2 Piece Medal Bar

[SwordFish]

This one came directly from a vet finder. 2 piece medal bar, 1st decoration, Imperial EK2, 2nd decoration, "Hinderburg" honor cross for combatants 1914-1918, which was adopted on July 13th, 1934.

I guess beyond what I already know, I can't make any further assumptions beyond my next 2 postulations. This probably belonged to a serviceman of the 2nd world war, or merely a veteran of the 1st world war. Anyone familiar with medal bards and decorations, please elaborate if this was something you'd expect to find on a soldier during WW2 (clearly assuming he served in WW1) or would we expect to see a veteran of WW1 wearing something like this. I don't know why he would, as a vet of WW1 would typically wear civilian clothing and probably not adorn his suit coat with a medal bar. Am I right in this assumption.

Thank you in advance.

T

[Tom Yanacek]

Hello Tom,

A very nice medal bar. As you say, obviously to a WWI vet. I would assume that this bar was assembled shortly after the man received his 1914-1918 Cross of Honor, sometime in the mid to the late 30s. This man could have also served in the military during WWII, but it is impossible to know for sure based on this medal bar alone. He could have been back in the military, or he could have been a civilian during WWII. Don't forget that Germany had uniforms for all kinds of occupations besides the military. Civilians and government officials had many opportunities to wear their medals. There were also veteran organizations such as the NS-RKB that had uniforms. These proud veterans loved to wear their medals.

Best regards,
Tom

[Jonathan M]

That style of medal ribbon is, if i remember correctly, of Bavarian origin.
Nice bar BTW
Jonathan

[Tom Yanacek]

That style of medal ribbon is, if i remember correctly, of Bavarian origin.
Nice bar BTW
Jonathan

I agree. A typical "Bavarian" type mounting featuring furled ribbons, absence of ribbon rosettes, and medals clipped onto the backplate.

Best regards,
Tom

[SwordFish]

Thank you fellas for the information and nice words. The backplate is exposed. No material covering it.

Last question. Do you guys know which maker "48" was for imperial crosses? Can't seem to find info on it. The EK is marked on the ring as such.

Thank you again,
Tom

[SwordFish]

I got the answer I was looking for from a fellow collector. His feeling is that the cross was TR era produced Imperial based on the MM ring for Richard Feix. This makes sense. I had assumed the owner of the decoration bar would have merely transferred his original EK to the medal bar for display with his post '34 cross for combatants.

Thank you again guys for the input.

T

[Tom Yanacek]

Hello Tom,

Yes, the Lieferant number '48' would not be found on an Iron Cross made during the Imperial Period, so I would be inclined to think that it was a replacement/private purchase piece produced during the Third Reich. The number '48' strikes me as very unusual though. I don't ever recall seeing that number on an Iron Cross. To my knowledge, Richard Feix has never been confirmed as a manufacturer of Iron Crosses. You may wish to ask this question on the Crosses of the Wehrmacht Forum or even the Imperial Forum. I don't doubt the authenticity of the Iron Cross, but are you absolutely certain of the number '48'?

Best regards,
Tom

[SwordFish]

HI Tom,
I just rechecked. It's clearly a "48" stamped into the ring. However, there is also another stamping about 1/4" that preceeds the 48 stamping. I can't make out what it is as it almost looks like the stamping was week. It looks like it was 2 characters, and looking at it as closely as possible, it almost looks like the 1st character is an "L", but I can't say with certainty. The 2nd character is completely indistinguishable.
Thanks again for the information,
Tom

[SwordFish]

I was able to add a photo. Tough to take. It should however show the markings in decent shape.