Hauptmann

Picked these up along the way:

Rick... yes, 1950's.. Photo by Alexei from SAF. If a problem I'd be happy to remove. First two are WWII and third is 50's issue. Also to quote Alexei from his comments on these at SAF: There are three types of this badge - WWII issue (1942), post-war issue (1950) and aluminum (1960s), and dozens of variations for each type. In the pic, not the pattern under the enamel of the banner on the third badge... that is the later (post WW2) type. Kind of looks like a thumb print in my mind. Very distinctive. Hoping this helps. Dan

Rick... FANTASTIC finds!!!! And that backgammon set is exquisite!!!! Dan

Would still rather have you around for tons of years to come... work on that and see what you can do. I am very sorry though that none of your family are intro'd in your collection. Thankfully my son does have an interest... he's just so busy being a young man of 20 going on 21 that he's not taking the time he should to learn about it all while I'm still able to pass all that along. But I think he will before too much longer. Here's hoping! Dan

Brian... even were I to "inherit" your collection... I would not want it for a loooooooooooooooooong time to come. Would rather have you around... you're infinitely more important!!!! Dan

On that note... I will add this: If you are in a family who has "anything" you would like in order to keep a piece or pieces of your families history, be it militaria or not... do not be afraid to speak up! Tell all and sundry who will possibly have any bearing on the distribution of such items (estate sale, etc.) once the current owner passes on. Or in the instance that the current owner "might" down the road decide to get rid of it one way or another (house cleaning, down sizing, etc.). If you don't say anything don't be amazed when something goes the way of the dodo. Same goes for people you know. If you like or admire something let it be known. My best friend John down in Florida... his dad (also a friend) had a MAC 10 with suppressor, magazines, carrying case, tools, etc. as well as a .22 rifle. I LOVED the MAC 10 which he brought over to shoot at our place down in Florida at one point. I actually did tell him how much I liked it and John knew as well. Well, his dad ran a bit of a mini flea market in his yard down there... and one day (although he'd said he'd never want to get rid of it) two guys were there checking things out and asked if he had any guns for sale. Sure enough, he got both pieces and sold them... for $100! He was just the type that would do such a thing on the spur of the moment. John was very sorry it happened as he knew how much I loved the MAC 10 and yet he said that I probably should have offered to buy it from him and who knows. But at the time he'd said it was a keeper so go figure. Just goes to show even when you say something it's no guarantee. Probably the lesson here is be persistent (without being a pain of course). My motto is: It never hurts to ask. If you get a no... you're no worse off than you started. If you get a maybe your foot is in the door. If you get a yes... well, look at what you gain. But by all means... do not be afraid to ask or at least state flat out that "if" the owner ever wants to get rid of the item of your desire... to please keep you in mind. Now... having said that... I love you all and if you ever want to give away your collections, which I also love... please keep me in mind. Dan

Brian, I think you make an excellent case. As you say, when we own it it's no different than it being in a museum... except perhaps the fact that it may be on public display. If I spotted an ancestors awards in a museum do you think they'd even sell them to me much less give them to me? I don't think so. To me... if it's a person I know... or get to know over time and they are a good person, who through their actions show how much they care about their family history, and make a real effort to collect, display and cherish artifacts from same... then I might indeed consider either selling a piece back to them or giving it to them. It's got to be on a case by case basis. But as you say, we buy these things fair and square. And in most cases the items we collect have been through Lord knows how many hands/collections/sellers, etc. We're only one link in what is often a very long chain. I have no personal knowledge of family awards floating around out there. But I do know of two items... my Uncle Jack Burns photo album from his time in boot camp all the way through WW2 and an optic from a German tank he brought back, both of which he said were going to be left to me when he passed. Sadly his wife did not follow through and for all I know they ended up in a trash can or dumpster. I pray that's not the case. I do keep an eye on Ebay, at least for the album as I'm sure if someone had the optic... assuming they knew what it was... they'd want a small fortune for it. This all happened down in Perry Florida years ago before we moved to North Dakota. But assuming I found whoever might have one or both of these items I'd certainly be interested in getting them back for my family. I'm actually the only one who really truly cared to save much of anything. I'm also the sole genealogist that I'm aware of in my family. Everything I have will be passed down through my son Nick. So yes, I'd love to recover Jack's album and optic. But I would certainly be willing to pay a reasonable price, assuming I had the money, or I'd see about making payments if the current owner would accept that. Other than that, if it was the album... I'd at least request that I be allowed to scan it, or see if the current owner would be willing to do that. But if I was refused on any of this I'm no worse off than I am in not having the pieces. I'm sad it has been lost for future generations of my family. Just as I am for the Burn's family silver set that was stolen from my mother's house in Quincy Florida. It's that much less I can pass down. But no one can save everything. I've tried my best to keep and conserve what I can. That's been hard as we've been through a number of moves during my life and each time a little more is lost. But I've never let anything truly important go. I pray that some day, a great great great grand child looks to heaven and thanks me for doing it. That would make it all truly worth it. Again a very personal decision and I would never judge another regardless of what they did in such a situation. Judge not or be yeself judged. Don't worry about the speck in someone else's eye... worry about the beam in your own. Just my two pfennigs worth. Dan

