Schießplatzmeister

Hello GMU, This case (and what is in it) is my personal favorite! Congratulations regarding owning such a beautiful and historically significant item. Best regards,

Servus Waldo, Congratulations regarding these beautiful and very rare crosses and cases. Thank you for sharing them with us! MfG,

Hello Chris, Here is an old article about the helmet: https://www.freundeskreis-armeemuseum.de/publikationen/ View "Kaskett 2" at the bottom and then "Ein Helm mit Geschichte" by Walter Seibold. MfG,

Hello Chris, Thank you for this harrowing and well-written story of combat. I can't help but think of the sad end of Lt. d. Res. Zeiglwalner a.d. After all that he survived, to end up drowned in a canal. HIs family must have been devastated. I am glad that you were able to obtain these items and document the history of this Officer. Best regards,

Hello Chris, This is in Ingolstadt perhaps? The fellow was not too slim, so K. P. Rupprecht is out. It could have belonged to Ludwig III or K. P. Leopold, but I can't narrow it down further. Now stop with this silliness and show us Leibregiment uniform photos! :-) Best regards,

Hello Ravs and welcome, You pose an interesting question. To clarify things a bit, the Bavarian Military Merit Crosses were awarded to NCO's and enlisted men. They were not awarded to Officers. The Bavarian Military Merit Cross awards were based on rank. There are a good many members here who know the answer regarding the rank-based award guidelines better than I do, so I will let them answer regarding the specifics. Best regards,

Hello Chris, The MMJO RK Träger on the left looks like Karl Ritter von Fasbender to me. Best regards,

Hello again Rav, Thank you for sharing the scans of the photo with us. I cannot tell what is on his epaulettes, so no help there. I too think that he is a Württemberger. It also stands to reason that the second ribbon would represent a Württemberg bravery medal. I also agree that the third place ribbon looks like a Bavarian MVK ribbon with a swords device. The last ribbon could be for a Württemberg long service award. It is difficult to be certain. Congratulations regarding having this nice photo in your collection (I am a bit partial to collecting photos myself). Best regards,

Hello Rav, There are many possibilities regarding the awards represented by the field ribbon bar. To start however, although I am not a uniform expert, due to the buttons having "crowns", I believe that this NCO is not a Bavarian. It is a WWI-era uniform. The first position on the field ribbon bar certainly has the EKII ribbon. There is definitely not a Hindenburg Cross/Honor Cross ribbon here. Please scan the entire front and reverse of the photo and share it here. There may be more clues available (such as headgear, an address on the back, name/address of photographer, etc.). Best regards,

Hello Chris, Unfortunately, I am not up-to-date regarding the valuation of 1939-1945 pieces, but I had to comment on how awful it is that your friend was defrauded by criminals (unscrupulous sellers). Sadly, there are many stories such as this. Greed, fraud, deceit, theft, all come into play when dealing with criminals. And, some of these bad folks seem especially attracted to the militaria collecting business. I hate to see this happen to a collector! Best regards,

Hello Waldo, Thank you for providing the link to this cast forgery. The quality of this forgery is good. For years, many collectors were deceived by these finely-cast pieces. I hope that members here study it, so that they avoid this type of counterfeit. It should also be noted that this isn't the only medal forgery like this. Many other types of medal forgeries have been made like this. They are sometimes still described as "original" pieces. Best regards,

Hello, There are two (2) types of ribbons for this award. The one that you show is correct (for merit for medical officers, medical NCO's, and enlisted medical personnel), as is a red ribbon with silver (metallic) side-stripes [for other merit related to nursing during the 1914-1918 war]. Your piece appears to be the type made of "copper-bronze". The bright state of the alloy may be due to the piece having been cleaned by someone recently. It is difficult to be certain from the photo provided. Best regards,

Hello Chuck, The enamel looks fine on your MVO 4th with Crown and Swords by Weiss u. Co. Each maker (Weiss, Leser, Gebruder Hemmerle, etc) had their own blue enamel shade. Your enamel is of the correct shade and is translucent which is correct. In my experience, the Gebruder Hemmerle pieces usually have the lightest shade of blue which is therefore more translucent and it is easier to see the "herringbone" pattern underneath. The Weiss pieces have a shade darker than the G.H. pieces, and the Jakob Leser pieces have the darkest shade. Best regards,

Hello Vince, The medal with the green ribbon is a Brazilian medal for the 1852 campaign in Uruguay (during the Platine War). This is a very nice and unusual group! Best regards,

Hello Peter, I agree with Andreas. This field ribbon bar most-likely belonged to an NCO (who could have been promoted to a field-grade Leutnant in WWI) who was a MVM/TKM recipient. There is therefore no way to identify who the recipient of these awards was. There is nothing to necessarily indicate that this belonged to a MMJO recipient. I believe that you can eliminate this having belonged to Ritter von Thoma or Ritter von Weber. Congratulations regarding having this nice "soft-style" sew-on field ribbon bar for your collection! Best regards,

Hello Alex, My guess is an unofficial veteran's badge for I.R. 126. Perhaps from a meeting of regimental veterans. The photo is from the 1930's, so this would make sense. Best regards,

The ribbon on the right does indeed look like a Russian St. George Order/Cross ribbon, but it is difficult to tell exactly what it is due to the fact that it is tightly folded. The 1909 Militär-Handbuch shows no Russian awards for Leopold Prinz von Bayern. He received quite a few foreign awards, including Austrian awards, so there are many possibilities.

I think that they are there underneath many layers of other awards. You can see that the "25" anniversary 1895 oakleaves for the EKII are there in your photo if you compare it to the photo of the group prior to it being stolen. Also, the 1870/71 campaign medal would be directly under all of the campaign bars. This is a good question. It is not listed as still missing, so it may have been recovered. I have a feeling that these items may no-longer be on display due to security concerns. Perhaps some of our friends in Bavaria will know the answer regarding the current situation. Here is a link to the Schloß and Museum website: http://www.hohenschwangau.de/

Here is a photo of the Leopold Prinz von Bayern's large medal bar as it existed at Hohenschwangau Castle prior to being stolen. There is also a listing of the awards that remained on it (most gold orders appear to have been removed. Perhaps some were returned to the Order Chancellery per statute?). The photo and listing is from the Bavarian Police information poster after the burglary of November, 2005. Here is an article regarding the burglary and the recovery of some of the stolen items: https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/bayern/Gestohlene-Orden-aus-Schloss-Hohenschwangau-sind-zurueck-id7964841.html Here is a link to the current Bavarian Police information regarding pieces which were not recovered: https://www.polizei.bayern.de/fahndung/sachen/diebesgut/index.html/12400

Hello Claudio, Congratulations on owning this fantastic group. I once had the pleasure of seeing George Seymour's collection before he passed away. He was a very nice gentleman with one of the best collections this side of the Atlantic. I have recently seen the items for Franz Kress von Kressenstein that came onto the market. I purchased one item that was family-related. It is interesting how these family items come onto the market from time to time. MfG,

Hello Wessel, This is a great question. I know of no instance where, while in uniform, the PLM ribbon only (buttonhole, field ribbon bar) was worn to signify the award. If in uniform, the award was usually worn. For civilian wear there were miniature buttonhole ribbons that would signify the full-size award. Best regards,

Hello again Albert, I don't think that you will be disappointed with the Klein, Ulrich, and Raff book. Let me know what you think when you receive it. Here is the book that lists Württemberg golden MVM recipients: "Mayer, Albert: Ehrenbuch der Württembergischen Goldenen Militär-Verdienst-Medaille, nach dem Stand vom 1.Januar 1959." I have seen it available for €180 or less. There are not that many other books out there that I can think of. Auction catalogues would also be a good source for information regarding Württemberg awards. Look at Uwe Bretzendorfer's website also. Best regards,

No. 6 is the Preußen Goldene Hochzeitsmedaille 1. Klasse! No, this is not the uniform of King Wilhelm II of Württemberg. The uniform belonged to a member of the Grand Ducal Baden household. See the Baden Hausorden der Treue GK ribbon!

Hello Albert, If you are interested in WW1-era Württemberg orders and decorations, then the Klein, Ulrich und Raff second volume would be the one for you. You are correct about the price, the book is rather expensive. It is beautifully published however. I see your point about there being no book listing Württemberg MVO recipients. If I recall correctly, I believe that there may be a book listing the gold bravery medal recipients however. There is also the book by Neal O'Connor: Aviation Awards of Imperial Germany in World War I and the Men Who Earned Them, Volume IV (which covers Württemberg). It is a nicely done book and is available usually at a modest price. Best regards,

Hello Albert, Actually there are a few superb books regarding Württemberg's orders and medals. I highly recommend: Klein, Ulrich und Raff, Albert. Die Württembergischen Medaillen von 1797-1864 (einschließlich der Orden und Ehrenzeichen). Verlag der Münzen- und Medaillenhandlung. Stuttgart, 2003. There is also a second volume which covers the period from 1864 - 1933. In addition, these authors have covered the history of Württemberg coins in various other books that they have written. Best regards,