imperial collection stolen!

[HeikoGrusdat]

Hello gentlemen and friends,

today I have very sad news..... last night a huge part of my imperial medal bar collection has been stolen from my home while I have been on a concert!!! As you can imagine I am very dissapointed and very angry as well... I can`t say exactly how many bars are gone but I would say about 150 medal and ribbon bars are missing. I will give you the names of the most important and ID?d groups later, you will know most of them from the forum or from auction catalogues; some of you know more bars from my collection but I can`t list all now... if any of these appear somewhere on the market please ontact me immediately, the german state police (BKA) will get this case because it is a big robbery..... please help me however you can, maybe we can get something back...

the most important medal groups are from:

Karl Wedding Vize-Admiral, medal bar and ribbon bar

Hans R?stow Generalleutnant der Artillerie, medal bar

Auti Altvater Korvettenkapit?n, medal bar

Robert Koehne General der Artillerie, medal bar

Henning von Holtzendorff Grossadmiral, medal bar

Friedrich Holtz Oberstleutnant der Artillerie, ribbon bar

Paul K?nigs Hauptmann der Schutztruppe, 2 medal bars

Ludwig von Mertens Generalmajor der Artillerie, medal bar

Wilhelm Riese Oberkriegsgerichtsrat, medal bar

and many many more ribbon bars, medal bars, miniature chains and so on....

the remaining part of my collection is now in a safe place and will be secured for eternity....

Unfortunately my database on the laptop is missing as well as the whole laptop is gone too....

that`s it for the moment, I have to get a scotch now....

thanks for all help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heiko

[Ed_Haynes]

Oh no, Heiko!!!

Our nightmare situation!!

Our sympathies are with you and let us know what we can do to help!!

[Ulsterman]

OMG!

Heiko-I am so sorry.

Gentlemen, I would guess that this may have been a'targeted" theft. People read these forums and watch and wait for opportunities to steal our collections.

Can we recreate some of these bars so as to know what we are looking for? Odds are if it was just kids these things will be on ebay.de within a month. If not-eventually they will surface.

[Jacky]

I'm so sorry for you Heiko!!

I hope that your collection will be recovered!!!

I wish you good luck and strength next time.

Jacky

[Claudio]

Heiko!

These are terrible news...

It looks like the thief or thieves knew your collection well and also were watching your movements.

When I hear these stories, it makes me wonder... It would be recommendable that collectors would better not show their desirable and highly valuable items on such forums. Internet is so anonymous and yet so easy to get very interesting informations about collections and their locations.

No insurance company is really interested in insuring such collections if kept at home and their value very high. Furthermore you need to keep an inventory of every piece, just in case, better if all the data is stored on a CD or another computer, not at home near the collection (it might be stolen, too!!! like in your case). Of course know it's easy to say it!

Of course we (collector community) will keep the eyes open in case some of your bars will come up in the market, but I am quite sure, since these are quite easely identifiable bars, that you won't see them soon. It looks like a commissioned robbery... somebody that wanted badly your collection. He will keep himself very quiet...

What to say... we are really living in quite dangerous times: the opening of the borders (Schengen) makes the task easier for those criminals who wants to disappear and take with them such valuable things to another country. Maybe your bars are already very far away from Germany!

A remember vividly some of your items, but I would better for you to propagate the images of your stolen bars on this or other forums.

Best luck in getting back safely your bars!!!

Ciao,

Claudio

Edited November 27, 2006 by Claudio

[Herr General]

We should make a database in this thread with images and info so that we all can check the dealers and website if they surfice somewhere.

[JimZ]

Oh my God!!!! Lets hope they resurface somewhere and u can track them down. Sure forum members will lend a hand where they can!

No matter what their insurance value may be, a collection gone in a night is absolutely heartbreaking!

Jim

[Paul C]

Heiko, I am so very sorry to hear this news! I go to many of the big shows in the USA and will keep an eye out for anything.

[Riley1965]

Heiko,

First I am sorry about your loss. I have posted your list at the OMSA Stolen Medal registry. Let's Hope you can recover them.

Doc

[Claudius]

Heiko;

I'm very sorry to hear of this. I will keep my eyes out as well for these bars. And I will inform my collector friends as well. They don't collect Imp. Germ., but they can keep their eyes out as well. If someone tries to sell it in my corner of the world here, I'll let you and the authorities know.

[VtwinVince]

Hello Heiko,

Very sorry to hear of this, and it has happened to me in the past as well. I will of course keep my eyes open for anything of yours. Halt dich wacker!

[Gerd Becker]

wow, thats a nightmare. I am extremly sorry, Heiko. I hope, they get the thieves and you get your collection back.

[webr55]

That is unbelievable. Your have my deepest sympathy!

[Paul R]

I hope that you are able to find your stuff. I am sorry to hear of your loss...

[Kev in Deva]

Dear Heiko

Sorry to hear the distressing news, dont give up hope, no matter how bad it seems, there is always a chance the police will turn something up, the main thing is neither you nor any of your family were hurt.

Bad Luck to the people who did this

Kevin in Deva

[medalnet]

Heiko,

I am very sorry to hear this. Do you have pictures of those groups for easier identification?

Andreas

[Stogieman]

Heiko, terrible, terrible news. Not just in what you have lost materially, but the time, effort and research... My eyes will be peeled. Please post a contact name and number for the Officer assigned to your case so we can have it available for all. Again, my deepest sympathies.

[Guest Rick Research]

**** !!!!!!!!!

You can ********** bet that we will be on the watch for your items. The ones which are unique and attributable will be impossible to flog on. What jerks.

I don't know what we can do, technically, to attempt to get all the scans you have posted here into THIS thread, but I will check with Nick. I will pin this. If it comes to that, we can each find Heiko's posts and copy and repost each scan in here.

I am sickened at what has happened to you.

[Dave Danner]

Since, as Heiko says, his laptop was also stolen, he may not have a database of images anymore. We can look through threads here and at WAF to reconstruct what we can, if that will help.

Here is the front of the Altvater bar:

[Dave Danner]

And the back:

[Chris Boonzaier]

You can ********** bet that we will be on the watch for your items. The ones which are unique and attributable will be impossible to flog on.

The aholes will rip then apart and sell them seperately

[Dave Danner]

Hans R?stow:

[Dave Danner]

Henning von Holtzendorff:

[joe campbell]

heiko-

i can only begin to imagine your disappointment

and anger....

one can only hope there is an especially warm place in

Hades for the creature(s) who perpetrated this.

my profound sympathy and best wishes.

joe

[Guest Rick Research]

Heiko's noncombatant Frackspange with China medal:

[attachmentid=62507]

Heiko's 2 bars to Paul K?nigs:

[attachmentid=62508]