Triple Flower Campaign medal bar

[J C Gray]

There is nothing in the original regulations (Reichsgesetzblatt 1938/39) for these three medals to suggest the proscribing of the wearing of all three. Interestingly it does state that persons who have been awarded either the 1. Oktober or the Memel Medal shall not receive the Westwall medal.

[Don D.]

If you could see it under a loop, it looks like a prototype rather than a production medal. The ridges on the leaves, lettering and flag details are extremely tall and sharp. The men have crude faces and visible jock straps! The eagle is very stylized. I definitely agree that this is NOT a standard Memel, but neither is it an example of any known repro I've ever seen. I fully appreciate you gentlemen's skepticism. But the medal bar is a one-looker to me. In deference to your opinion, I won't sell it on e-stand. But not because I think it is a fake. In my heart and mind it is a very rare, very early medal bar that was constructed before the medal went into wide production, and before the triple flower combo reg went into effect. If anyone can find another known repro with the "Nacho" faces, I will change my mind, but until then I'll live in my little fool's paradise about this medal bar.

The longer the story required to explain the bar the worse it gets. The memel is not a prototype. This bar is in all likely-hood a post war put together with a mix of good and bad.

[kenneth wolfe]

That has to be the worst Memel fake I have ever seen Wow that's bad


Kenneth

[jvanzo]

Good chance you are right, but...

There's a good chance that you are right. But:
1) I think we have dispelled the idea that at no time was it legal to wear all 3 flower campaign medals. It would certainly be rare, but at least for some time, not illegal. If it was prohibited later (I'm still waiting to hear when that reg came into effect), some medal bars could have been legally made and sold, like medal bars with the Italo-German Afrika medal.
2) If it's a repro, then why go to the trouble of manufacturing a one-of-a-kind medal instead of just using one of the very convincing fakes?
3) I concede that there is a substantial chance it is a frankenstein monster of good & bad parts, but I also believe it is worthy of further research. Does anyone know of a good reference book on flower war medals?

The longer the story required to explain the bar the worse it gets. The memel is not a prototype. This bar is in all likely-hood a post war put together with a mix of good and bad.

[bytown]

I've seen this fake memel on the forum in one of the threads.

You'd be surprised at the trouble some demented people go to fool the unwary or the people that don't do their research.

Wayne

[Don D.]

There's a good chance that you are right. But:
1) I think we have dispelled the idea that at no time was it legal to wear all 3 flower campaign medals. It would certainly be rare, but at least for some time, not illegal. If it was prohibited later (I'm still waiting to hear when that reg came into effect), some medal bars could have been legally made and sold, like medal bars with the Italo-German Afrika medal.
2) If it's a repro, then why go to the trouble of manufacturing a one-of-a-kind medal instead of just using one of the very convincing fakes?
3) I concede that there is a substantial chance it is a frankenstein monster of good & bad parts, but I also believe it is worthy of further research. Does anyone know of a good reference book on flower war medals?

Not sure what, if anything has been dispelled here.

[luftkrieg]

There is nothing in the original regulations (Reichsgesetzblatt 1938/39) for these three medals to suggest the proscribing of the wearing of all three. Interestingly it does state that persons who have been awarded either the 1. Oktober or the Memel Medal shall not receive the Westwall medal.

This is an interesting fact and i have an original medal bar defying these regulations!

Sometimes regulations were broken, for example Keitel wore all 3 Flower Wars ribbons on his ribbon bar but i really do not believe that this Memel is good. The owner states that it is detailed under a loop and maybe this is what is convincing him of originality(?)...the fakes now-a-days are extremely convincing...sometimes it is shocking!! I particularly like the Austrian Anschluss Medal but boy do i have to look hard and compare with my originals before i buy, the fakes are sometimes that good.

This medal bar in my collection proves the rules can be broken and there are more like it but when the rules are broken i think one must exercise extreme caution and scrutinise every aspect of the object in question.

Kind regards
Pierce

[EK-collector]

cant be memel funny face fake ? For sure it is fake in my eyes

[J C Gray]

cant be memel funny face fake ? For sure it is fake in my eyes

It looks like Jesse Owens & Sammy Davis Jr. (wearing "Jock Straps")...not exactly a classic example of the Heroic realism that we usually associate with National Socialism!

[McCulloh]

There is nothing in the original regulations (Reichsgesetzblatt 1938/39) for these three medals to suggest the proscribing of the wearing of all three. Interestingly it does state that persons who have been awarded either the 1. Oktober or the Memel Medal shall not receive the Westwall medal.

Oh? The regs used to be posted in the memebrs section with the ribbon bar article by Rick L. Take a look.

[J C Gray]

[quote=McCulloh;4114911]Oh? quote]

Yes.

[George Stimson]

Here's Himmler's bar. (It looks like he's against regulations on the Westwall medal as well!)

[Don D.]

Himmler had no bravery awards. How else was he going to look Reichsfurherish if not with a vanity bar.

[Tom Yanacek]

Himmler had no bravery awards. How else was he going to look Reichsfurherish if not with a vanity bar.

Yes! A rather impressive looking medal bar for doing absolutely nothing.