j-sk

Thank you Bayern for this info. Do you think this cap (see picture) has anything to do with this unit? Original 1861 issue? Veterans' association?

Hello Gentlemen, Does anyone know anything about this cap? Is it related to a Civil War brigade? PM cypher ??? 3rd Brig(ade) Conn(ecticut) ??? ADC ??? Crown surrounded by laurel leaves ??? Thank you in advance for your infos. Best regards, Jean-S. Karlen.

Thank you Peter for your comment. Regarding the insert, I gather it is original since it is backed by a sort of canvas perfectly adapted to the helmet. Anyway, I bought it as shown here, in 1985, at Portobello Road, for ... GB£ 15.-- ... Good old days ....

Good evening Gentlemen, I have a Wolseley made in 1942 by Failsworth Hats Ltd. It sports a white and red hackle tucked into its seven-folded puggaree. Any idea regarding this hackle? Shouldn't it sports a regimental flash as well? Thank you in advance for your comments. Jean-Sam.

Hello, Does anybody know if this piece of ribbon (circa 2 x 3 inches, half blue half yellowish orange, slightly faded) is a puggaree flash or if it is related to some regiment at all? Thank you in advance for your comments.

Hello again, I have found something interesting on Bosleys' BuyWyse pages (see below), plus an interesting explanation about these RFC wings made during WW2 in Osprey's Men-at-arms series n° 112 ''British Battledress 1937-61'', plate A3, page 30.

Good evening Gentlemen, The increasing interest into WW1 stuff and RFC in particular makes prices soar dramatically in this domain. Loads of "original-looking-or-declared-so" copies are therefore flooding the market. Hence my question: "What about these RFC wings?" "Original or fake"? Jean-Sam.

Hi, I think it's hard to say. I guess the clasp for the Air Force is the rarest. The best reference about this topic is Jani Tiainen's book "The Orders, Decorations adn Medals of Finland", but I think it is out of print. I hope it will be republished in the near future.

Thank you BalkanCollector for your valuable advice.

Hello, I have a 1915 'Retreat through Albania' commemorative medal. It is suspended on a NEWLY issued triangle green/2 black stripes ribbon. I would like to replace this new ribbon by an original/vintage one. Does anybody know where or if it is possible to find an original ribbon? Thank you in advance for any info.

Hello, I have found this very nice and quite elaborate piece of heraldry lately. I do not know anything about it. Any idea anyone? Regards, Jean-Sam.

The ribbons are (left to right): Eisernes Kreuz 1 & 2 classes // Deutsche Ehrendenkmünze des Weltkrieges 1914-18 (mit Kampfabzeichen (with combattant badge]) // Preussischer Landes-Kriegerverband Kriegs-Erinnerungskreuz 1914-18 (mit Schwertern [with swords]) // Regiments-Erinnerungskreuz (mit Schwertern [with swords: in this case, the swords indicate that the soldier participated in WW1; without swords: member of the regiment prior to 1914 but did not take part in WW1] … the colours of the ribbon indicate either artillery, pionneer, intelligence or railways. Neither infantry nor cavalry; plain blue ribbon for naval troops).

The ribbons are (left to right) : Eisernes Kreuz 2kl. // Deutsche Ehrendenkmünze des Weltkrieges 1914-18 (mit Kampfabzeichen (with combattant badge]) // Kyffhaeuserbund Kriegsdenkmünze 1914-18 (mit Schwertern [with swords]) // Deutsches Feldehrenkreuz 1914-18 (mit Schwertern [with swords])

Hi, I have seen the following Partisan medals for sale recently. What do you think?

This is an interesting group. From what I see, I have two remarks: - It is not the Hindenburg cross that sports an incorrect ribbon, but the Lübeck ribbon that has the incorrect cross. What I mean is that the Hindenburg cross should not be placed there at all: according to the 1934 regulations, all the veterans' associative medals/crosses were banned from the Ordensspangen and had to be replaced by the one and only Hindenburg cross. We can see as well that the Hindenburg cross disrupt the continuing line formed by the other three crosses/medals. - It also seems that one medal or cross is missing (see the two empty slots on the back). The Hindenburg/Lübeck plate has been placed in the middle to fill partly the gap. All in all, I guess there has been some changes in this group. It should look as follows: starting from left to right, the EK2 comes first, followed by the Lübeck cross, then either a long service cross/medal or another official cross/medal or a veterans' commemorative cross/medal + Kyffhaeuserbund medal and finishing the line with the Kyffhaeuser-Verdienstskreuz. Please also note that each ribbon should overlap the one placed on its right. All the best. Jean-S.

Could it be a cap originally issued to German colonial troops before the end of the Empire (pre-1919) and used during the Weimar Republik by its owner as a member of the Brunswick branch of the Kyffhaeuserbund (by adding the corresponding oval cockade at the top) … ?

Good evening Gentlemen, About 15 years ago, I bought an old peaked cap sporting a Brunswick officer's cockade and an enamelled oval Kyffhaeuserbund badge. It is made of khaki cotton material, with red woollen piping and red-brown cotton lining. Does anyone have any info about it? See pictures in attachment. All the best. Jean-Sam. Karlen

Splendid! That really helps!

… Plus the fact that the seller (pseudonym KORSHUN on eBay) did not even bother answering me when I questioned him about all that ! Does anyone know him ? Should this guy be put on the buyers' black list ?

All in all, one has to be extra careful in any case. I'll try to get these details (name and entry in Podvignaroda) from the seller.

… and the related document, with corresponding numbers.

Would that give any clue …? Sorry I cannot get better photos than these...

Good evening Gentlemen, I have recently seen these orders for sale on a famous online shopping site. They both look OK … but everyone knows that the devil is hiding in the details. Are they original, or not ? If not, why? J-SK

Splendid! That's a great idea! I hope they speak English, since I have noticed that the front page is in Finnish only… and I hope I'll be able to get through...

Well, yes, Indeed, your arguments do sound quite logical. Maybe I should try to get in touch with Mr. Tiainen who could give us more specific details to actually be able to get it all cleared… and by the same token I could also ask him to send me one of his books...