At a show this weekend I observed 3 medal bars offered by 3 different dealers. One medal bar was simply a 1914 EK II and Hindenburg Cross. The other two medal bars were larger, about 6 and 8 pieces respectively. These three medal bars had some unusual traits in common. They were padded, or "bolstered", but looked more liked badly stuffed matresses that a typical German medal bar. They were quite lumpy in both appearance and feel. The pins on the reverse were needle-sharp. The catches on two of the three appeared to have been cut out of sheet metal, being thin, sharp, and easily bent. In all three cases the ribbons were loose, or there were gaps, which allowed visualization of the meterial used to pad the ribbons. In all three instances it was a gray-colored woolen looking material. Finally, on the two multi-piece bars, it appeared to me that the medals or decorations were out of order. On the largest one, as I recall, the medals were arranged as follows: 1914 EK II; Third Reich War Merit Cross; Hindenburg Cross; Hohenzollern Order; Bulgarian Order of the Crown; Prussian Order of the Crown; Third Reich 12 year service medal; Third Reich 25 year service cross. These were three dealers whom I am certain had no direct connection with one another. But it was rather odd to see 3 medal bars, badly padded with the same gray wool material, and with two of them evidently exhibiting mis-mounting of medals out of correct sequence.
