Ost Medaile question

[Johnnie]

Thanks Robert. How did I miss that thread?
Some nice close up pics by the way.
Appreciate the help,

Johnnie

Here Johnnie is the thread, very long-winded.

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=196795

Reading over the text, I now remember the tombak version was lighter that the zinc version.

Robert

[Robert P.]

Again, you're welcome.

To really appreciate the medal's history there are a few German-made movies on the Russian Front. I just watched the movie 'Stalingrad', which to me was a very good movie. It portrays what I have read about regarding the brutal winter conflict when men were lowered to having to pull their artillery pieces from one campaign to another. The lack of medical facilities for the wounded, frostbitten and sick, and the desparate lack of sufficient food supplies and ammunition.

Robert

[keifer kahn]

Robert,
Reading that thread,your zink weights are actually lighter than the tombak.

The manufacturing process which incorporated the brass plating is correct for the earlier runs of ostmedaille but brass became a strategic war metal from the 1st of march 1942 and was diverted to war materials manufacture.It was phased out of use in award production.Makers only continued to use it while they had brass stock remaining and continued runs of ostmedailles would of gone to plain old coated zink,just as war badges did.
Considering the ostmedaile wasnt instituted till the 26th of may 1942,its manufacture started sometime after brass had already become a strategic war metal and prohibited from use in award manufacture.So some makers who were contracted to make the medal at later stages would most certainly not had access to brass for use in production.

[Robert P.]

Robert,
Reading that thread,your zink weights are actually lighter than the tombak.

The manufacturing process which incorporated the brass plating is correct for the earlier runs of ostmedaille but brass became a strategic war metal from the 1st of march 1942 and was diverted to war materials manufacture.It was phased out of use in award production.Makers only continued to use it while they had brass stock remaining and continued runs of ostmedailles would of gone to plain old coated zink,just as war badges did.
Considering the ostmedaile wasnt instituted till the 26th of may 1942,its manufacture started sometime after brass had already become a strategic war metal and prohibited from use in award manufacture.So some makers who were contracted to make the medal at later stages would most certainly not had access to brass for use in production.

You're right, Keifer, a typo error. The tombak was heavier. Others have mentioned that they too had a genuine tombak medal, so they are out in circulation despite war effort cutbacks.

Robert

[Johnnie]

Thanks again Robert and all who helped. I appreciate it. This is what makes WAF so valuable.

Cheers,
Johnnie

[Robert P.]

Thanks again Robert and all who helped. I appreciate it. This is what makes WAF so valuable.

Cheers,
Johnnie

Thanks Johnnie,

Always willing to share, and always wanting to learn.

Robert

[keifer kahn]

Robert,
No doubt on the circulation of Tombak pieces.Im sure brass examples of other badges and medals also continued to be produced after the 1942 watershed restriction on brass.As i stated the continuance of brass as a base metal for awards would of depended on what stocks of brass makers had.This would of varied greatly between maker to maker.Its just that zink became the predominant metal.
One thing to note about the 23 point manufacturing checklist is that this only one method of making for the ostmedaille as the tombak based ones would not of required the thin layering of brass for top finish adherance.Tombak is effectively brass.It would make no sense to relayer what is effectively brass with brass,This method would of been aimed excusively at zink pieces,as zink isnt great at taking plated finishes.
So im sure there would be out there some where a manufacturing checklist for the tombak pieces and also for the zinkers that didnt get the brass layering(the majority of which i have encountered) would of had a slightly different manufacturing method.
The later ostmedailles i have encountered which do not appear to have the brass layer appear to be finished in a top wash(genuinely fragile) as opposed to the brass layered which appear plated.This is consistent with other awards as the war wound down.The attempt by makers to continue to have their awards have quality appearances at the time, worked, but this is reflected by the differing quality of surviving pieces now.This reflects the underlying cheaper manufacturing practices makers were forced to turn to as resources became harder to get.

[Robert P.]

Presentation grade of the gold CCC was the exception. I just saw one of Weitze's site a month or more ago. I had to ask what is was for sale for...$7K.

Robert