A 9 place ribbon bar...Any good?

[TP Alexander]

I know, from past posts, that the longer the ribbon bar, the more likely it is that it is not any good.
So, with that in mind, what would be the prevailing opinion on this one?
Does the order of the awards make sense?
Does it look like it has been made in the proper time period?
Thanx,
Tim

[luftkrieg]

Tim,

A very nice original ribbon bar. The second ribbon with golden wreath represents the Württemberg Military Merit MEDAL in GOLD!

Kind regards
Pierce

[byterock]

well a little clean for my liking but does look ok.

Just a slight correction the Württemberg Military Merit ribbon, the wreath represents is the Knight's Cross (Ritterkreuz) to the Military Merit Order,
the same ribbon without wreath are for the either the Gold and Silver grade to the Military Merit Medal.


The only odd thing is the combination of a Silesian medal with a Wurrttemberg German officers tended to stay within thier provinces

[101combatvet]

It's questionable but has a good chance.

[TP Alexander]

Thank you for your input!!

[germanmedals]

Nice bar. Looks OK to me

[JasonA]

Hi Tim,

A good one.

J-

[Tom Yanacek]

A very nice original ribbon bar. The second ribbon with golden wreath represents the Württemberg Military Merit MEDAL in GOLD!

Just a slight correction the Württemberg Military Merit ribbon, the wreath represents is the Knight's Cross (Ritterkreuz) to the Military Merit Order,
the same ribbon without wreath are for the either the Gold and Silver grade to the Military Merit Medal.

I tend to agree with Pierce in regard to the wreath on the Württemberg Military Merit Order/Medal ribbon. The Military Merit Order was typically signified by a gold wreath with green vitreous enamel leaves. The Golden Military Merit Medal was signified by a plain gold wreath. Of course it is always possible that this wasn't followed all of the time. Only 4,234 Golden Military Merit Medals were awarded during WW1. A little over 1,800 were awarded to commissioned officers and the rest went to NCOs. Yes! During WW1 the Golden Military Merit Medal was awarded to both commissioned officers (mostly Leutnante and Oberleutnante) and to NCOs.

As far as the ribbon bar itself is concerned I think it looks pretty good, construction-wise, and all of the parts look original. The condition looks very good (and almost too good) which sometimes makes me a bit leery, especially with ribbon bars. Ribbon bars were worn on a daily basis so they usually show more wear and fading than medal bars do. But this particular ribbon bar may have been a spare that the recipient had made up and wore only a few times if ever at all. There is nothing wrong with the order of precedence IMO. The placement of the WW1 Commemorative Medal for Austria is correct for a post-Anschluß assembled bar and the presence of the Austrian & Czech Annexation Medals as well as the 1939 Spange zum 1914 EK2 all confirm that time frame. The only thing I find odd is that there is no crossed swords device on the WW1 Commemorative Medal for Austria.

Best regards,
Tom

[TP Alexander]

More positive opinions!!
Thank you, young gentlemen!!
Tim

[JasonA]

I would supplement Tom's feedback on condition by saying that it was relatively common in the day to have multiple bars created at the same time for the soldier. There are enough surviving groupings - even in rare combinations - where multiple bars have survived showing the same decorations, order of precendence, and construction. And condition on those surviving bars can range from well-worn to mint. So it makes sense that a soldier might have worn one daily and had another for dress occasions and/or as a backup, and so forth. Depending on available funds of the soldier in question, spending habits, etc.

It makes for good salesmanship, too, by the jewelers and sales offices. They would have naturally talked up the need for multiple bars for the same reasons to the soldier.



J-

[andrewb]

It is possible that it has been cleaned at some stage, which for me doesn't detract from it at all.

Just for interest, Why would one prefer to wear a sewn-on ribbon bar over a pin-on bar or visa versa?

Regards,
AB.

[JasonA]

Probably a cleaner, tighter fit with a sew-on variant.

J-