A Weird Meiningen Ribbon Bar

[Guest Rick Research]

These were brought to my attention. There is such wickedness in the world.

1)

Screaming minty fresh ribbons which neither the munched to bits backing (saggy from being removed and BADLY resewn probably from this original bar which has been scalped to make the forgery) nor the age of the devices matchs. The purported ?M3K wreath is silly, being from a little ribbon bar, but we've seen original silly things before. The Baden Volunteer Nursing Cross ribbon is one sign that a "black-white X" colonial award is .... hey wait a minute...

and then we have the ribbon for the SMK.

Silly fakers!!!! The SMK roll has been DONE. Done AND printed. Nobody with the SMK got this combination. While there are combinations which could not be DISproven--since Rolls haven't been done-- THIS combination can be and IS disproven. Meiningen is a key award state:

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=37362

What use are reference books? Yeah, yeah.

2)

Shockingly minty fresh ribbons again. Very peculiar style. Note the SQUEEZED shapes of the ribbons ( | | | ) characteristic of TAB BACK mounting, with each ribbon pronged onto a metal backing plate. A metal backing plate which either HAS hooks on back pressed out of the backing... or none at all since the awards were sewn down on front. There is, ah, no reason to solder brass hooks on the steel backing of a tab back skeleton. Also observe the purported fixture of the Red Eagle Order bow. Those were SMOOTH. This one has the lined circular pattern of a variety of brass lapel bow button popular in the 1890s. You will observe the curve of said lapel bow fixture arcing under the ribbon above the bow. The button mount in question from a friend's collection---

Frankenstein thought HE was "advancing science," but he was just creating monsters. Imagine what a world we would live in if bad people spent as much time and effort doing good deeds. :speechless:

[Bernd D]

These were brought to my attention. There is such wickedness in the world.

1)

Screaming minty fresh ribbons which neither the munched to bits backing (saggy from being removed and BADLY resewn probably from this original bar which has been scalped to make the forgery) nor the age of the devices matchs. The purported ?M3K wreath is silly, being from a little ribbon bar, but we've seen original silly things before. The Baden Volunteer Nursing Cross ribbon is one sign that a "black-white X" colonial award is .... hey wait a minute...

and then we have the ribbon for the SMK.

Silly fakers!!!! The SMK roll has been DONE. Done AND printed. Nobody with the SMK got this combination. While there are combinations which could not be DISproven--since Rolls haven't been done-- THIS combination can be and IS disproven. Meiningen is a key award state:

Rick,

Despite the fact the bar could be new, I really not sure about it, the combination is possible. At least the SMK together with the Prussian decorations.

[webr55]

A wonderful thing --- now being able to reject bars as fantasy - that would not be completely impossible - by looking through the list and finding no possible wearers. A giant leap for the gnome profession!

[webr55]

Btw, here is a close-up of the Meiningen bar that was provided by the seller...

[Guest Rick Research]

Bernd has some very interesting news to add. And yes, I should have listened to Sascha and Chris.

Sometimes what the brain sees is NOT what is there. Let this be a Ghastly Object Lesson about being SO paranoid that proximity to something bad causes even somebody as gifted and good-looking (sniff) as ME to go horribly WRONG.

I have excuses-- rather GOOD ones, actually. But I will let Bernd continue. :cheers:

[Bernd D]

Some swords on a black and white ribbon can be everything. This time it is the KrO3x.

The bar belonged to Oberstlt a.D. Hans von Brixen gen. von Hahn. He received the KrO3x 1901. Major von Brixen was staff member of the eastasien expedition force. During WWI he was reactivated.

[Guest Rick Research]

And THAT is what threw me off the trail. It NEVER even occurred to me that what we are seeing here is a KO3X and RAO4--

and that somebody with that pair RETIRED like that, and then came back for very strange WW1 duty.

I was looking for a KO4X for China. That for a junior officer who then got an RAO4 later...

see where I went wrong?

But that is exactly what the USUAL career/awards path would have been.

Von Brixen was a prisoner of war camp commandant during the World War. How-- and WHY-- he would have got the equally bizarre (in this group) Baden Volunteer Nursing (!!!!) award is a mystery--

but this ribbon bar has resurfaced from a group which was split apart and scattered to the winds years ago== and which verified the combination of awards from his MEDAL bar as well.

Von Brixen remains stubbornly elusive as a man. We have no birth or death dates.

Kudos to Bernd and Sascha and Chris who figured this out when my brain shut down and refused to consider the freakishly improbable combination as it turns out to have been. :cheers: