Great Dane

Hello gentlemen, Can anybody confirm if Field-Marshal John Denton Pinkstone French received the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle? And if yes, which class? In French's biography written by his son it says that French received this order in 1911 during a visit in Mecklenburg where he attended German Army manoeuvres. Knowing French's feelings towards what he clearly saw as a future enemy, it would not be surprising if he didn't wear it much (which would explain why I never have seen a photo of him wearing it). Thanks, /Mike

I'll cross my fingers for you, eitze BTW, isn't it strange that so many Auction Houses (where you can bid by e-mail or a form on their website) don't inform you about your wins/losses at least a couple of days after the auction has ended? I have participated in quite a few of these auctions and the level of service varies considerably. Floyd, Johnson & Payne always mails you soon after the auction telling you what you won and didn't win, whereas Zeige and others don't inform you at all. You'll have to wait for the published result and even then you can't be sure, if the lot ended on your max. bid. Did I get it or did someone else put in a similar bid earlier? Then you can wait for the package to arrive in the mail, but since many of these auctions are in foreign countries it can take 4-8 weeks. During this period you have no idea if you won your lot or if you can spend the money on something else... I have sometimes tried to mail them about the result 1-2 weeks after the auction but have always got a reply that can be boiled down to "Just wait for the mailman, can't you see we're busy!" (although using more polite words...). /Mike

Judging from previous experiences with Thies, it can take weeks before the auction result is available on their website. Especially now with all the Christmas holidays... /Mike

Strange... According to my books, The Cambodian Order was awarded with a green and red ribbon for locals and white with yellow stripes for foreigners...? Nothing is mentioned of a green ribbon with narrow yellow stripes... The Iranian Order is the Order of Merit. /Mike

Right. See? I knew it was a stupid question... /Mike

Maybe a stupid question, but is it totally impossible that these could be the ribbons for the Spanish Order of Isabella the Catholic? /Mike

Yup, I know the guy. I also have his award document for the Dannebrog Order. The Dannebrog Order was not given in (direct) connection with the Korean War (he was Knight in 1960 and Knight 1. class in 1967). He is listed as a recipient of the British MBE and the Bronze Star in 1960, so I assume that these were awarded for service in Korea (after all the Jutlandia treated a lot of soldiers and civilians), but I can't be sure. So far more research of this has been without result. It is always easier to rersearch ODMs given to a country's own citizens. Although the Jutlandia Medal was awarded 479 times, the majority of them (95%?) were never mounted in groups because they were awarded to nurses or other civilians working on board. Most of them received this medal, the UN Korea medal and the Korean War Service Medal and kept them as unmounted singles. /Mike

I really do appreciate your help, Peter. Thanks. And I agree completely - keep things as they are as far as possible. The only thing that I was concerned about was if it was getting worse. It seems to be under control now, so I'll cross my fingers and keep an eye on it. Thanks to everybody for their help and advice As a treat for the eye I can show you the mounted group (although the green stuff was on the reverse of the Bronze Star which I don't have a picture of right now...). This is a Korean War group to a doctor working on the Hospital Ship Jutlandia. The - by far - rarest piece in this group is the third medal 'The Jutlandia Medal'. /Mike

Great looking knife, douglynn Do you know if the manufacturer of these knives continued to make them after the war? I ask because I have one completely similar but the HJ has been replaced with a Fleur-de-Lis. It is marked 'Schwerthund - Solingen' on the blade. /Mike

Thanks Peter, Yes, after asking around locally that was also the explanation I got. I carefully - very carefully - applied some Naptha, and so far the green stuff hasn't reappeared. And although Darrell's result is impressive, I think the Bronze Star is supposed to have a 'matte' finish. So I don't really want to use a toothbrush on it (I once attempted to clean a medal made of 'blackened silver' - a process where the grooves are left black and the rest of the medal is silver colored - with just warm water, soap and a toothbrush and the black parts were completely gone ) The Bronze Star in question is named and part of a mounted group, so it's not really replaceable if something goes wrong... /Mike

I'm afraid I can't really add anything to the photo. I can't even tell when it was taken although I have a feeling it is a pre-war photo (mid-late 1930s perhaps?). But it's only speculation... (I found the photo on the internet, so I can't tell if anything is written on the back) /Mike

I know this thread is almost 1 year old, but I just came across this photo and felt it belonged here. It shows AH wearing the Blood Order, which - at least I believe - is not often seen (but then again, I'm not a TR collector so I might be mistaken...) /Mike

Oh, I see. Thanks for the clarification... Seems to be a very complicated order /Mike

I collect bars and the persons behind them (or at least their history - otherwise it would be creepy ). If the person chose to mount regimental awards or whatever, it's all part of his story and thus neither better nor worse that any other bar... /Mike

A nice cross with a lot of history behind it. An interesting detail: When the Danish provinces (backed by Prussia) started the rebellion against Denmark in 1848, many Danish soldiers stationed there joined the 'insurgents'. After the Prussian defeat in 1850, a general amnesty was granted to the Danish soldiers (NCOs and lower ranks and officers who had joined after March 1848) and they could continue their old army service in the Danish Army. But even more surprising: The time they had spent in the insurgent army also counted as service time (and thus counted with respect to salary, promotion etc.), although it did not count when calculating LSGC medal eligibility! /Mike

Doesn't the yellow/red ribbon mean a civil award? And doesn't the swords mean a military award? I'm a bit confused... /Mike

Here is a link: Thies Auction 31 /Mike

Belgium because of the crown and because Jurbise is a place in Belgium /Mike

I'm guessing Belgium...? /Mike

Hmm... my PDF file has pages 225-256 missing... /Mike

The newest Thies catalog is now online. A word about the printed catalogs: Although they are pretty expensive the picture quality is absolutely stunning. One of those catalogs where I can use a magnifier on the pictures and actually see more details and not just a raster pattern. I hope the quality of the newest catalog is similar... /Mike

According to the remaining items at H?sken, his name is spelled Gerhard Wolfgang Sayffaerth (born 30. September 1897). /Mike P.S: Absolutely beautiful bars. So glad to see them reunited

Hmm... it is starting to reappear no matter how thoroughly I cleaned it, so I'll give the Naptha stuff a chance (whatever it is called over here...) Thanks yank44 /Mike

I'm 95% sure it is the Prussian Order of the Crown. Compare with this picture (from Liverpool Medals): /Mike

The award looks very much like the Prussian Order of the Crown... /Mike