DutchBoy

Dan, Thanks a lot for the info, it's very clear to me now that these bars are a bunch of rubbish. The seller probably won't provide close-up pics either will he? I've seen a lot of fake Soviet stuff (my former main collecting area) on eBay, and I'm very surprised to hear some of these sellers aren't being banned....

Hey Stogieman, Can you help me indentify some of the problems with these items...I'm very new to German States stuff. thanks, Matt.

Great Pics Ed! I love Copenhagen also, and Rosenborg castle in particular. I think the Danish Crown jewels are the nicest I've ever seen, so if you have some pics of some of the crowns and such please show us those too! Matt.

Nice info Big Jar of Wasps, I love my Krugerrand, even though I don't collect coins as such. A no-nonsense lump of gold...it's cool!

Excellent post Stefan! Many of those I've never even seen before! Matthijs.

I agree that this is probably the nicest TR award after the Eagle Order. I"m surprised though that they didn't make these pieces out of silver but out of tombac...many countries' awards of comparable rank are made of silver.

USAirforce, There are similar brass versions for the Polar Star, Military Valour, and also the Red Combat Banner I believe. I guess if you can find one with serial number or for a SERIOUS discount compared to a silver one, then maybe you should get one. Otherwise just leave them.

Thanks for posting the correct ribbon Steve! I have yet to get the Railway Police medals, but I'll get there eventually. Jacky, ik ben ook nederlander, en ik spreek ook Afrikaans. Leuke taal! Paul, thanks for the kind words! Matthijs.

Hi Steve, Thanks for the info on the badge. I'd really like to see your badges when you post them! Also, if you have any knowledge of a reference for homeland medals, please let me know: I'd like to find out what my homelands medals actually are, especially the Bop one which I've had since the early '90's. Thanks, Matthijs. p.s. Welcome to the Forum!

Thanks Warlord and Ed! Ed, nicely spotted! I'm not sure what's going on. In the book, the medal has a different ribbon from the one I have in post #12, so I guess it could have been wrongly matched by the guy who sold it to me. The ribbon in the book is white with a combination of thin and thick red stripes. I'd never noticed that before, thanks for the expert eye! I know the South Africans changed the ribbons for the SADF long service medals in the 1980's, and the book I have still shows the old ribbons for those. I doubt though that they would have changed the ribbon on this medal.... I checked all the other ribbons in the meantime and they are, thankfully, all correct! Thanks.

Stefan, Very interesting badges from the RSA that you have there! Do you have more? As per your request a few posts back, I've posted my South African medal collection in the collector's showcase: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=9458

Thanks Kevin, I like these medals too...interesting history and good-looking as you say. Matt.

And finally, a cap badge from the Bophuthatswana Police.

back...

A medal from the Republic of Bophuthatswana on the left, and a service medal from QwaZulu (Zululand) on the right.

Ciskei Defence Force Chief Commendation Medal.

the flip-side...

"Homelands" of South Africa were intended by the Apartheid regime to serve as independent countries where the majority of the SA African population could live, leaving South Africa a "white" nation. Needless to say, no other country ever recognized these "nations" as independent, and they were reincorporated into the Republic of South Africa in 1994. Here are a pair of service medals from the "Republic" of Venda.

reverse...

The South African Prisons Service (SAPS) Service Medal for Faithful Service in bronze for 10 years, and in gold-plated silver for 30 years. Not surprisingly, there is a silver medal for 20 years service. For 40 years, a clasp is added to the gold medal.

the back...

South African Police 75th anniversary medal on the left, and the 10 year faithful service medal on the right.

South African Police Medal for Combatting Terrorism. SAP officers were also employed in both South West Africa and in Rhodesia in the 1970s, and this medal served to reward those police officers involved in conflicts there.

And the back...

South African Police Medals. The SA Police Star for Faithful Service (left) for 20 years exemplary service with the SAP. On the right, the SAP Star for Merit, awarded for "in the discharge of his functions, rendered service of a particularly meritorious or exemplary nature." It was also used as a 30 year service award, a 40 year award being marked by the addition of a bar to the first medal on the left.