hankmeister

Agree, fake. Safe your money.

All very nice Rich, congrats. He may be looking for maker's names vs. awardee's name. I personally also really like the packets that have had the awardee's name written on it. Makes it more personal from the tons of unattributed EKs. Of course, there's always the argument that we can often never know when the name was written on the packet. best Hank

No problem. You ought to be able to find copious amounts of 65's out on the net, and do a comparison. K&Q used a couple of different cores, so make sure you check the right ones. best Hank

Looks like a 65 on the pin? The cross makes a pretty good impression, hard to duplicate that sort of paint on the core. best Hank

Yeah, that's what they tell people who are "appearance challenged"! best Hank

That's one ugly cross! best Hank

Wow! You do seem to have mastered the art of understatement Mike! Great collection. best Hank

unknown very. best again, Hank

Definitely some great docs, thanks for showing them! Hank

IMHO, compared to the crosses, the Verleihungsurkunden for these medals are even harder to find! I don't even remember seeing any for sale anywhere...they'd be a primo addition to any collection! best Hank

Isn't the issue date 20 Mai 1940? (Bottom of page 2) Or is that something different? thanks Hank

What maker number is on the ring? best Hank

Gorgeous! Was this on a dealer site recently? I seem to recall seeing this, or a similar one somewhere. best Hank

You'd have to get a TON of info for meaningful data, but I have in my collection 2 L/11s, one with box, one without. The "with" was won/awarded late 1944. The "without" was won/awarded I believe in mid 1943. If anybody else has these with strong provenance, by all means share. best Hank

Outstanding group Motorhead. I'm glad to see you think like I do -- it's a shame when people break these groups into single pieces!! Great on you that you kept it together. best Hank

Looks like it could be an L/11 or 23. If there's a little hump at the top of the frame where the ribbon ring attaches, it's probably the L/11. If not, then probably 23. I think there are examples of both of those posted here, have a quick look around and compare. Very nice cross. best Hank

Can you post better pics of the 21? thanks Hank

Better pictures of the front and back would help. As you say, this pin setup is normally only found on Schinkel EK 1s. Is there any evidence the pin has been replaced? best Hank

Concur... this one is a fake. best Hank

Just out of curiousity, what's "fanticism"? I checked it on Webster.com, and it's not in their dictionary.... And while we're at it, what's "unimormed"??? Or "complusion"? WW2PO, if you're going to make fun of people's hobby, I'm going to call you out on your less than exemplary use of English (maybe you're foreign) or typing skills (maybe you're lazy). best Hank

I think these are attributed to Deumer. That's at least what the front frame & core look like. The back has the Zimmerman kinda pin, which makes them hard to pinpoint. best Hank

Interesting Rick. Really doesn't look like "Herr", my thought was it also doesn't look like some of the forced signatures very often seen on fakes. Do you have any opinion on the stamp? That's what makes me nervous and skeptical. My thoughts were, this is such a late date for the DKiG, it's possible that he might be one of the overlooked recipients. Mind you, I'm not arguing this is guaranteed authentic, just keeping an open mind at this point. best, Hank

Actually, it looks possible. I kinda don't like the stamp though, having never seen one like it. If you could find out who the signer is (as the sig looks to be done in an authentic style) there might be hope for this doc. Will take some research though. best Hank

Here's what I can add: Post 4: 14 July 1942 winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42 (Ostmedaille) Verliehen durch Batt. ?? Nr. 110 p. 14.7.42 ?.(the rest I can?t figure out). Post 6: His promotion page. #1 looks like Pionier, 2 is Gefreiten, 3 is obergefreiten, and 4 says ?Promotion? but doesn?t give a rank. ?Datum? is obviously the date of promotion. The ?Truppenteil? column gives his unit of assignment at the time. Post 8: History of medical treatment in field hospitals. First is for hepatitis, second is for a wound or illness, code #17. There?s lists of what the various numbers stand for, but I don?t have a link handy. Post 9: Release date, special notes, and signature of person who released him from field hospital. Post 10: I believe this is a record of pay received.

Although it's not on the Bel/Lux border, not far away between Trier and Hermeskeil in Germany, on Bundesstrasse 51 (B51), there is a small memorial for a work camp there. I don't recall the name of it, but it's been fairly recently memorialized. You can do a walking tour of the former grounds, with various points of interest labeled. best Hank