Ahhh yes, Morse... I learned it myself but long since forgotten except for a few letters. If only we could retain such things longer than we do without using them day to day. Sigh. Dan

Actually the one in 4 is Greek... 99.9% certain. Not sure for what though. But those are definitely Greek letters. You might try posting in that section: http://gmic.co.uk/in...p?showforum=195 Bet someone there can ID it for you. Keep us posted. Dan

Yup... that last one is a cap cockade for an NSDAP peaked cap. Had one myself for a long time. Nice new additions! Dan

Yes, very important so we can learn what to look for. Honestly, had this been presented to me for a price I could afford I would have been very sorely tempted and felt it was original. But of course with anything I'm considering that I'm not positive about or don't have sufficient expertise in... I always check in for just this reason. Was extremely sorry to hear this was not the find it appeared to be. But also if they look this good, at least to someone like me and as you know I'm not without experience, then I'm very afraid of what else is floating around out there that could so easily fool us. Also assuming this is a from scratch copy and not one made by altering an original? Many thanks! Dan

Also, if I'm correct this is a Type 1 Border Reverse. Please correct me if I'm wrong. According to the Red Bible the highest SN observed at that time was 724 and this of course is just over that. Dan

I'll await the opinions of others more expert in these but IMHOP nothing is leaping out at me that shouts anything but original. I blew it up on my screen to a very large size and can see no signs of it having been messed with around the serial number, as in removing others in order to put in a smaller number. Unless someone else jumps in and says otherwise I can just say it's one I'd be extremely happy with and proud to have in my own collection. I'd also LOVE to see it researched to see what interesting story might come back. Dan

Here's the pics. I took the liberty of cropping them down a bit as there was a lot of glass background and we want to concentrate on the Order itself.

Welcome to the club! Best thing to do is post clear pictures (preferably scans) of the obverse and reverse as no one will be able to say much without seeing it. As far as the kolodka (mount) and ribbon that's not a really big deal. If you want please feel free to email me the pics and I'll post them for you a bit later this evening (gotta get some more sleep before work). My email is: dwatson@daktel.com. I'll check it a bit later, post the pics and we'll see what we can tell you on this one. Dan

Hey Nick... just popped on for a sec... heading back for some more ZZZZzzzzz's in just a few in prep for work tonight and then our "mini militaria show" tomorrow. Can't wait! But yeah... there were instances of this in the U.S. Civil War (I use the term loosely as being born and bred in the South I generally would refer to this as "The Late Great Unpleasantness". Anyhoo, there were lots of Scottish emigrants who forms regiments on both sides during that conflict... some wore kilts but some wore their tartans on slacks. If I remember correctly, it's the Highland Clans who wore the kilts and the Lowland Clans wore the slacks. Those from the Highlands tended to be wilder mountain folk whereas those in the lowlands tended to be more into business/trade/manufacturing... city slickers. Hoping I've got this right being part Scot meself. Although as this is the HLI... no idea where it all fits in. See's ya in a bit! Dan

For anyone who is intro'd in more details of D N's life and times here's some additional info... but I HIGHLY recommend his autobiographies... he lived a charmed and fascinating life: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Niven Dan

Thanks Victor! Excellent info! So basically any that have that raised base at the bottom of the screw post are bad. Are there any pointers re: ones with the pin backs or are they not faked (yet)? Dan

Thanks Victor! Can you do me a favor and add the post #'s of the two that are genuine? Needless to say though I'm very glad I checked. Not quite in a position to do much of anything at the moment as you know but as with all we deal with it's a learning process and when I'm ready to jump in I want to make sure I know as much as possible. Do you know of a good reference on these in English by any chance? Dan

Hi Mervyn. Well, to me, that was part of his charm. You always knew what to expect with him no matter what the role. And he was also quite a character in real life. I've read his bio's and was quite impressed. Dan

Many apologies for there being so many. I'm trying to learn all I can on these and although I "feel" they look okay... I figure it's always better to come to those members with more expertise than I have. I've never personally seen or handled these... only a very few pics on the web. Hoping other members who may have an interest in these can learn from these one way or the other. As always, any and all help is deeply appreciated! Dan