Godet Marked Meck.-Str. War Service Cross

[Beau Newman]

When I bought this piece from George Seymour several years ago, I assumed that this was a private purchase piece, similar to the Godet EKIs with added hooks. However, most of the information I have since seen leads me to believe that this is a "standard issue" type. Is there any information on variants of this award, numbers awarded & etc? Thanks.

http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_05_2009/post-6181-1242708632.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_05_2009/post-6181-1242708659.jpg

The "GODET" is a little faint but, it is there.

[Ferg1]

Here's a Godet marked seond class but with rear inscription of 'FUR TAPFERKEIT' . Godet made 36 and 25 were awarded to royalty and top dogs only.Ferg1.

[Ulsterman]

Beau, short answer-yes-

Rick R. can give you lots of valuable information!

I won't steal his thunder-he did the research.

but, prepare yourself to feel very chuffed.

Ricks' books are worth-while investments!

You are very,very,very lucky to have an ex-Seymour piece. Did he say whence it came?

[Guest Rick Research]

Bible on the awards of Mecklenburg-Strelitz is

Per Ohm-Hieronymussen, "Die Mecklenburg-Strelitzer Orden und Ehrenzeichen," self-published in Copenhagen 2000. ISBN 87-987887-0-1.

There is nobody who knows more about Strelitz awards, and I can only heartily recommend his book as THE best.

I slaved through the insane, demented, absurdly mangled Strelitz Rolls 1914-1933. The Orders Chancery was in the hands of senile drunken illiterate nitwits Back In The Day. But by combining two halves of quite mutually exclusive and UNCONNECTED rolls which separately are garbage, I'd say that ALL of the 1st Class and noncombatant 2nd Class awards and 90% of the 2nd Class combatant ones (some were simply listed as LUMPS of say 30 to a regiment on one day-- without names ) have been completely transcribed and will be published ? this year or ? next, ? with Mecklenburg-Schwerin's WW1 crosses.

Daniel is in charge of figuring out what "fits" in what will have to be multiple volumes. Seeheld's treasure trove of Schwerin awards rolls will result in multiple volumes themselves, so Strelitz most logically will get published someplace with those. I'm all done with my part of the work and can provide confirmation on INDIVIDUAL names as to whether and when they got a WW1 cross from Strelitz, pre-publication.

George only had HALF of the Demented Troll In The Dungeon rolls, so was never able to come up with the whole.

Your cross (I am no expert AT ALL on the CROSSES) appears to be a perfect match to the Godet type shown on page 149, and I think the frightening numbers might best be read in the book or I'll PM them to you.(Silver or silvered?) We DO hate to give TOO much data away free so lazy dealers who don't do their own homework can charge us MORE. Meybauer also made some private purchase examples. The numbers actually awarded-- these went on well into the 1920s-- exceed the Godet contract pieces, which may explain "variants."

Strelitz was an oddity among German states in that individuals were able to put themselves forward (and some of them were VERY persistently forward! ) for these crosses, or they could be nominated by other people. The marginal notes in the Lunatic Half Rolls will, of course, be included in the Lundstr?m & Krause production. Always nice to know when an officer's mommy recommended him for a little something! :beer:

[Beau Newman]

Thanks guys.

Ulsterman - I don't recall George mentioning where this came from. I got the impression that he had owned it for a while at that point. You are right about being fortunate to have pieces from his collection. I've still got everything I ever bought from him and never saw a bad piece on his table at OMSA. I even got his set of Nimmerguts through FJP Auction so, he comes to mind whenever I look something up. Maybe, one day, I'll have 10% of his knowledge on the subject.

Rick - I have the Peter O-H book and had reviewed the info. in there. It seems to give some good numbers on the Godet pieces (this cross appears to be silver). I am still curious if these numbers reflect the total number awarded or if significant quantities of the Meybauer pieces were also awarded. Just based on my experience, it must be pretty rare. I have only seen a handful of other examples.

[Guest Rick Research]

Real ones are certainly rare, and I have no experience to tell good from bad unless a bad one is REALLY " " bad.

There were hundreds more actually awarded than Godet made. WTTW: Now would be the time to buy one before the Rolls come out and forever Reveal All.

From my reading of the book, all of Godet's contract silver crosses had the side hooks, and then it was roughly 50/50 on their silvered ones--making a "less nice" silvered one (some with/some without hooks) actually much "rarer" than a solid silver one. Meybauer doesn't appear to have been an "official" supplier-- they just made a little of everything for the 1920s after market.

The Mentally Defective Dungeon Troll Rolls do not specify what form the 1st Class being awarded took, so no clue how they were handed out. Did they simply issue the solid silvers until those ran out? Or did they notice they were running low, order the silvered ones, and "hold back" the solid silver ones for more important/favored recipients? And would "anonymopus" ones have taken over completely after all the Godets ran out?

From the marginal notations, the 1st Classes seem to have been awarded quite fairly, to people right down to ordinary Musketeers who actually deserved them, rather than simply being handed out as souvenirs for senior commanders and staff officers.