Anhalt bar

[Guest Rick Research]

Alas, as things are now, not that I know of. Our little band of Research Gnomes has our collective paws full wearisomely struggling to come close to getting MILITARY groups into some sort of Eventually Super Organized Totality Of Knowledge which we are frittering away our collective lives on so that the next generation can touch a few keys and have All Revealed at THEIR instant fingertips.

Sigh!

Civilian bars like this one-- and ESPECIALLY like this one, with the dreaded Weimar Sources Void--remain enigmas.

I hope that somebody, someday, somewhere, might come across a miraculously preserved Roll of the Red Cross decorations, 1922+. Stranger things have happened.

Meanwhile, concerning the complete deconstruction of the Anhalt bar previous:

I can only echo my friend Wild's rather charitably enigmatic remarks to elaborate that (consider Very Rude Remarks Indeed have been THOUGHT but not typed out here )

it is NEVER a GOOD idea to screw around with things that cannot be slid on and off hooks.

N

E

V

E

R

A violation of the Prime Directive of Collecting, in fact.

Death or banishment in the Kerguelen Island Group kind of offense.

To be...

charitable (I am trying, God help me )...

you NOW have a medal bar that has been so REPEATEDLY AND COMPLETELY VIOLATED

as to be completely and totally worthless.

Everyone has a Dark And Shameful Secret--

some Ghastly And Unimaginable Sin

from their early, inexperienced collecting days.

Let this be yours, and LEARN FROM IT.

It is 2008. Everything that YOU do that cannot be undone forever alters that which WAS original to

eBay trash forever.

Now put it in YOUR Box Of Shame (we all have one, like Jacob Marley's ghost's chains) and Never Do It Again.

[A Collector]

Alas, as things are now, not that I know of. Our little band of Research Gnomes has our collective paws full wearisomely struggling to come close to getting MILITARY groups into some sort of Eventually Super Organized Totality Of Knowledge which we are frittering away our collective lives on so that the next generation can touch a few keys and have All Revealed at THEIR instant fingertips.

Sigh!

Civilian bars like this one-- and ESPECIALLY like this one, with the dreaded Weimar Sources Void--remain enigmas.

I hope that somebody, someday, somewhere, might come across a miraculously preserved Roll of the Red Cross decorations, 1922+. Stranger things have happened.

Meanwhile, concerning the complete deconstruction of the Anhalt bar previous:

I can only echo my friend Wild's rather charitably enigmatic remarks to elaborate that (consider Very Rude Remarks Indeed have been THOUGHT but not typed out here )

it is NEVER a GOOD idea to screw around with things that cannot be slid on and off hooks.

N

E

V

E

R

A violation of the Prime Directive of Collecting, in fact.

Death or banishment in the Kerguelen Island Group kind of offense.

To be...

charitable (I am trying, God help me )...

you NOW have a medal bar that has been so REPEATEDLY AND COMPLETELY VIOLATED

as to be completely and totally worthless.

Everyone has a Dark And Shameful Secret--

some Ghastly And Unimaginable Sin

from their early, inexperienced collecting days.

Let this be yours, and LEARN FROM IT.

It is 2008. Everything that YOU do that cannot be undone forever alters that which WAS original to

eBay trash forever.

Now put it in YOUR Box Of Shame (we all have one, like Jacob Marley's ghost's chains) and Never Do It Again.

I must admit that I did not sleep well last night after seeing posts 21 and 22....matter of factly, I had many nightmares that involved being horribly violated in unspeakable ways...I need therapy now.

[A Collector]

...i always thought medals seemed too low on ribbons! I simple flipped fastens up to old thread marks still under ribbon and resewed them in original place!!! All medal seem to line up better and I believe is original way bar was ! ...

Hi Scott,

If you have a chance to look inside the book titled "World War I German Aviators The Sanke Cards", you will see period illustrations of a few sloppy medal bars where not one of the medals line up. An excellent illustration of this can be found on pages 164-168 showing progression of awards earned by Leutnant Max Muller.

[scottplen]

Hello

I only did what i thought was right! it can be returned to way I recieved it ! with the swords I carefully removed them as for the the clips under ribbon that were moved I only moved them up to were they were !

as I own this bar and paid good money for it I only want it to be correct !!!!I been emailed by one collector/dealer that states swords could have been put on by the medal mounter because anhalt

swords are long and hard to mount and that I should replace the bar back to the way it was!!!

So Sorry for the lost sleep and i will carefully undo what I thaought was right !!!and put item back to way i recieved it and restore swords to bar I have a tendancy to go over board in pursuit of the truth!!!

and just wanted ti know all about this bar ! also been told that only sword awards were keep by recipient if they recieved an other higher grade! so this bar should not have two peace time awards of anhalt bear !!! SO PLEASE EXCUSE ME BUT I WILL TRY NOT TO GET SO CRAZY OVER THINGS IN FUTURE AND NOT MESS WITH THEM!!!!

[Ulsterman]

I also wondered about the ambiguity in the above remarks, but was appalled at the loss of the swords.

Bottom line is, you almost NEVER know for certain. There are exceptions to the rule and sometimes photos show up to demonstrate these exceptions. A year ago Rick had a post about an odd medal bar that showed up in a Wehrmacht General's photos from @ 1942, thereby proving the odd combination existed.

Even today vets do odd things-Chris B.'s home-made, but hard earned (See "the heretic" thread) French bar will baffle collectors in 100 years (unless he engraves it, which I personally will PAY him to do) and God alone knows what people will think of my bar, filled with pretentious baubles and other odd things.

Last year there was photo of an Austrian band master taken in 1942 that gob-smacked me-a full chest of WW1 and TR awards-and no HK. If I'd seen that I'd have laughed at a medal show, but there it was, complete with odd Rumanian and Bulgarian orders at the end too.

[Stogieman]

Well, we've certainly had our share of excitement over the last few weeks. I think the important thing to remember is to pause and think before we make any attempt to alter a piece. Whether it is to fix, restore, remove, etc. The actions we take are sometimes irreversible..... and that we may do more damage than good.

[scottplen]

Hello

Guys Thanks and sorry for going nuts sometimes!!! But I replaced everything as it was and Be sure when i took swords off I made sure i was able to put them back without harming anything !!!! They are back on and will stay on and will try not to get soooooo

crazy !!!! I was told sword were no good then told they were take them off put them on !!!!I was going nuts So I went with my gut !and believe swords are original to this bar and I did not cut anything off they come off with out destroying piece ! they have those clips sewn in to mount medals so everything is as i recieved it ! like you said who knows so i will try not to over react !!!

Sorry for driving you guys crazy !!!!! I owe you guys a drink !!! THanks to all !!!

[David M]

Impossible to identify this one as well

Hi What is the last order on this bar??