Schießplatzmeister

Rick: Very well stated! This sort of thing irks me too! There is no sense publicly identifying this piece in order for the seller to make money off it. This in no way serves collectors who have a genuine interest in these items. That being said, I do not believe however that there will be too many takers at the astronomical price at which this beautiful and genuine set of miniatures is being offered. The folks that are selling it seem to be a bit taken with their items and they apparently wish to retain most of them forever (considering the prices at which they are offered). Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Gordon: Well, to place a "value" on such a piece is rather difficult without seeing it. Wear, enamel chips, etc. can diminish the value considerably. A genuine piece in perfect condition would command a price of US$750-US$1,000 (or perhaps even more). These are beautiful pieces that don't come onto the market often anymore. I hope that this helps. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Jaba1914: I used to own a piece identical to this that was stamped "SILBER" and "900" on the ribbon ring. These pieces are made in an identical style to the period originals. I was not 100% certain that it was a pre-1918 award however, so the piece was sold in auction to a buyer in Germany over ten (10) years ago. I surmised at the time that it was probably a post-1918 piece, but a true "wearing copy". I have seen others like this for sale once in awhile. Unfortunately, there is no way to be certain regarding their period of manufacture. Of course, you know about the forgeries that came out a few years ago which have opaque green enamel on the laurel leaves (also, the laurel leaves are very thick). I have seen a few "convincing-looking" pieces appear for sale in auctions of a northern-German auction house within the last few years. I suspect however that they are merely expertly made forgeries. I consider the seller that is offering you this piece very reputable from my experiences with him. However, I personally will not purchase one of these pieces again unless it comes with documents, photos of the recipient, etc. (fresh from the estate of the family). It is like buying a PLM! The question is: How good are the copies that are out there? I'm sorry to not have better news or advice! MfG, "SPM"

Hello again Steve: Wow! A real pilot's badge! This is something that I will never have a chance to own in my lifetime. Congratulations! I believe that since Wilhelm G?dde was assigned to Kampfstaffel 19, he was probably not flying bombers, but was flying escort for bombing missions on the Western Front. It appears as though Kampstaffel 19 was attached to Bogohl 4. A fascinating grouping! Do you have a G?dde's Milit?rpa? or a photograph of him? "SPM"

Hello Steve: I couldn't help but notice the stamp "KGL. PR. BOMBENGESCHWADER 4 O.H.L.". This of course stands for "Royal Prussian Bombengeschwader der Obersten Heeresleitung Nr. 4" or "Bogohl 4" for short. So this fellow was possibly a fighter pilot who flew escort missions for bombers at the Western Front. Congratulations on owning such a scarce document! Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Rick: Thank you for showing the von Karpf document. I have von Karpf's Prussian Crown Order III document. I believe that Eric Ludvigsen also had a few documents belonging to v. Karpf. Eric had done a bit of research regarding all of the awards that he received and his career. If I recall correctly, wasn't he the commander of the S.M.S. Moltke at Skaagerak? I also recall that he was the commander of the Royal Yacht Hohenzollern at one point, and I believe he was a sailing instructor for His Majesty Wilhelm II. An impressive career to say the least! Best regards, "SPM"

Hello All: A very interesting challenge! The swords are not centered on either piece! The sword grips on the example on the left look like "Saxon" type grips. The grips on the swords on the right look properly "Prussian". ??????? "SPM"

Hello Saschaw: Yes, this fellow does very nice work! His field ribbon bars are rather nice looking, and almost convincing! I have seen him come up with a few ten (10) place bars that a first glance look good. Apparently, this fellow has a bunch of very good quality ribbon stock and assorted parts. I guess that he can afford a good attorney with all of the money that he makes from unexperienced collectors. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Motorhead: I saw this today also. Thank you for bringing it to everyone's attention here. This fellow just doesn't seem to stop. There is no way that genuine bidders are bidding on the garbage that is actually purportedly for sale. I'm certain that he couldn't get the "fine print" any smaller (if he could have, he would have). Best regards, "SPM"

Hello SSG Luna: Thank you for sharing your photos and experiences of this fascinating monument. It brings back some fond memories, as I was there in January 2005 (seems like a lifetime ago now). At that time, there was no gift shop, only an Iraqi security detail. Those guys were great. They gave us a tour of Sadam's quarters behind the viewing podium of the parade area. According to information available on the net (Wikipedia/Global Security): the hands were actually modelled after Sadam's hands and the swords were fabricated by the German foundry H+H Metalform. The blades of the swords reportedly weigh 24 tons each. They were cast in Iraq and are "partialy composed of metal from guns and tanks of Iraqi soldiers killed in the Iran-Iraq war". It is an awe-inspiring thing to see in person! Apparently, this monument has been slated for demolition (which began in February of this year) by the new govenment. However, the demolition was apparently seen as controversial and was temporarily halted. Thank you for your service! "SPM"

Hello Wildcard: Well, it looks like the time has finally arrived for all of us to sell our collections and retire! Best regards, "SPM"

Dear Kapitular: Thank you for the information regarding the bar. It is an excellent piece in outstanding condition! It really was a bargain for whoever got it (~$US 3,500). Best regards, "SPM"

Hello folks: OK, now for my "2 cents" worth. Even on this side of the pond, the good news is that your collection could be worth a bit more. Also, selling items in Europe will bring a better return. All "values" regarding these items are relative. It really doesn't matter what you pay (within the market "norm") as long as you enjoy what you collect. Whatever you pay for an item you should be able to get back at the time of sale (if you use good judgement regarding purchases). I have not seen a depreciation in "value" for these types of items since I have started collecting. The bad news is that as items become "worth" more, the criminal forgers will be out making copies of even what we considered "common" items not too long ago. Best regards, "SPM" ps: I don't think that I will ever be able to afford items from the "der Rittmeister" (which doesn't matter as there isn't much that is desirable there for me anyway).

