Schießplatzmeister

Hello Rick: EXTREMELY rare indeed! But the St. Heinrich is SO BEAUTIFUL! Not an easy choice. Not many collectors care about rarity. The St. Heinrich will always be in demand. So you really can't let it (the St. Heinrich) go if you have to choose one. Best regards,

Hello Pat: I know of NO dealers, sellers, or auction houses that always offer genuine pieces. As you have realized, only a very small percentage of the items for sale in this category are genuine, but most of the pieces offered are accepted as genuine (but most are forgeries!). I would highly recommend collecting anything other than Imperial German flight badges until you have years of collecting experience under your belt. In over 25 years of collecting, I have seen only a handful of genuine pieces. The Carsten Baldes book as mentioned is recommended reading as he is a collector of these items and is very much in the know. You used the phrase "the real deal"! This brings a smile to my face as one of the biggest crooks in the US militaria business uses this line on his website and in his dealings with customers. Stay away from that dealer for sure! I don't mean to totally discourage you, but you need to be very careful with these items. Good luck!

Hello again Matt: Thank you for the close-up of the epaulette. It definitely shows a propeller with wings, so he was in the air-service when the photo was taken. An interesting photo. Congratulations!

Hello Matt: The Officer in the photo is actually wearing an Order of the Zahringen Lion knight's Cross 1st or 2nd Class with swords. He may have also been awarded a Commander's Cross, but that is not what he is wearing in this photo. I can't tell from the photo, but are the epaulette insignia propellers with wings? Best regards,

Hello everyone: This is a very unusual item. It is rare to see three (3) MVK ribbons together on a field ribbon bar (MVKII m. Schw. u. Kr., MVKII m. Schw., and MVKIII m. Schw.). This was to a Gold or Silver MVM/TKM recipient and was his pre-1934 field ribbon bar, to which he added the War Honor Cross with Swords. This is without a doubt an NCO/enlisted man's field ribbon due to the MVKIII m. Schw. ribbon. An interesting item. Best regards,

Hello Chris: This piece is patterned after an earlier type of this Order. The center pieces are pressed into the frame (same type of manufacture as early RAO 4th pieces). The shield on the obverse is of the early type (the shield has two "lobes" at the bottom). The centers do not appear to be gold however, which is a bit unusual (if I recall correctly). I will vote with Vince on this one, that the piece is possibly period-made by a non-official manufacturer. Best regards,

Good job Chris!!!

Hello once more Chris: Some more thoughts regarding the listing of Leiberring enlisted recipients that appears on-line. When the list was transcribed from old-style printed German (from the original book), mistakes may have been made in reading the capital letters (some of them are rather difficult to read for even native Germans who are not used to reading them!). Is there anyone out there in with the original book "Die Leiber im Weltkrieg"? Spolei, do you know of anyone?

Hello again Chris: T

Hello Chris: Unfortunately, no, I deleted the link a long time ago. I also can't remember the name of the seller. This has to be one of the most difficult to find awards ever!

Hello Lambert: This looks like it could possibly be a Hungarian Order of Merit with Swords. It should be behind the "Hindenburg Cross" because it is a foreign award, but sometimes groups were not mounted properly. Best regards,

Hello Chris: I saw this listed for sale on Ebay.de within the last six (6) months if I recall correctly. It is only the second example that I have ever seen a photo of! I only have seen the document for the ring for an Officer. Was a document given for enlisted soldiers? Best regards,

If I recall correctly, I believe that this one is marked 89_ or _68 and "800" (silver content) on the inside. A very very rare and desirable item! Congratulations Chris! Best regards,

Hello Jock: A very interesting postcard. The soldier obviously obtained it a the front and used it to send greetings home. A nice war souvenir! Best regards,

Hello: Well, maybe the medal rings should be placed under the ribbons, and maybe not:...........Sometimes the Bavarian bars were actually constructed this way (were made to be worn this way), and were actually sometimes worn in this fashion. I would not have believed it myself, except that the evidence exists in period photographs of soldiers.

And with a Russian St. George Cross also! A very interesting photo.

Chris: A great photo. It looks like they are members of the k.b. 20 IR (at least the NCO on the left is). Congratulations!

Hello Chris: An interesting question! I can shed a bit of light on this as I have the following "Orden der bayer. Tapferkeitsmedaille" documentation in my collection: 1) An Aufnahme=Urkunde dated 1. Okt. 1924 for a Silver MVM/TKM recipient (one of only 11 Jewish Silver medal recipients). 2) An Aufnahme=Urkunde dated 30. April 1927 for a Silver MVM/TKM recipient. 3) A multi-colored printed "Ehrenurkunde" for an 1870/71 War veteran who was a Silver MVM/TKM recipient dated 15. September 1928. So, the organization was in existence as early as at least 1924. I do not believe that it was in existence prior to 1918. The organization was still in existence as late as 1969 as the organization published a 175 year history of the medal in that year. Sadly, I know of nothing after this date. As the majority of recipients were deceased in greater and greater numbers, it was impossible and not financially practical to keep the organization going. Members paid dues which paid for the costs of running the organization. Records do exist, but as the organization was private, there is no "official" archive that I know of. I have the complete records of a regional officer of the organization from several years during the 1950's. Sadly, it documents the decline of the organization as members were expiring. Best regards,

Hallo Stefan: Vielen Dank! MfG,

Hello Jock: A wonderful photo! I see an Osmanische Eiserner Halbmond Ehrenzeichen on the soldier in the center of the front row. What is the inscription on the monument? MfG,

Hello David: I have copies of the Schrettinger books and may be able to help. The books contain information for all Bavarian recipients prior to 1882. Which Officers in particular are you interested in? Best regards,

Hello Alex: Yes, very interesting! He is definitely wearing his oak-leaves upside-down. But, who would have been so forward as to tell him such a thing? The photographer probably didn't know the difference, and if he did, he certainly would not have wanted to offend the subject of his photo. Best regards,

Claudio: Kein Problem. Gerne! MfG,

Hello Claudio et. al.: The photo in question is of MMJO RK (MJ3) recipient Hermann Ritter von Speck. He was killed in action on 15th June 1940 at Pont sur Yonne France. Claudio, you are quite correct, Ritter von Speck was awarded the Chilean Merit Order. He was a military advisor and went to Chile and Argentina with General von Heye in the 1920's. I believe that he may have been General von Heye's adjutant, but I have not been able to locate much information regarding their trip. I don't believe that he was an ardent NSDAP member, but he was certainly a professional Officer. Due to his demise he was not around for any campaigns in the East after 1940 and therefore had nothing to do with the invasion of the Ukraine and any subsequent actions. Best regards,

Hello Jock: Thank you for sharing this. A very nice target/momento. A good shot with a Gewehr 98? at 200m with iron sights! Best regards,