Differentiating orders, medals and decorations between their different classes and types is mostly easy. Different grades are distinguished by different sizes, more or less valuable materials or completely different designs. The following two crosses may be one of the few exceptions. Follow along and see for yourself:
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Visitors to Munich may have the opportunity to pass by the Siegestor (Victory Arch) where Ludwigstraße meets Leopoldstraße during a journey through the city: Overhead view of the Siegestor. What is not evident when viewing the Siegestor however is the connection of the Siegestor to the Military Max Joseph Order. The Siegestor
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Most collectors are familiar with the so called:”Zimmermann hord” that surfaced during the 1990th. While moving debris in order to clean up the property of the former factory, medals and badges were found in the rubble of the grounds. Astonishingly, not only burned and melted badges and
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On December 1, 1929 Military Max Joseph Order recipient Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb (*9. 5. 1876 – †4. 29. 1956) was promoted to Generalleutnant (Lieutenant-General). From February 1, 1930 through October 1, 1933 Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb was the Commander of the Reichswehr 7th (Bavarian) Division stationed
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Ignaz Freiherr von Hacke was born on September 22, 1788 at Neuburg an der Donau. His father Alois Freiherr von Hacke was a Knight of the Order of Saint George. On July 4, 1805 he was appointed as an Unterlieutenant to the 2. Linien-Infanterie-Regiment “Churprinz” (“Kurprinz”). The
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During a cleanup of an old collection I ran across an old manuscript by Eric Ludvigsen. Read for yourself: The Griffon Order of the Mecklenburg Grand Duchies – An Outline Especially the remarks on sword awards are quite interesting.
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The municipality of Thurnau must have been extremely proud of their veterans of the Franco-Prussian War. They coined medal as shown below in genuine silver. Everybody has probably encountered the official War Commemorative Medal issued by Prussia to all participants of that war. Coined from captured cannon
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The history of Prussian awards for combat-related action for NCO’s and soldiers is rather complex. Of course, during the Napoleonic Wars, the 1870/71 war against France, and during the World War (1914-1918), the Iron Cross 1st Class and 2nd Class were the primary awards for combat-related action
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A lesser know fact to most German collectors is that every German order had a “Kapitel”, basically a board of directors with secretary and treasurer to tend to the operative and administrative needs of the organization. Not all but a few states made this visible by handing
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Hermann Ritter von Speck was born on August 8, 1888 in München. During the First World War he fought in various battles on the Western Front. On September 7, 1914 at Gellenoncourt: “Leutnant Speck, der Abteilungsadjutant der II./3. b. Feldartillerieregiments hatte bei einem Erkundungsritt festgstellt, daß
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