Hauptmann

Hi Matt, Hey, I really deeply appreciate your checking this for me. I was actually kinda secretly hoping someone would though... Well, as you say... one day if I'm lucky! And no, haven't gotten with that other gentleman... but I think I know who you're talking about, if it's the one I'm thinking of I've been on his site several times. My only problem right now is that the budget for collecting and such is verrrrrrry tiiiiiight! So something like that may have to wait a while. But at least it's an option at some point if nothing else works. Again really appreciate your having a go at this and for just plain stoppin' by to check it out! It's not like the most perfect, mint example. In fact I forgot to mention it has a very small shallow chip out of the black enamel on the swaz... but I think I've even seen another on here that has one that's nearly identical... so at least she's in good company! But I love her all the more for her imperfections. I'd always wanted one and lucked out when Jack happened to have an extra on hand that trip. He's a terrific guy and I just can't say enough about him. Would always give us the grand tour and then let me just wander and drool to my heart's content. Being careful of course not to drool on anything of course. He and his Mrs. would roll out the red carpet and we'd always have a great time. Even our little Chihuahua Smiley who has sadly passed on many many years ago was always welcome and would play and romp through the house with their Maltese. Oh the fun they'd have. But not near as much as I would checking out all his fantastic goodies! Talk about a kid in a candy store! I still have a few things I'd gotten from him... will be posting more at some point. I've got a nice little German navy dagger as well as a framed and matted set of IAB's that are done just like all the ones he had on wall display. Well, got to run and go face the world for a bit, but thanks again for trying. Perhaps one of the other members will have a bit more luck... least I hope so! Thanks, Dan

And last but not least for now is one of the souvenir silver ash trays also sold during the games: And on the bottom are what I presure are the silver marks: I've also got the two volume cigarette card albums on the games along with several other books and other memorabilia I've added to the collection over the years... but these pieces, especially the torch holder are by far the best part of my Olympic collection. Thanks for looking, Dan

Next up is one of the souvenir bells they made for the occassion and sold during the games: It's a bit dusty... I'll have to clean it up and make a new set of pics at some point but just wanted to get these up.

On the top it gives info on what it was for: And under the upper section it gives info on that special Krupp alloy but I couldn't get pics of that just yet. I'll keep trying.

Hi all, Again I hope this isn't off topic... if so I hope the powers that be will be able to move it where it would be more at home... but seemed like as good a place as any. I've already posted my 1957 reissue 1st Class Olympic Decoration in the 57/postwar German section. But although they're not awards per se I wanted to post some of my other 1936 Olympic pieces. I got them from my dad and they are definitely some of my most prized possessions. I'd always had an interest in these games and the olympics in general. And having these definitely brings it all home to me. First up is the torch holder: This is a beautiful piece made by Krupp... it's made of a special alloy they developed for the occassion. I must say it's held up rather well over the years. They definitely did something right. It has an Olympic version of the German eagle on the handle as well as the route taken by the runners from Greece to Berlin.

Hi all, Here's one of my prize possessions. I purchased it from Jack Angolia (Thanks Jack! ) on one of our visits to his home many many years ago. The only problem it has is that part of the attachment where the pin folds under is missing but the remainder has been bent over and it works just as well. But it's a piece that I would absolutely love to know it's history... who was it awarded to? What happened to them? No telling if I'll ever be able to find out. But I've always wondered. I'd love to find out it was someone of note who I'd be able to get a history on as well as a photo(s). As with many of my pics I must apologize for the quality. I took picture after picture of this in all kinds of light but I could not get it any better than this. I'll be so happy (as I'm sure all of you will be too! ) when I get a scanner! I know it's hard to make out but the number on the badge is: 71889 Perhaps some day I might get lucky and find out something about the original recipient. At least it's a nice dream. Thanks for looking! Dan

Hi all, Here's a new arrival... just in today! From what I understand it's a Russian Train or Subway medal. The said they'd only seen it once on their last trip to Russia being worn by a Subway employee. I think it's a beautiful award and I'm hooked on the blue enamel and how it contrasts with the silver of the train, tracks and inscription. I'd love more info on this piece... if nothing else perhaps one of the members could translate the inspection. The reverse is blank by the way. Thanks for looking! Dan

Hi all, I forgot about this one the other night. I'm pretty sure it's one of the 57 awards which represented the award of the Afrika cufftitle... in stickpin version of course. I love the history of the DAK so this was a great little addition to my collection. Thanks for looking! Dan

Hi all, Here's a piece I picked up in a pawn shop a long time ago in a state far far away... ie: Florida. I'd not seen this one before so when I saw it in a pawn shop for $60 I was a bit apprehensive but I decided to take a chance on it. I think I got it down to $50 and felt happy with it. If nothing else it's one heavy hunk of metal! When I got home I checked in Jack Angolia's For Fuhrer and Fatherland and sure enough there it was. Only one problem... it stated that they were black and this one is gold! They were given to individuals or organizations that donated horses or equipment used in the care of horses... trailers, bridles, saddles, and the like. On a later trip across country we stopped in to see Jack and I showed this to him. He felt it was totally authentic and saw no problems with it but he had no explanation for the gold other than that it was a possible variation. But I've always wondered if, like other German awards, they had a black, silver and gold level for this award. And what looks like dirt on this award is actually a beautiful toning... I couldn't get it to show with my camera but parts of it have nearly a rainbow toning which with coins at least is considered very desirable. I for one love it! Needless to say this is the only gold one I've ever seen... so if anyone out there has a silver... bring it on!

The gentleman I traded it to cleaned it up a bit that night and emailed me the next day. He told me he'd discoved that it had DDR markings for the Ministerium des Innerns or Ministry of the Interior... ie: Grenztruppen (Borderguards). See the MdI in the picture? That's it! Also that triangle. He said they were both marks of the DDR MdI. He wanted to offer it back to me since I had a good bit of Grenztruppen material in my collection. He said he'd either sell or trade it back to me for what we'd originally done on it which was the $100 which I thought was extremely fair. It took a couple of months but I finally worked it out and I've had it ever since. It has mismatched numbers on some of the parts which he said was normal for early DDR weapons as they were using whatever they could get their hands on. As long as they worked they were reissued after any necessary repairs were made, the new markings added and final inspections were completed. This particular one even still has it's original Waffenamt stamps! I'd love to hear either any additional info any of you might have on these rifles as well as any other DDR marked weapons. As I write this I'm watching... well listening to a documentary on the Berlin wall. Having things like this certainly bring this history closer to home. It's a great piece and I'm so glad I was able to get it back. So come on folks... lets see some DDR firearms! Thanks for looking, Dan

Hi all, I hope this isn't considered off topic... I figure it's DDR militaria so I'll keep my fingers crossed. I purchased this K98 Mauser about seven years ago if memory serves. I wanted something I could use but not worry about like I would about a pristine perfect example. I paid $100 for it at the time. I later decided to trade it for some East German militaria I wanted... yeah, go figure! But hey, it all turned out rather well in the long run.

Hi Grant, Need I say... with eager anticipation!

Hi John, Glad I could help out on this one. I know how frustrating it can be trying to find something when you know you've seen it but can't remember where. I had tried not too long ago to find a picture I "know" I'd seen of Himmler's medal bar both in and out of it's presentation case. Funny enough when I went back and pulled out FF&F for this tonight I just happened to open to the page where the Himmler bar photos was! So killed two birds with one stone! Many thanks for making and posting the scan. Couldn't have done it without you! And of course Jack Angolia... thanks Jack! Dan

Hi Nick, I remembered seeing this a few months ago and actually found your answer. Had wanted to wait until I got a scanner but as that may still be awhile in coming I felt I'd better pop this on. Was hoping perhaps either you have a copy of the book in question or surely one of the other members who might be able to scan the photo. It's in Jack Angolia's For Fuhrer and Fatherland Political & Civil Awards of the Third Reich, updated Second Edition, second printing May 1989. There is a picture on pages 2 & 3 of Hitler and members of his diplomatic entourage in Italy, May 1938. On the part of the picture on page 3 to the far right is Himmler in full SS uniform wearing the Olympic Decoration 1st Class. It's unmistakeable! Hope this helps. Dan

This is also a new one for me and a beautiful piece it is... the entire set is fantastic! And so nice to know the history of it as well as having the picture of the recipient not to mention one of her receiving/wearing the award. Outstanding! Many thanks for sharing! Dan

Hi Ed, Fantastic set! Far beyond anything I'll probably have but glad it's in good hands! Just to let you know I did a quick google search the other day in the hope that something might pop up... wasn't sure if you'd tried that or not. There was a musician or two that popped up with that last name... and I believe one of them was mentioned as having been awarded the Held der Arbeit. Pull up google and pop in his name and you'll see the listings. Perhaps he goes by another name or is related? Hope you can find out for sure. Be great if you could find a picture to go with the set... would definitely be the icing on the cake! Thanks so much for sharing this! Dan

Hi All, Just wanted to say thanks for the opportunity to be able to post as well as to see so many terrific post war German awards. Looks like it's off to a great start and I for one can't wait to see more! Keep up the good work! Dan

Terrific pieces Laurence, both in this post as well as the KVK's. I only wish to high heaven that I'd not listened to others back in the day and had bought up all the 57's I could get my hands on! But I'm certainly glad to see so much of it being shown here. Sure do hope some references start coming out on these 57's... it's high time. Anyhow just wanted to say thanks for the great show! Keep em coming! Dan

Here's my 1st Pattern or "Condor Legion" wound in silver. Had this one for well over twenty years and I'm still very much in love with it. It's the hollow type but with solid back which I just now learned (01/17/2019) is called a hohl verbödet. Superb construction, great shape and looks like it could definitely tell some stories. Enjoy! Dan

That's okay. I'm ahead of the game now just knowing it's Baden, thanks to you! Perhaps one of the other members will come along and be able to fill in the rest of the blanks. And know how you feel about the TR stuff re: fakes. I mean, I'm so torn on the whole subject. I see the need for "space fillers" for really expensive or impossible to get stuff. But not as far as they've taken it in TR. I mean they fake the most common stuff. It's like some of the Soviet pieces I need/want... I know full well I'll never be able to get or afford many of them and even if I could I probably wouldn't want that kind of money sitting there collecting dust. I look at that and then look at wanting so many things for the house, a special collector car (someday... me hopes! ), TV series I want on DVD sets, new computer stuff I need, scanner, etc. The list goes on and on. But I detest folks who put fake stuff out there and take the unknowing masses for their hard earned money. But on the other side of the coin you can't say that there's not an abundance of reference material out there, both for free on the web (like here ) and in books, magazines, etc. But I've even known dealers who don't research their stuff. In a way I feel like anyone who isn't willing to do the brain work before spending their money deserves what they get. I can't count the amount of money I've spent (not as much as I'd have liked to) on obtaining reference materials, nor the amount of time studying all that, all that's on the web, visiting museums, other collectors, etc. in order to learn all I could. I have an unquencheable thirst for knowledge when it comes to these things and only wish I could buy every book and resource out there. The problem comes in when folks want to skip the necessary steps and when they get greedy... Oh, Rommel's Knights Cross, cased with document, cassette, etc. for $800... Then they find out they got stuck big time and they get upset! But it's partially their own fault for thinking they can get a great piece for cheap. It takes two to tango as they say and of course the dishonest fakers couldn't function without the lazy, uninformed and greedy who are in essence willing to be taken advantage of, however unconscience it is on their part. I go with Stalin's philosophy: "I trust no one... not even myself!" I'm actually not quite that bad but I do joke about it. But I do research things to death. Better to do that than be sorry. Perfect example. We were just considering buying a diner here in town. Great business with tons of potential and an owner who "hates" management and just wants out. Problem is the owner of the building who has not kept it up as well as he should and is in a hurry to unload it and be done with it. We had an inspection done after thoroughly checking out the business itself and doing all we could to check the building. It came back saying that right off the bat the furnace and the range hood have to be replaced... to the tune of as much as the building is going to cost us. We decided to pass. Figure all it cost us was a little time and effort but not one thin dime did we spend on it. I'm sad to now see it close down just because the buildings owner is being the way he is... it's a complicated situation. But I'm glad we didn't get hooked up in it. Well, got to run for now. More posts to do. I'm making up for lost time! Thanks, Dan

That's me... a day late and a dollar short, 99.999999 times out of a hundred! Sigh. But not unlike the Fed. Merit crosses, I know if I wait long enough I'll find one. If nothing else though, if I've got the $$'s burning a hole in my pocket and can find one "reasonable" for a buy it now I may grab it. God has a tendency to take good care of me when I least expect it. Things drop into my lap more than I probably even admit to myself. But I have certainly been blessed. My father gave me my 36 torch holder along with a ton of other very rare pieces from all periods. I found a society medal once in a shop in a small riker covered in dust. Got it for around $30 if memory serves. Love the green enamel and the gold... and I suspect that may be solid. Turns out it's an Society of the Army of Santiago... I don't know a ton about it but from what I understand it was made by Bailey, Banks and Biddle who were up there with Tiffany in those days, medals wise, if I understand correctly. This is the highest level award in an organization that included Gen. Leonard Wood and Teddy Roosevelt as a couple of their top members! I was told they went for around $700-800 range and didn't believe it... until I saw one with damage and no ribbon go but that was engraved go for that and another of the lower grade pieces went for the same $800 some odd figure! It blew me away. I absolutely love the piece (will likely be posting it so stay tuned) and it goes well with my documented piece of metal from the battleship U.S.S. Maine. I've had a ton of things like that happen... the 57 Olympic 1st for $40 some odd is another example. So I know I'm in good hands. When He's ready for me to have one He will provide. Thanks, Dan

Hey, me too! I keep hoping someone will come up with that time machine dealie and then I'm headin' back and grabbin' all I can from several periods now that I know what to grab. It's like with TR stuff... with three uncles in WWII on my side and two on Kim's side and the only one that I know of that brought stuff back was my Uncle Jack. He was in the Airborne, was a Tech Sgt. and was involved in the Bulge. I have the SA and Army daggers he brought back along with a dress bayo which sadly looks like it saw heavy action and use. Not the engraved type... had a mint one of those and let it go. He also brought back the optics from an 88mm field gun which I have as well as some from a German tank. Sadly those and his photo album which was from his training till he got out went who knows where when he passed away a few years ago. He said he was leaving them to me in his will but my aunt dropped out of site and no idea what happened to them. More family history lost for all time. But no high orders or medals... no Hitler's toothbrush... just same old, same old. But special because he was there and brought them back himself. Wouldn't sell for all the money in the world or all the tea in China. Tell's ya what... if I happen upon a bunch of those $7 RF's I'll be sure to pass some along to ya... how's that sound?

Hi Grant, Hey, not a problem... if things don't work out with the other guy let me know and I'm sure we can work something out. The darker one I wouldn't have to cut of course and the other I think is plenty long enough to make two... at least I hope my neck never gets quite that big not that I wear the thing anyhow. I think the guy I'm thinking of is the same guy and I believe I have his site saved in my favorites somewhere... I'll have to dig a bit. But as with so many things it's all on hold while I try to get a few more Soviet pieces I still need on my now extremely limited budget. One of the ones driving me nuts is a Stalingrad. They were soooo cheap when I started out and it's one of those that for some odd reason have taken off. Perhaps it was Enemy At The Gates getting everyones interest up or something. Keep hoping I'll find one for a "song". As it is I've already resigned myself that on certain of the medals and orders I'll probably have to go with decent copies if and when they turn up cheap enough. Just don't have the budget to romp with the big kids. I've also gotten to the point over the years where I can't stand seeing a ton of money sitting there collecting dust much of the time. I do make exceptions for exceptional pieces but for the most part I'd rather put it into other things. And with those few pricey medals in the capture, liberation and defense catagories... for the most part they're not lookers to begin with. No fancy enamel... just plain Janes. So for my needs a few good copies for cheap will do the trick and in a case will look just as good to 99% of the folks here who'd see them. Anyhow the ribbons not going anywhere so if you find you're still in need let me know and we'll go from there. I'd be happy to help out if I can. Thanks, Dan

Hi Grant, Just finished up with my replies. Hope to hear from you on the Olympic ribbon as I'd love to be able to change that to a . But deeply appreciate all your comments and oohs and aaahs. Best of luck on the Juncker... I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you! Let me know if it works out. I was sooooo lucky on both of those Fed. Merit crosses. I believe the 2nd cased with it's pedigree and the maker was like $17! Needless to say I was extremely pleased with both purchases as I've never seen them that low before or since. I think folks were on those two. Glad I was awake for once. And the best thing was I didn't know it was a Juncker until I got it, turned the case over when checking it out and lo and behold there it was as bold as brass! I were a very happy camper to say the very least! Thanks again for all your kind words of praise.

So it does appear to be original? Whew! That's "always" good to know. And you don't think the eagle was removed but was just never put on? Perhaps it was leftover late war stock and if so perhaps was still used for post war vets. Anyhow I've always used it as a "denazified" example... kind of fits the bill. And even as it is I figured I did good paying what I did.