Help with 1870 Ek etc. Medal Bar

[Brian R]

What do you guys think of this Medal Bar. Specifically, what do you think of the EK? I have included an 1870 EK that I purchased from Mr. Niemann in Hamburg a couple of years ago for comparison purposes. Any comments or opinions are appreciated.

Thanks,
Brian

[Brian R]

Reverse

[Brian R]

Another EK2

[Brian R]

EK 2 Reverse

[JensF.]

I am going to visit Koeniggraetz next week. I'll try to make some pictures in the museum. Maybe they have nice medal-bars too.

Greetings

[Brian R]

You folks have no comments? Should I consider the lack of replies to be positive?

Brian

[Tom Y]

The medals look fine to me. The only possible fault I can find is that the ribbons look too fresh when compared to the wear on the medals and the apparent corrosion on the bar itself. Even at that, I'd have no problem displaying it in my collection.

[Eric Gaumann]

Boy, that guy sure was an old timer.

The ribbons on the bar don't look to be uniformly wrapped. The EK starts from right to left, the Konnigsratz from left to right, and the F-P commemorative is strange looking, too.
Plus, on the back there is very little fraying of the roughly cut ends of the ribbons. If those ribbons were 130 years old they'd have to be much more frayed than that. The ribbons I have fray just by looking at them too much sometimes it seems. And as someone else pointed out there's very little fading to them. They'd have to have been kept out of the sun for a lot of years to look that good. Additionally, no backing at all to that bar? That's kind of strange.
Not that I'm saying it's not real, I don't have enough experience to do that. I'm just pointing out some things I see.
Having said all that it's a real sweet bar. I hope it passes muster.
Eric

[Tom Y]

Fading and fraying aren't necessarily inconsistent with 1870 period bars. My only problem is the wear to the medals and bar, but not to the ribbons. Here's an 1864-70 bar from what I consider an impeccable source. Note the crispness of medals and ribbons. The lack of backing isn't that unusual. A good portion of my collection is unbacked, and I'm satisfied with their provenance.

[Tom Y]

Here's the reverse. Not the sewing needle holding the EK. This was there through 2 previous owners. If you look closely you can also see a horizontal seam on the upper frame where the cross was repaired, possibly the reason for the impromptu mounting. Note that the Königgratz Cross also has the proper side forward. The wrong orietation is a common mistake when medals have come off the hooks and had to be rehung.