Hello Jerome: Thank you for the additional photographs. The last grouping could possibly pass for Bavarians (I do not think that they are however). I did a bit of research and these uniforms do not look like the uniforms of Maximilian's Officers. I think that we can rule out my hypothesis regarding that possibility. Another thought is that perhaps they are Italian and connected to the 1859 conflict. If only one of the photos had a name on it, or an Officer was wearing an Order or medal! The mystery continues! Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Jerome: These photographs are very interesting! I would like to start off by saying that I do not have a background in uniforms. These uniforms do look similar to period German uniforms, but I find nothing to specifically identify them as such. I am struck by the fact that these fellows look Spanish, Mexican, or South American, and not German. I have never seen a Bavarian Officer of this period sporting an earring! Do you have any other clues to their origin? Perhaps these were some of Maximillian's Officers? Best regards, "SPM"

Hello folks: Our deceptive "friend" is back at it again! http://cgi.ebay.de/Grosse-13er-Ordensspang...1QQcmdZViewItem He certainly is a persistent fellow! "SPM"

And..a closer view:

Hello everyone: Here is a group that I have in my collection which has the period replacement lifesaving medal of the type shown above. The Prussian 1st Class Landwehr Service Cross is also made from plated base-metal ("kriegsmetal"). The group was obviously constructed after 1934 and has a "C.G. ULRICH/NACHFOLGER/HAMBURG" tag on the reverse. I doubt that these poor quality medals were officially issued even late in the war (1918), but there were some of the other Prussian medals that were made in "kriegsmetal" at the very end of the period of issuance. This medal appears to be die-struck, but the details are unlike the earlier coinages. I believe that these pieces are probably private-purchase replacement pieces available post-1918. Best regards, "SPM"

Dear Paul R: The medal that you show is made of base-metal ("kriegsmetal") that is silver-plated. It is probably a very-late war period, or post-war period replacement piece. The ribbon is correct, as is the mounting. I have a piece almost identical to this one in a mounted group (see my posts below). Congratulations on acquiring such an interesting piece! Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Razputin: Ask him for a photograph (even poor quality) of the reverse! "SPM"

Hello everyone: He is back at it again. This time he is purporting to sell an actual medal group! Again, it looks as though he has taken a photo of a photo for his listing. Someone should ask him for a photo of the reverse for fun! http://cgi.ebay.de/6er-Ordensspange-100-ig...1QQcmdZViewItem Simply amazing! Caveat emptor! "SPM"

Hello again everyone: It is rather obvious to me that no one is bidding this high on these photos and that most of the bids are "shill" bids (at least I hope that this is the case). The way that this fellow has written the description though doesn't really state WHAT he is selling. He merely states "refer to the photograph". Obviously, Ebay will NOT do anything as they don't care. I believe however that Herr Thies may have a problem with someone selling unauthorized copies of excerpts from his publications. This is indeed illegal here in the US and in Germany. Perhaps the threat of a copyright infringement suit would shut down his little scam attempt. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Hardy: This fellow seems to be offering to sell pieces that are not his. The bar that you mention is indeed the Wilhelm II bar that was sold by Thies. If you look carefully, he doesn't actually have any of the items. He has merely taken photos of the items from the catalogue. His descriptions state "Please see the picture of the group...etc.". I'm sure that all of the bids are not genuine (they are hidden of course). He has only a 13!!! feedback score. If some poor fellow actually bids, I believe that after paying, they will get a photo (taken from the Thies catalogue w/o permission) in the mail and a note of thanks. If you want to have fun, ask him for additional photos with the reverse of the items. I'm sure that he will come up with some wonderful excuse why this can't be done! Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Bernd: A very interesting bar indeed! It is certainly strange to see the "NAN=HUNG=MEN" bar for the campaign in China on the DSWA campaign ribbon! I'm sure that he was probably involved in both campaigns. It seems as though he never got his China campaign medal mounted and simply lumped all of the overseas campaign stuff together in this manner. Congratulations on having such a nice bar! Could you also post a photo of the reverse? Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Westfale: You are correct, this is a Prussian pre-1913 nine (9) year service clasp variation for the recipient's mounted group of medals. The mounted group with this piece would of course have had the dark blue ribbon with black edge stripes. A nice "custom" item so that the recipient could wear all of his awards on one bar. Congratulations on obtaining such a nice and interesting piece! Best regards, "SPM"