EK 1939 A Late Early EK Spange

[Guest Rick Research]

Otto Schickle's EK Spangen ribbon bar devices are distinctive for their very high "mirrored P" shoulders, small heads, 10-past-8 chest feathers and so on.

Here are two ribbon bars which both bear the "early" style Spange, with the curved )1939( rather than straight 1939/ outward sides date rhomboid:

The upper bar, for a recalled civil servant ( Fran?ois Saez) is a nice frosted silver early war example, sure enough, 12mm square.

The lower bar, for a rather unluckier old vet on the Russian Front ( David S)--the same device only 13mm square--is in what we think of as typical late-war zink with the merest suggestions of having once had a similar finish applied.

It is a bit difficult to see the tiny details, since the gray zink blurs into the black ribbon, but note the curved date bar on both:

The zink suggests that this was NOT "old stock" being used up-- but "new" manufactured of an outdated style.

[Paul R]

So then this example would be an early one? The chest feathers look to be a different type.

[Andwwils]

When the Oldenburg FA II Kl and Lubeck Hanseatic Cross are found together on a bar, does that normally suggest a Naval veteran? I've always been curious about this. Sorry for the unrelated question. The civil servant bar piqued my interest.

[Guest Rick Research]

That's not a Schickle Spange, Paul. And it has the normal 1939/. Schickle eagles have an almost perfect circle between their beak and reversed P shaped wing shoulder, with wings so high and heads so low, the eagle's eye is "sighting" down the top of the wing like a rifle barrel, not sticking up above it. No clue who made your Spange.

Oldenburg and Hamburg as here could be either navy or army local to that area. Can't tell. It's a fairly common trio of WW1 awards. That's why I ALWAYS ask for backing material on bars. Though that doesn't always help. Both of these are on the usual generic recycled field-grayish green of mid-WW2.

[Biro]

Thanks Rick - you just nailed the maker of my mini!

Edited December 11, 2007 by Biro

[Guest Rick Research]

Yup, once you see a Schickle, you see them everrrrrrrywhere. Yours seems to fall neatly right in the MIDDLE of the early and late-- not as well hand finished (imagine having to rout out the miniscule space under that beak for an 8 hour shift! ) but better than Kriegsmetall.

[DavidM]

Hello

It has been suggested in places, (and very recently in Dietrichs book on the Knights Cross), that Otto Schickle went out of business quite early in the war. Dietrich provides pointers and eveidence, (copies of original wartime adverts etc), for this in his book in that there was a closing down sale of sorts, and that Schickle then disapeared from the LDO /PKZ lists. So it is doubtfull that Schickle produced anything after (I think, as I haven't got any references to hand), mid 1941.

[Guest Rick Research]

That's interesting! Somebody may have bought the firm's dies, rather than have them go to the scrap heap.

Their very distinctive Spange device has showed up several times on ribbon bars made by Godet in Berlin-- on their distinctive backing plates and cloth backing, so "the competition" may have snarfled up bargain lots at below cost then.

[DavidM]

That's interesting! Somebody may have bought the firm's dies, rather than have them go to the scrap heap.

Their very distinctive Spange device has showed up several times on ribbon bars made by Godet in Berlin-- on their distinctive backing plates and cloth backing, so "the competition" may have snarfled up bargain lots at below cost then.

Hello

Well here's some food thought. Did they go out of business or were they simply, for whatever reason removed from the official makers lists for some trangression? I don't know the answer (yet) but look the attached photo. It's of a 57 RK from my collection, and is made using the original wartime dies and tooling. And yes, it is an Otto Schickle 57 RK, which are, I believe, as rare as their original (genuine) wartime counterparts. So someone definately had Schickles tooling and dies. The question now is who? Schickle if they hadn't actually gone out of business or a competitor who bought up their stuff if Schickle did go out of business?