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**Gardereiter** · 10-10-2017, 01:05 PM

Not sure how you define "Potential" but identifying these or any other ribbons bars is not like flipping-open the phone book and finding the right award combo next to somebody's name.

When the guy who sold you these bars told you they had "Potential" for identification, what specific combination of awards on the bars did he say would give them this special "Potential" ??? If he didn't say, and you didn't ask, how did you manage to walk away with the confidence that identifying them would be possible???

Take the bar on the top row (assuming it belonged to an officer which we don't really know)... there are 7 awards: EK2, RAO4, KO4 or Order of Wilhelm Knights Cross 2nd Class, Saxon War Merit Cross, Wurttemberg William Cross with Swords, an Austrian Something, and a foreign Something. (I say foreign because it follows the Austrian award which is also foreign.) The foreign award could be an exciting non-combatants Gallipoli Star or a boring 1908 Austrian Jubilee Cross.

Alternatively, assuming it is not an officer, the awards could be EK2, State Merit Medal, KO Medal, Saxon War Merit Cross, Wilhelm Cross with X, an Austrian Bravery Medal, and a foreign Something. Identifying an enlisted or NCO bar: [B]impossible.[B]

So... where would one start the research? What awards would you target? What rolls would be required? Are these rolls even available? Are they complete? Or were they lost or destroyed during WW2?

There may exist a small possibility of being able to ID these bars, but it is most likely going to end-up being an exercise in futility.

**Gardereiter** · 10-10-2017, 05:47 PM

Originally posted by triad08 View Post

Not sure how you define "Potential" but identifying these or any other ribbons bars is not like flipping-open the phone book and finding the right award combo next to somebody's name.

When the guy who sold you these bars told you they had "Potential" for identification, what specific combination of awards on the bars did he say would give them this special "Potential" ??? If he didn't say, and you didn't ask, how did you manage to walk away with the confidence that identifying them would be possible???

Take the bar on the top row (assuming it belonged to an officer which we don't really know)... there are 7 awards: EK2, RAO4, KO4 or Order of Wilhelm Knights Cross 2nd Class, Saxon War Merit Cross, Wurttemberg William Cross with Swords, an Austrian Something, and a foreign Something. (I say foreign because it follows the Austrian award which is also foreign.) The foreign award could be an exciting non-combatants Gallipoli Star or a boring 1908 Austrian Jubilee Cross.

Alternatively, assuming it is not an officer, the awards could be EK2, State Merit Medal, KO Medal, Saxon War Merit Cross, Wilhelm Cross with X, an Austrian Bravery Medal, and a foreign Something. Identifying an enlisted or NCO bar: [B]impossible.[B]

So... where would one start the research? What awards would you target? What rolls would be required? Are these rolls even available? Are they complete? Or were they lost or destroyed during WW2?

There may exist a small possibility of being able to ID these bars, but it is most likely going to end-up being an exercise in futility.

p.s. I hate to be a wet blanket, but I have a gut feeling the top bar may not be a period-original simply based on the award combination AND lack of aging on the ribbons. Posting a view of the back might help a great deal with that determination and reverse my opinion.

The 6-place Saxon ribbon bar, on the other hand, looks like a very nice period-original.

P.S. to the Moderators: this post should probably be moved to the Imperial Forum where some Imperial collectors might have a chance to comment.

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