Question about a Prussian bar

[saschaw]

Dear Gentlemen,

here's a Prussian bar from "IIIrd Reich" era, with the TR awards in first place - well, why not.

The second to last ribbon is for the Prussian "Kreuz des Allgemeinen Ehrenzeichens", but has a medal on it. Might it be possible the tailor took the wrong ribbon, or is just the medal wrong and should be exchanged? The medals are just hooked in ...

BTW:

It seems he didn't want a 1934 "Ehrenkreuz des Weltkrieges" ...

[saschaw]

And its reverse.

Thanks in advance for any opinion.

Edited April 27, 2007 by saschaw

[webr55]

More things are strange here: An XXV and in before 1897, but still - according to the Volkspflege medal - an Oberleutnant/Oberzahlmeister in 1940 - after 43+ years of service? An XXV AND a Treudienst 40?

The Kreuz des Allgemeinen Ehrenzeichens ribbon must be an error, since that was given only to very old NCOs. And maybe there was a Volkspflege 3rd cl in first place originally.

[Ulsterman]

oh? Look at the AEZ ribbon again.

This person wasn't in the military in WW1.

It's odd and to a very old man, but I'd like to hear Rick L.'s comments.

The back looks very fresh and I might bet that the top bar is original and the lower bar was made to fit it. The problem is the officer's long service medal. If it was a 12 year NCOs medal, then it's the story of an old NCO who got out pre WW1, went into a bureaucrats' job and then loyally supported bond drives etc. But there were lots of older officers who got out with merely a LS medal. The 1914 ranklist has dozens of them.

But, I suspect it is ok.

Edited April 27, 2007 by Ulsterman

[webr55]

The back looks very fresh and I might bet that the top bar is original and the lower bar was made to fit it.

That might be, I agree. But I bet the person who made the medal bar chose not only the wrong LS decoration but also the wrong grade of the Volkspflege decoration.

[Ulsterman]

Why the wrong Volkspfleg medal? I have seen these on Gauleiters' bars.

[webr55]

Why the wrong Volkspfleg medal? I have seen these on Gauleiters' bars.

Would love to see that!

[Guest Rick Research]

Eek! Straaaaaaaange mounting order.

I would think it was much harder to find the ribbon for a Cross of the General Decoration than the generic "Red Eagle" ribbon it used.

I would agree that this was an old civil servant not entitled to the Hindenburg Cross as well EXCEPT for that military XXV.

It's a very screwy bar. I just can't accept that the awards on the medal bar actually belong there. Looks to me like many must have been swapped for other things.

[saschaw]

Hmm, and now what to do? It's not mine, but belonging to the old man's collection my fahter and I are selling for him.

I guess we'll have to think about it ...

[saschaw]

Hmm Gentlemen, now what to do with it? I do have a Cross of the of the General Decoration here as well as I've got several different Prussian long service awards. What should I switch to make it correct? The bar itself looks actually fine and old to me, but presumably someone played with it.

There are some bars in this strange old collection that are kind of funny, e.g. the Anhalt-Tunisia-Soviet bar I posted recently ...

[Ulsterman]

Leave it alone!

My gut says this is ok-esp. with the ribbon bar. This was probably a chronological mounting and while not technically correct, is so odd that its' probably (and in my opinion) almost certainly original pre-1945 mounting!

......and these medals make sense if this man was an elderly Asst. MarineBauInspektor dR. or somesuch long time NCO who got "bumped up to officer dR as a courtesy in 1919/20.

I still maintain my "old NCO" and/or too ill to be in uniform in WW1 theory.

Heck I'll even volunteer to buy the darn thing if you feel compelled to do something with it.

Edited May 30, 2007 by Ulsterman