Not again...

[JensF.]

http://cgi.ebay.de/Preussen-Grosse-Ordenss...1QQcmdZViewItem

[Guest Rick Research]

Oh dear. Doctor Frankenstein's at it again!

[attachmentid=40201]

[Ed_Haynes]

Some monsters will not die, no matter how many stakes of knowledge you drive in?

[Guest Rick Research]

Indeed. This tells the story of the life of its supposed wearer. And that story is FICTION.

Aside from the incorrect mounting precedence errors

Aside from the plethora of multi-state awards to an NCO that would have made Baron Richthofen weep with jealousy

Aside from our XV years regular AND XII in the reserves fellow still being a mere ordinary private in 1914 (Saxon FAM in bronze)

Aside from the W?rttemberg Bravery Medal being on the wrong ribbon (yes, we did notice, NOT "close enough")

It's just great. No, really. A prize. I won't say what KIND of a prize.

If I had been an 18 year old Wehrmacht sentry, I would have shot the wearer dead on the spot, no second thought, in the sure and certain knowledge that no REAL German could ever be wearing these.

It is a monstrous shame not only that some criminal is butchering real bars and peddling this Hollywood nonsense

but that people with more money than brains are quite happy to BUY such horribly fake chop shop wares.

[Guest Rick Research]

Brighter (though more light only makes it more awful) and a bit smaller to get it all in at once:

[attachmentid=40202]

Obvously having met with "sales resistance" on past "Handwerk" where the ostentatiously BRAND NEW ribbons did not match the condition of the ragtag assortment of the Cheapest Possible awards for mass bar manufacturing, our militaria butcher has decided to 'age" the ribbons.

What is particularly noticable with the Brunswick ribbon is that they were vigorously rubbed back and forth repeatedly on some dusty dirty surface...

thereby fraying edges which could not possibly BECOME worn when sewn down on a bar for the last 60 supposed years

and so the "age" was JUST as obviously applied prior to manufacture.

(Ain'ta gonna BE "age and wear" UNDERNEATH where things have been "covered" either, DOH!!!!)

For better results, I would suggest to the criminal mastermind behind this garbage:

wear them around for the next 60 years. Leave them out in the rain for the next 60 years.

THEN come back and try to cheat people who KNOW what they are doing.

[Bob Hunter]

Gee, and there I was thinking this guy was just another overachiever!

Edited May 21, 2006 by Bob Hunter

[Guest Rick Research]

Over? try UNDER! According to the fable this ... thing tells us... it's supposed weraer was in the military on 22 March 1897 (which means joined no later than 1896 and if we are to squeeeeeeeze in the TWO long services, active AND reserve mounted improperly, before WW1... WELL before 1896) and yet after a COMBINED pre-1914 (no XXV so these are "retired before 1914") active duty and reserve enlisted service of about 27 years (OK, less if navy) in 1914 our very UN-naval awards combination Super Hero was only a BUCK PRIVATE.

Now the BRITISH army of yore allowed rankers to go 20 years and never add a stripe, but the GERMAN forces did not.

THis bar TELLS us that is a fraud, recently assembled by a crook. It cannot lie to us.

[Bob Hunter]

...perhaps a gentleman high private, or did such exist in the German army?

[Guest Rick Research]

not in our dimension (Twilight Zone theme music)

[Chip]

So Rick, please excuse these, perhaps, novice questions, but is the maker of this bar using original ribbons? It seems to be a chore to find nice original ribbons and would not newer ribbons show up under a blacklight? Are good ribbons being abused here, if not, why would someone use newer ribbons that could be easily detected?

Chip

[Guest Rick Research]

I have never held one of these abominations in my hand, so I cannot say. It appears that most of them are made out of either new ribbons or mixed with some random stock of unused ribbons. Often quite common ribbon is NOT used, which makes me think the home factory churning out this garbage has lengths of SOME original ribbon and just tosses anything on hand into the mix for the rest.

If any of our readers DO get to handle one of these live at a show, please blacklight it and see what happens.

"...why would someone use newer ribbons that could be easily detected?"

A certain percentage of Happy Buyers is never even gone to check, because it never occurs to them to question their wondrous new (literally) pretties.