Schießplatzmeister

Hello again Rick: You nailed it. The fellow is a Gold Military St. Henry Medal recipient. I know his awards, dates, etc. I have the book of recipients. His citation is not in there however! So, IF a regimental history exists, and IF it contains information about his battle action, then I can figure out what insanely brave actions he took on that fateful day. In any case, if I can't find this information, I have a good deal of other information and all will soon be revealed. Thanks! "SPM"

Hello Rick: Thank you for your reply. I need citation information for an NCO from WWI who did something rather brave (I know his awards, but not what he did). I have found a 1908 regimental history, but can't find one covering the WWI period. I think that such a history has not been published as I have been looking extensively with no luck. This posting was a last resort. Thank you for your offer of assistance! "SPM"

Hello everyone: I am desperately looking for the following post-WWI Sachsen regimental history: Geschichte des 7. Infanterie-Regiments "K?nig Georg" Nr. 106 I need information from it to complete a project. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Scott: Wow! What a journey this poor bar has been on. You are asking for opinions, so here goes: I believe that yes, this is the same bar as listed on the receipt. I believe that the Crown Order 4th w/ Genfer Kreuz was added (as was the ribbon). I believe that the 1914 EK repetition bar was added. And, I believe that this particular item (1914 EK repetition bar) is a modern forgery [no matter what is listed in a nice big hard cover color book (1st or 2nd revised edition) in English to the contrary]. One would have more luck finding a chicken with teeth! At this point, I don't know what you should do with the group. It is still a nice group! The non-combatant 1870 EKII is nice, as is the 1866 non-combatant cross (rather scarce!). It is a shame what has been done to it by an individual(s) in the past. I'm glad that you have it, appreciate it, and want to find the truth regarding it, and restore it to its former glory. This is a noble effort! Congratulations on owning this nice group! Best regards, "SPM"

Hello everyone: Looking through my records, interestingly enough, I do have information that there was an 1870-1871 Bavarian veteran who wore his EK II in his buttonhole, followed by the Bavarian TKM, 1870-71 campaign, etc. on his chest. Best regards, "SPM"

(I thought you were correcting my scientifically inaccurate inquiry!)

I meant to ask if it was ferrous and attracted a magnet. They were originally made from cast iron as I recall (at least in the earlier part of the war). Of course it would not be naturally magnetic unless a charge was imparted. Sorry, I have been working too much lately and I am very very tired! "SPM"

Hello Richarddwh: It does look a bit odd. The details don't look as fine as they should be ("a bit wonky" is spot on). It is difficult to tell though with the photo provided. Is it magnetic? The ribbon ring looks like painted aluminium. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello everyone: Rick is absolutely correct regarding this (as with all other things)! In order to receive the Bavarian Military Merit Medal the recipient would have to be a Bavarian (there may have been exceptions to this, but I do not know of any). And, a Bavarian veteran of the 1870-1871 conflict would wear the MVM, then the EKII, and then the campaign medal. I guess that it is possible that the Centennial was worn by itself. This group sounds a bit strange to be sure. I wish that a photo/scan of it was posted. That would certainly help determine what is going on here. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello: Unfortunately, I too can confirm the bad news. I believe that both cross #1 and cross #2 shown are recently made copies. So, you should definately return them from whence they came. As pointed out, they are copies made by casting. On cross #2, the forgers at least tried to copy the pin, but the workmanship is very poor. I hope that you are able to get your money back. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello everyone: Sniffen forgot to mention that all of these items are currently for sale on Ebay broken-up into individual lots. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Miguel: This medal seems to be missing the reverse inscription "DEM VERDIENSTE". Very strange indeed! I would think that it would be best to stay away from it. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Roman: Yes, this is the correct ribbon for the Hessen-Darmstadt Military Medic's Cross for Combat-related recipients (this is the same ribbon as for the Bravery Medal). The "civilian" version of the ribbon was a dark-red with silver metallic threads. So, this combination is possible. I am a bit puzzled by the pin on the reverese of this group however as it looks a bit strange. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Paul: When I was in that area of the world a few years ago, it was possible to ship any weapons-related item there, but any firearms or parts were prohibited for export. Edged weapons were not a problem for export though strangely enough. Hence, I have a lot of AKM bayonets, but all small arms and parts had to be left there. I also couldn't ship home a Soviet/Russian RPG-7 sight which someone gave me. At the time, I recall reading in Stars and Stripes about an Air Force Officer who was charged with smuggling AK/AKM/RPK/PKM parts out of Iraq. The firearms export ban was stictly enforced. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Mike: Unfortunately, most forgeries are offered as genuine pieces, so to find a set of these offered as a forgery would be rather difficult. Stogieman mentioned that they look cast (originals were die-struck I believe). Also, the PLM listed above is a forgery, and the oakleaves are also a forgery. Although they are not identical to yours, it shows that such forgeries exist. I have seen GOLD RAO oakleaves which I believed were cast (and a forgery). The workmanship of your piece is consistant with casting (originals should be die-struck in my opinion). The loop also has had the wire ends roughly-cut with snips and unfinished (another sign not consistant with pre-1918 era workmanship, as original loops usually had the wire ends rounded and polished). Although I can't "prove" that these aren't "real", they are not consistant with known genuine pieces. Best regards, "SPM" I wish that I had better news regarding these.

