Kev in Deva

Hallo usairforce, I will hazzard a guess that its a Polish Item, looking at the letters and the red and white colour. Seems similar to the Language here: http://www.allegro.pl/3708_1945_1989.html?...w=gtext&p=0 Kevin in Deva.

Errr... because they can? could? did etc.. etc.. show us more of the goodies you got this weekend. Kevin in Deva.

Hallo Barry, thanks for posting this, an all to often forgotton subject when it comes to Native American in the Military History of the USA. Kevin in Deva.

Doc, I think something simple and tasteful would fit the bill to get you started on a very slippery slope, a German State Medal with an E.K. II (but less the Hindenberg Cross), suggest a nice Bavarian Cross III Class and EK II as they are often up for grabs. Kevin in Deva

Hallo saschaw It is the French medal as the faint outline of the Red Cross can be seen on the ribbon, it also remains to be seen if the gentleman is actualy German. The British Lady is wearing the same French Decoration, as well as the Prussian Non-Combatant Medal for 1870-71 and the State of Hessen-Darmstadt Milit?r-Sanit?ts-Kreuz 1870/71. Kevin in Deva.

Hallo Ed, thanks for the scenic shots, especialy the tank, my bro is an avid tank modeler and I will send him a copy of the photo for reference if you do not mind? Please keep an eye open for any more "heavy metal" Nice orders as well, these people seem to appreciate some colour on their decorations Have a nice vist, and stay safe. Kevin in Deva. P.S. "Plastic Irish Pub" ??

Hallo Gents, while surfing the net tonight I came across this one: At first glance I took it to have been a second class which had the ribbon mount broken off (see some damage to top left upper arm. Then I saw this picture of the rear! I have never seen one like this before and have to wonder is it a cast copy by some enterprising little monkey?? The rear catch in close up. Near the start of the thread is a picture of an original First Class in Gold and White Enamel, with the strong pin we associate with German awards. Any opinions, please feel free to post. Kevin in Deva.

Hallo JBFloyd I believe the second last could be the non-combatant version of the Prussian 1870 - 1871 medal, I have come across evidence of this medal being awarded to an English woman for Red Cross services in France during the 1870-71 conflict. LOUISA ELISABETH McLAUGHLIN (1836-1921), Perhaps the gentleman in this thread is an official with the Red Cross?. Kevin in Deva.

Hallo Lee Welcome to the forum, we do have a section for providing a link to websites, perhaps you could post it there. This section is for members to post pictures of their personal collection. Please feel free to add some pictures here. Kevin in Deva

Hi Carol I, its probably a throw back to the old regime here, but it is surprising how many people still do not want to talk about what they did or the parents did during WW2 (and what others did post 1947 - 1989!! ) there still a lot of suspicion & secrets out there. With regards "L.G.N." I would advise any members who are contemplating having any dealings, to check the items very carefuly before parting with any cash, as all that glitters is not gold. As was pointed out at his recent auction in the USA there were quite a few mistakes in his item descriptions and the fact that when notified, well in advance of the auction, he made no attempt to change them. I notice L. G. M. often take a table at the Brasov Collectors Meetings, and usually there is a lot of "eye-candy" all priced in Euros and at such big prices that less than 5% of the crowd who visits the show could aford to buy them. Kevin in Deva.

Hi Carol, thanks for the reply, any information is helpful, while there are a couple of books on Romanian awards here, none go into detail of why they are awarded in detail, a lot contain mis-information copied from previous books, and some times when I ask about items from sellers you get the idea they dont want to tell "in case they are giving away a secret to a foreigner" seems you can take away communisun from the man, but, can you seperate man from Communist thinking?? Kevin in Deva. PS with regards the Military & Fire-Brigade, I did notice in my research on the British Forces in Ireland back in the 1800's, the Military Barracks were one of the first institutions to have fire-engines*, as this was a very expensive item, requiring a trained team of men to operate, whenever there was a fire in the town, the military would bring and operate the machine, other soldiers would be posted to secure the area from looters and along with the police keep the crowd back at a safe distance, I would imagine a similar practise was carried out in Europe. Looking at the attached image, it appears that the "firemen" had received some sort of military training to handle fire-arms so they might already have been part of the military structure of the time * in this context the "engine" was a man-powered pump feed by a bucket chain from the nearest water-source. K.

The rear. Kevin in Deva

Hallo Carol I, very nice document and award, a friend of mine recently bought these documents from a dealer in Buchurest. But unfortunatly no badge. With a very early number 229. Nice to see the face behind the name. Kevin in Deva.

Hallo Gents, picked this up at the local Hobby Club today sweet and simple for the Fire Brigade in the R. S. R. Period. 1965 -1985. The front depicts a fire engine and crew speeding to a blaze, in the background a town, under the fire-engine a small red star. Given for service I believe in the Fire Brigade, (there were two types of Fire-Brigade I believe the Military and a Civil one, both could be called out for all types of fires (until last year the Fire-Brigade was still military connected, and were still to be seen toting machine-guns, however not when called out to fires ). Perhaps Carol I could give a little more information with regards this medal? Kevin in Deva.

Hi! Pete, slightly confused here, but, why does it take the Queen of Great Britain to lay the "Canadian version of the V.C. on the Canadian Unknown soldier grave?? As there is a smalll / large possibility the Uknown Soldier might have a French connection, will the President of France be invited as well?? Surely if the Cross is an "independant Canadian award", somebody of high enough stature and rank from Canada could perform the ceremony, which will also focus attention (for a very few moments) on the grave of a soldier lost in the Great War. By the way, please dont mis-inteprit my comments as anti-royalist, the Royal family is an integaral part of Britain & the old Commenwealths heratige. Kevin in Deva

Hallo Martin, thanks for the heads up on the Regalia Specialist, why they bother to repro these is beyond me, its not like they are hard to find??. All I can do is weigh mine which is an original and later post the weight here, maybe there is a difference between the original and the repros?? Kevin in Deva

The pins: Kevin in Deva

The Rear: Kevin in Deva

Hallo MG120 I believe 1957 tank destruction pieces had a longer gun barrel, I attach a picture of mine for comparisson. Size: 41+mm wide, 18mm high. Original had 3 pins, approxamatly 22mm long. I dont have the cloth strip for it as the tank was a flea-market find in Germany. Kevin in Deva

Eddie, most collectors do not clean / polish their medals with chemical agents as it deterioates the finish badly, you could try a simple wash with warm soapy water and a soft bristle brush, dry with a towel & hair dryer to get rid of all the moisture, in the rust area you could dab on with a cotton bud a little oil, but very sparingly. I am sure other members might contribute their ideas on this as well. Kevin in Deva

Hi Eddie, that in itself, dosent mean its a repro, late war models often had a spotty effect caused by the casting, and yours seems to retain some of the frosting around the rim and particularly the helmet front. Kevin in Deva

Hi Eddie any stamp on the ribbon ring?? Kevin in Deva

Hallo Eddie, looks good to me, if there ever was a mark its probably on the missing ribbon ring, I dont think these have been faked yet Kevin in Deva.

Hallo Hendrick, I must say you have some very nice crosses and emblems presented there I especialy like the one with the wound ribbon attached Kevin in Deva.

Hallo naoki matsumonto and welcome to the club, you have some very nice pieces, can you show a picture of the back of the ribbon bars, sometimes this is very helpful in being able to verify if bars are original or reproductions made long after the War. Kevin in Deva