5 Place Medal Bar - Parade Mounted for review

[ww2germanhelmet]

Good evening guys. I just had this one arrive and I thought it would be good to get some opinions. The medals themselves all seem correct but the backing plate of the parade mount seems shiny and newer than the medals themselves. Is this most likely a post war assemblage? Thanks in advance for your opinions! Dave

[Tom Yanacek]

Hello Dave,

I do have some concerns with this medal bar, although not necessarily because the backing plate looks so new. These nickel-plated steel, slotted/tab back backing plates are quite durable and many of them will look as shiny and bright as the day they were made. You do need to be careful with this type of backing plate, though, because it allows for ease of assembly, without the need for sewing skills. In other words, anyone can put a bar like this together with minimal effort. Therefore, they are a popular choice for someone that wants to put together a fake medal bar.

I agree with you that all of the medals look original, but I am not so confident about all of the ribbons: The Westwall ribbon looks modern to me, based on the visible ribbon edge which appears to lack the proper looped weave. I am not sure about the long service ribbon, as the edges of that seem to be conveniently hidden by the way the ribbon is furled. And the picture is just not good enough to make an accurate evaluation of the East Medal ribbon. The ribbons for the EK2 and KVK2X do appear to be okay.

I do not like the inconsistency present in the way the ribbons are furled: Four of the ribbons display the simple, overlapping double wrap, while the long service ribbon looks to be furled in a Bavarian/Southern German style. The placement of the ribbon eagle is odd too: It should be centered on the Long Service Medal.

IMO, this is a postwar put-together, made up using mostly original parts.

Best regards,
Tom

[ww2germanhelmet]

Thanks Tom. I will get some better shots of the ribbons in the am. Should I just part these out?

[Tom Yanacek]

Should I just part these out?

Hi Dave,

I would wait for other opinions before you decide whether or not to dismantle this bar. I have seen enough of this bar to be confident in my own opinion, but I always tell people never to rely fully on one person's opinion. There may be some collectors that feel this bar is perfectly fine.

Best regards,
Tom

[ww2germanhelmet]

Tom,
Here are a couple of shots of the ribbons. Thanks for all the information.

[ww2germanhelmet]

Here is a shot of the ribbons on the EKI and Merit Cross.

[VonPeter]

Tom was right about the Westwall ribbon, that pretty much kills the whole bar.

/peter

[Tom Yanacek]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for posting the better pictures of the ribbons. I think all of them look okay, except fo the Westwall ribbon, which is modern for sure.

Best regards,
Tom

[ww2germanhelmet]

Thanks Tom! I can send this rig back or I can keep it if there is any value. Is this rig worth much based on the post war assemblage & the bad WW ribbon?

Again, I really appreciate your taking time to review this bar. Dave

[Tom Yanacek]

Thanks Tom! I can send this rig back or I can keep it if there is any value. Is this rig worth much based on the post war assemblage & the bad WW ribbon?

Again, I really appreciate your taking time to review this bar. Dave

Hi Dave,

If you got the bar for cheap enough, it might be worth keeping. As I see it, you've got about $250-275 in parts there.

Best regards,
Tom

[luftkrieg]

Yes the West Wall ribbon is for sure a reproduction and I am not all that sure about the blue service ribbon either.

A modern put-together imo. Tom has summed it up very well in his initial post.

Kind regards
Pierce

[McCulloh]

I-agree with Tom...a newly made bar with older medals. A well known English medal dealer sold lots and lots of these in the 1990s and according to him they came via dealers in Bavaria and Spain. I bought a few imperial ones before I learned better, mostly because the faker started using 1957 EKs .