Medal Bar from my Cousin

[Wagnerite]

Greetings Gents,

Earlier this year I received some WWII memorabilia brought back by my cousin who served in the 90th Infantry Div in 1944-45. He was the gent who set me on my obsession with WWII when he sent me a German helmet in 1980. He passed away in 2006 and his widow gave them to me shortly before she passed away earlier this year at age 95. Among the items is this medal bar that I wanted to share -- photographed fresh out of the box it sat in since the late 1940's.

Thank you for looking.

[Wagnerite]

Front and back of the set:

[Thomas Bendixen]

Allways nice to see out of the woodwork stuffThanks for sharing

Are the ribbon a RK or a EK2.

Cheers Thomas

[Brian S]

Some other interesting items in that box.

[sniper11]

Nice ordensspange and I bet your cousin picked these up for just a few cigarettes or a small tin of food from his ration pack.Thanks for sharing.

[Wagnerite]

Allways nice to see out of the woodwork stuffThanks for sharing

Are the ribbon a RK or a EK2.

Cheers Thomas

Hi Thomas, thank you! The ribbon is an EKII. I can post a close up with dimensions if anyone is interested.

Dave

[Wagnerite]

The other items, apart from the RAD cap badge, all look to be related to WWI service and veteran's associations, and it looks like he was a Cavalryman, so I'm assuming that the Ordenspange and veteran's tinnies came from the same gentleman. Also in the box but not pictured are a pair of Imperial cockades (don't know how I missed those).

[Dietrich Maerz]

Not that it really matters but the sequence on the medal bar is wrong. The War Merit Cross should be in the second position, not the Hindenburg Cross.

[Wagnerite]

Not that it really matters but the sequence on the medal bar is wrong. The War Merit Cross should be in the second position, not the Hindenburg Cross.

That's interesting, thank you sir! I was running with the assumption that the order in which the decorations were mounted, in this case at least, was a blend of precedence and chronological order since the EKII and War Merit Cross both sit superior to the Hindenburg Cross. Aesthetically, I suppose, it's more pleasing this way as it allows both decorations to stand out though that's up to the beholder.

On a realted note -- and this question is open to everyone -- I've been attempting to do some research here on the forum to discern if the EKI is post-WWI manufacture. It wouldn't surprise me if the Ordenspange components were assembled all at the same time during WWII. Does this EKI appear to be post-WWI?

Thank you!

[Green]

That's interesting, thank you sir! I was running with the assumption that the order in which the decorations were mounted, in this case at least, was a blend of precedence and chronological order since the EKII and War Merit Cross both sit superior to the Hindenburg Cross. Aesthetically, I suppose, it's more pleasing this way as it allows both decorations to stand out though that's up to the beholder.

On a realted note -- and this question is open to everyone -- I've been attempting to do some research here on the forum to discern if the EKI is post-WWI manufacture. It wouldn't surprise me if the Ordenspange components were assembled all at the same time during WWII. Does this EKI appear to be post-WWI?

Thank you!

I am assuming you meaning... EK II. For what I can see, the cross has a cast core (rough sides). Cast cores mostly point out a wartime (WWI)...IMO.

[Dansson]

The EK2 is an award piece.

[Wagnerite]

I am assuming you meaning... EK II. For what I can see, the cross has a cast core (rough sides). Cast cores mostly point out a wartime (WWI)...IMO.

Ah, yes, I meant EKII -- thank you for your observations! I'll continue my research over in the Imperial forum.

[Wagnerite]

The EK2 is an award piece.

Thank you! -- I'll continue examining EKII's over in the Imperial Forum.