Hello Miguel: These oakleaves are totally unlike known genuine Zahringen Lion oakleaves [of which there are two (2) types]. In my opinion, unfortunately, the oakleaves presented at the start of this thread are a modern-made cast copy of PLM or RAO oakleaves. Best regards, "SPM"

Hello Rich: Please post a scan or photo of it and I'm certain that someone here will be able to tell you which unit the vehicle belonged to. If you can see the number on the turret, someone might even know the history of that particular vehicle. Congratulations regarding acquisition of the photo! "SPM"

Hello again: I still have not yet received a response from Ebay, but the group has disappeared from the Ebay listings. Shortly before it was removed, the possible "phishing" sign-in page stopped working. It seems as though Ebay may have removed the item. Hopefully, the criminals that are offering these items (which they do not own), are "phishing" for Ebay user account passwords, and are possibly highjacking legitimate Ebay accounts will go away. Thanks again to jaeger7 for bringing the problem to our attention! Best regards, "SPM"

Hello again: I just recently checked the domain to which folks are re-directed and it is now possibly: secure161-ebay.com According to Whois, the information for the domain owner is the same as shown for "secure171-ebay.com" by jaeger7 It really does appear as though someone possibly pirated/highjacked Ebay.de for a phishing scheme. But, I will wait and see what Ebay says. In the meantime, I would suggest that you do not sign in on any Ebay sign-in prompts while on Ebay.de unless you have gone to their usual sign-in prompt yourself. An interesting world in which we live! "SPM"

Hello everyone: As it turns out, the problem was not with the GMIC website, but may be with Ebay.de itself. If someone looks directly at these items on Ebay.de, the possible phishing sign-in prompt appears. I have advised Ebay. Lets see what they do. "SPM"

Thank you jaeger7 for pointing out that someone possibly highjacked the link in a "phishing" scheme. I have removed the link to prevent anyone from signing-on to the possibly FALSE Ebay sign-in prompt. "SPM"

Hello folks: Guess what? The same group is for "sale" again. This time, the individual is a different seller in the UK. They state that they are selling it again due to previous non-payment. They also offer a "lifetime" guarantee. "SPM" 05/20/08 Hello everyone: As pointed out by an astute GMIC member, it is possible that someone has pirated/highjacked the Ebay.de link for this item which leads to a false Ebay sign-in page (DO NOT FILL THIS OUT as it is probably a phishing scheme!). I have removed the link! "SPM"

Hello again Rick: Oh yes, I forgot the mention, my vote is for the ribbon on the right as it looks like older silk material. The ribbon on the left looks like 1930's-1940's rayon possibly. "SPM"

Hello again Rick: I believe that the Rudolstadt pieces are probably a bit more scarce than the Sondershausen pieces. So, the God of collecting really really likes you!! The "Official Price Guide" is sometimes lacking in information, so I wouldn't necessarily discount a piece that doesn't conform exactly to what is "supposed" to exist. I believe that three (3) possibilities COULD exist for genuine badges: gold w/ gold swords (early war), gold w/silver-gilt swords (pre-war badge converted during the war), and silver-gilt w/silver-gilt swords (a post-1916 badge). Are there any Schwarzburg specialists out there? "SPM"

Hello Wildcard: Yes, I have noticed this too! I have seen Friedrich Order 2nd Class badges with swords removed by someone unscrupulous to make an instant badge without swords. I was lucky enough to get a genuine 2nd Class w/o swords from Eric Ludvigsen's collection many years ago. Best regards, "SPM"