DSWA parade wrap w/ two spange

[Claudius]

Greetings all;

It has been awhile since I posted any militaria so I thought I would show you this. I recently received it from a good friend and fellow collector and was itself purchased from a good collector before him. It has a provenance that I can trace back to the early 1970's.

The obverse has a nice bronze patina, but the reverse is a bright gold.

Notice: In back, the different, mini ribbons used -odd.

[Claudius]

back side

[Claudius]

medal reverse

[Schießplatzmeister]

medal reverse

Hello Claudius:

This is an interesting DSWA medal. It appears to be an old private purchase (non-official die) piece. The medal was gilded and this gilding worn off of the obverse through everyday wear or most-likely polishing. The medal was removed from a group. Most group assemblers used whatever pieces of ribbon were extra in their shops for backing use while mounting medals.

The campaign clasps are another issue. Copies(forgeries) of these have been around for a long time and can be added to any group or medal at any point. To complicate matters even further, there were a variety of variations of original period items as there pieces were made by a variety of military purveyors. Without holding this piece in hand it is nearly impossible to pass judgement one way or the other regarding the campaign clasps.

Best regards,

"SPM"

[Claudius]

Hello Claudius:

This is an interesting DSWA medal. It appears to be an old private purchase (non-official die) piece. The medal was gilded and this gilding worn off of the obverse through everyday wear or most-likely polishing. The medal was removed from a group. Most group assemblers used whatever pieces of ribbon were extra in their shops for backing use while mounting medals.

The campaign clasps are another issue. Copies(forgeries) of these have been around for a long time and can be added to any group or medal at any point. To complicate matters even further, there were a variety of variations of original period items as there pieces were made by a variety of military purveyors. Without holding this piece in hand it is nearly impossible to pass judgement one way or the other regarding the campaign clasps.

Best regards,

"SPM"

Hello SPM;

Thank you for your observations on this medal. I did not know that this was a private purchase piece. I knew that fakes of this medal are plentiful and that the bars are a special target of the forgers. I specifically mentioned the provenance to belie the possibility of this medal, the bars or the combination as being false.

It was my understanding that the "high-quality" fake bars only just entered the marketplace in the last 20+ years. The collector that bought the medal in the 1970s had, over the years, re-directed his focus to WWI Allies and specifically the research of British groups. Undisturbed from his collection, he only just sold it again to my friend in the 1980s. An OMSA member and frequent show attendee, before his recent death, he would become well known on a British medal collector forum as a knowledgeable and helpful mentor to others looking to research their "trios" or other named medal groups from WWI or earlier. His funeral included pages of accolades and condolences printed from that website's thread.

I know he purchased this medal as-is, however if the high-quality fakes were in the marketplace even in the 1970s, then I would believe that he could have been fooled.

I would love to put the medal in your hands for your assessment. Perhaps if we meet at a show (again) I could bring it along for conversation purposes.

:beer:

[Schießplatzmeister]

Hello SPM;

Thank you for your observations on this medal. I did not know that this was a private purchase piece. I knew that fakes of this medal are plentiful and that the bars are a special target of the forgers. I specifically mentioned the provenance to belie the possibility of this medal, the bars or the combination as being false.

It was my understanding that the "high-quality" fake bars only just entered the marketplace in the last 20+ years. The collector that bought the medal in the 1970s had, over the years, re-directed his focus to WWI Allies and specifically the research of British groups. Undisturbed from his collection, he only just sold it again to my friend in the 1980s. An OMSA member and frequent show attendee, before his recent death, he would become well known on a British medal collector forum as a knowledgeable and helpful mentor to others looking to research their "trios" or other named medal groups from WWI or earlier. His funeral included pages of accolades and condolences printed from that website's thread.

I know he purchased this medal as-is, however if the high-quality fakes were in the marketplace even in the 1970s, then I would believe that he could have been fooled.

I would love to put the medal in your hands for your assessment. Perhaps if we meet at a show (again) I could bring it along for conversation purposes.

Hello again Claudius:

The mounting and the medal are old and correct (so no worries there). This medal looks like a privately commissioned die (you will notice a lack of the die-sinker's mark under the neckline of the bust). Veterans often purchased medals from private purveyors to have a bar made up for wear. Regarding the bars, I do not believe that these examples conform to the most commonly encountered originals. Also, they do not look like the most commonly encountered forgeries. They may have been (and most likely were) made by the same supplier as the medal. I am not an expert on these DSWA bars and avoid them on purpose because collecting them is so risky.

I believe that our own Heiko does have the expertise to properly judge them. You might want to shoot him a PM to schedule sending him high-quality photos of the bars.

I am planning on attending the MAX Show and the SOS and am looking forward to meeting you again.

Best regards,

"SPM"

[Claudius]

Hello again Claudius:

The mounting and the medal are old and correct (so no worries there). This medal looks like a privately commissioned die (you will notice a lack of the die-sinker's mark under the neckline of the bust). Veterans often purchased medals from private purveyors to have a bar made up for wear. Regarding the bars, I do not believe that these examples conform to the most commonly encountered originals. Also, they do not look like the most commonly encountered forgeries. They may have been (and most likely were) made by the same supplier as the medal. I am not an expert on these DSWA bars and avoid them on purpose because collecting them is so risky.

I believe that our own Heiko does have the expertise to properly judge them. You might want to shoot him a PM to schedule sending him high-quality photos of the bars.

I am planning on attending the MAX Show and the SOS and am looking forward to meeting you again.

Best regards,

"SPM"

Hello SPM;

Thank you again for your assessment. And thank you for your advice. Until I can take some high-definition photos, I will include here a zoom in close-up of the bars from the original photo.

The MAX show in October and the SOS in November!!! I don't believe I will be able to get away, . But Spring is possible.

:cheers: