Spain medal, "blue division" of Russia!

[Tom Yanacek]

Wow!

The whole set.

Hi Antonio,

That set is superb!

Best regards,
Tom

[Tom Yanacek]

Here is another example of a wartime, German-made medal and ribbon:

[Ian Hulley]

Makes you wonder who thought that size '1' stamp would fit on that ring ...

Mine's the same

Beautiful set Antonio

Ian

[Tom Yanacek]

This German-made example appears to have never been issued or worn. It still retains an excellent finish and was apparently stored well. It is not one of the pieces from the more recent Deschler hoard discovery either. This one goes way back. The ribbon is in great shape too and is original German-made wartime ribbon.

Medal specifications:

32.44mm in diameter and the rim thickness of the medal is 1.94mm (measured at the six-o'clock position). The weight is 13.6 grams.

[Tom Yanacek]

front & back:

[RonR]

Tom,

Hope you don't mind if I add a "worn" example in a couple of ways.....


.............

[RonR]

23

[RonR]

45

[Tom Yanacek]

Hi Ron,

Thanks for posting. Your example is awesome! It seems to have a suspension ring that is smaller in diameter than what is typical for these medals. Possibly specially modified for that unique-style mounting.

Best regards,
Tom

[Mannequin]

Wow! Many informations! Really good, thank you very much. You are experts of this topic! So my one is good, too. What? Its nice to have such piece.

[Tom Yanacek]

Here are some things to look for when trying to determine whether or not you are looking at an original, German-made wartime ribbon. Shown below are two examples of original German-made ribbon for the Spanish Blue Division Medal. Example A is in worn condition while Example B is in mint condition. It is important to remember that German ribbons were made to exacting standards. The width for these ribbons was 31mm.

Best regards,
Tom

[Tom Yanacek]

comparison of the worn (A) and mint (B) ribbons:

[Thomas Durante]

Hi Tom,

Really great info bud, excellent illustration!

What are your thoughts on this example on John T's site, too far away to count the stitches but seems to have red outer loops

Tom

[Tom Yanacek]

What are your thoughts on this example on John T's site, too far away to count the stitches but seems to have red outer loops

Hi Tom,

The medal is certainly a good Deschler, but I suspect that the ribbon is a replacement. The coloring and the proportions seem good, but I would not trust it because of the red wefts (horizontal threads). All original German-made wartime ribbons that I have seen for the Spanish Blue Division Medals have had black wefts. Same for all original Luftschutz and Iron Cross ribbons.

We would actually have to see a closer picture of the the ribbon's edges to see if it even has the proper open-ended loops or the interlocked loops characteristic of most modern replacements.

Best regards,
Tom

[Tom Yanacek]

And most of the Spanish Blue Division Medals from the recent Deschler hoard have been paired up with modern, replacement ribbons. Like this one: