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Recent Posts
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By Hermann · Posted
The Medal set of Dutch Major-General Nico Tack. He received a Silver Star Medal and a Bronze Star Medal for his service in Korea 1950-1951. Later in the sixties he was Dutch Defence Attaché in Washington for which he received a Legion of Merit. -
By alex2023 · Posted
Hi Everyone I was wondering is someone can identify this item: Imperial GERMAN WWI Prussian Kaiser Wilhelm&Friedrich III Patriotic Silver bowl - is this item an Military award, made of sterling silver from period 1915-1917 or later production. Diameter 140mm. weight: 150g. I appreciate any answers. Thank you in advance Some pics I post below -
By alex2023 · Posted
Hello I was wondering if someone can help me to identify a German WW2 - Knight Cross Oak Leaves in silver 800, if it original one from WW2 or a later copy. Size is 20x25mm. weight: 7.7g. Marked on back side: 800 and L21. I appreciate any answers. Thank you in advance and good luck -
By Rakkasan187 · Posted
James, Thank you for sharing that with us here. The hard lessons we learned along the way have made me at least pay more attention to the details and history of each item. And you said it... Research, research, research... Knowledge is power.. Best Leigh -
By Catafalque · Posted
Hi all, I recently acquired what appears to be a Schwedt Dragoner (Kavallerie) visor cap, and I’d really appreciate any help in determining its authenticity and historical context. A knowledgeable collector on Facebook offered the following insight, and also suggested I post here for further opinions: "Looks like one of the very late war production Erel caps, probably made in late 1944 or early 1945 for the reformed cavalry units. Army cavalry units were disbanded in late 1941, with some personnel transferred to form the cadre of the 24th Panzer Division. The rank & file were converted to reconnaissance units. In 1944, three more cavalry (recon) regiments were expanded into divisions & formally authorised in 1945. These were largely nominal units and mostly existed only on paper. This cap looks to be one of those contracts and was probably never issued. It has all the hallmarks of late-war 'last-ditch' production: poorer quality materials, a pressed paper visor, 'fat' piping, and an NCO-grade interior compared to earlier officer caps. Most have aluminum wire embroidered insignia, as stamped alloy was in short supply. A nice unissued example and a good addition to any collection." Please note: the lighting in the photos may appear warmer than in person due to them being taken under an orange sunshade. Thank you in advance! -
By jmd62 · Posted
Hey Leigh, This all reminds me of what I thought was my first legit TR purchase, in Germany of all places, back in 1990. I ran across an antique store with some WW1 items in the window so I thought I would pop in and see if there was anything from WW2. The owner was hesitant at first, then invited me back to a room which was full of TR uniforms, helmets, the works, it was insane. I was there with my wife and kids on a strict budget so the only thing I could afford was what he described as an HJ pocket knife for $70, which back then was a lot, at least to me. I was stoked until I discovered a couple of years later it was a common fantasy piece. I learned a good lesson, research, research and research. On a positive note, my younger son loves it and views it as a souvenir from our trip and to him, a funny moment at that Thanks, James -
By Rakkasan187 · Posted
jmd62, Appreciate the feedback. As a collector from the "old days" I lost money on items that were thought to be original and quite convincing but as I have learned (the hard way) with very little mentorship from collectors who saw a young gullible kid and took advantage of that naiveness, many of these fantasy items were just that, fantasy. It was a time when I trusted the words of dealers but learned a hard lesson from not knowing what I was getting into without references and research.... It wasn't until later in my collecting that I found a very trusted mentor who educated me and provided me with insight and knowledge... with that said, I put my resentment aside and If I can pass some knowledge and information down to the next generation before they waste their money then I have accomplished something. Best regards Leigh -
By Mr. Bushido · Posted
In short, the upper side is the name tag for schoolchildren and the lower side is the certificate of receipt of the cargo. This person received this form from the carrier when he sent his trunk to an estimated relative in 1945. -
By jmd62 · Posted
Very well written, excellent information and insight Leigh! -
By Netz · Posted
Appears it is the “Udine Brigade”. Please refer to this site for explanation: https://www.esercito.difesa.it/storia/Pagine/Reggimenti-di-Fanteria-dal-1-al-96.aspx -
By Rakkasan187 · Posted
Rob, Thank you for the additional information and images. Based on what I am seeing on both the forks and the goblets/chalice... The makers marks appear to be original on the forks however, the SS rune shield was done post war in an attempt to enhance both items and to make them more "believable" to someone who is not versed in Silverware, Cutlery and other items of the Third Reich. I am sorry to say that these are all post war fantasy items that are worth no value. The chalice mark of Rossdeutscher & Reisig with the two R's (forward and Reverse) also appears to be fake as the firm was known to make silver flatware and not chalices or other silver items. It also appears that the firm did not have any history of producing items during the Third Reich period. The image that you sent of the makers mark confirms that it made silverware... The last set of SS knives are also fake/fantasy. Why would a maker place the SS runes on the blade portion of the knife? No logical reason at all. Don't waste your money. Sadly, immediately after the war there were many Entrepreneuring individuals who sought to take advantage of the excess parts and pieces of daggers, swords, medals, decorations etc, and they started to put parts daggers together and sold them to unknowing GIs. Even the GIs themselves were going into the shops and warehouses finding the stock and putting daggers and other items together. This was obviously observed by many to include Germans who were trying to get back on their feet and rebuild their country, so they too started to see profit in the items. So why not get a bunch of blank silverware sets and start stamping SS runes and AH and all kinds of other things on them to sell to the GIs.. There were some well-known Americans who bought large amounts of what was left in the warehouses and shipped the items home, and they made parts daggers here in the US and they made a very lucrative business for many years selling fake and parts daggers. Look up an individual by the name of Major James Atwood and you will find out some very shocking information. On this forum use the search engine and you can type in the information below and read some very interesting information. James “Jim” Atwood - BOOK REPORTS - World Militaria Forum Another well-known con-man in the collecting arena was a man by the name of Charles Snyder. Snyder had a store in the US for many years Snyders Treasures which was full of reproduction and fantasy items, he went for some of the higher end Hitler and Goering items and although some of the items were original, he saw that money could also be had with fake items, and he lured the uneducated in with hugely made-up fantasy stories that sounded convincing to again the uneducated and gullible. So many of the items from the Third Reich have been copied and faked over the years that solid provenance and proof through actual wartime images is one of the ways that can be used to verify authenticity. What the fakers failed to realize that now some of the actual documents and records from the period are surfacing and within the pages of those documents lie the many questions that collectors have been asking since the end of the war. I stand by what I previously said about the items all being fantasy and fake. The small SS stickpin is also of poor quality and again without proof something like this was made I would not be putting any money on it. Now, were some things made by individual units? Quite possibly yes, but not on the scale of such enormity that there would have been mass produced items. These items would be very rare as well as with lack of provenance and evidence I would also remain very skeptical before I would spend large amount of money on something I was not sure of. The dealer that you are buying these items from... Does this person offer a money back guarantee? A reputable dealer would offer this and would offer it for life, not just for two weeks and then no hope of getting money back. In some cases, it takes more than two weeks to get an item in the mail as well as doing thoughtful and scholarly research if there are suspicions of it being fake. The next problem would be convincing the dealer their items were fake. No one wants to admit they are wrong but without proof how do they respond... Just my thoughts again on these items. I will continue to research the items you PMd me about, but I will tell you now that all those items are too fake/fantasy items Best regards Leigh -
By daskrieg · Posted
I do own it, the back is sealed and on the bottom are stars
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