks for sharing it.

One offs, manufactured by State jewellers were probably far from rare originally but given the exifgencies of time and distance now rank with hen's teeth! Some of the State regalia and awards are truly lovely and, sadly, some are of the order of 'Make it like this [official award] but shinier!' Let's hope we get to see more closeups. I would say, that the bar is clearly hand engraved, which is to be expected. Haven't checked but I don't believe the original had bars as such, as the awrd itself was a single issue and pretty well self explanatory and self contained. Nice touch though!

Not military but may be livery, ie: a servant's uniform.

I'm surprised I didn't find him in the War Graves records and apologize for that oversight!

Believe it or not, a member of the Great War Association in the US made a running model of one of these out of plywood and metal and brought it to our Spring 2016 event at Newville. It was static, as I understand the transmission failed, but very very impressive. Even more inriguing was the fact that he scaled up plans from a 1/35th scale Tamiya plastic model rather than using measurements and photos of actual examples. I have no idea what the interior looked like, but it is a true labour of love and very cool.

Mind, putting the handles on would make it easiert to re-fit a chin strap if necessary.

And are you saying that's a bad thing, Paul? If I worked in a hospital I'd be putting away all the alcohol I could lay hands on! But, yeah,. that's a lot of beer. I worked in the bush with a camp cook one summer who drank a 'two four' - 24 half pint bottles - every working day, starting at 6:00 a.m. and working till 6:00 p.m. Never visibly drunk but never without an open bottle on one corner of his stove. Been doing it for years and this may just have been his maintenance doseage, with 'real drinking' saved for his days off . More seriosuly, should we consider re-naming this thread? It appears to have strayed somewhat from 'German Army X-rays' since its inception.

The $64 question with South asian stuff! It seems as if tailor's copies are widely accepted, if not for wear in uniform then for retired servicemen, and it wouldn't be the first time a veteran has worn a 'bar' he/she felt entitled to, either copied from an issue device or made up out of whole cloth. In fact, there are now a large number of 'bars' for WWII actions - 'Normandy' and 'D-Day' come to mind - made up for those who feel the government SHOULD have issued such things and worn on various devices by veterans. So, you pays your money and you takes your choice!

I'd say check Taiwan / Nationalist China for no. 1, based on the star, and I think I see Arabic symbols/letters on No. 2 . The device atop no. 2, where one often sees a crown is odd - [erhaps a flower? Neither rings any immediate bells.