German Imperial Militaria

Hello Heinrich,

indeed it is a very well looking item - great condition too - congrats

Hello Carl,

I happend to get my hands on a second original 5th Ulan book from 1930 - wan't it?

Regards
Kruska

 

Ah Andy, you will have to "will" it to me ;-00 I still have mny 5th ulan stuff too ;-00

 

That Hindenburg medal is a beauty indeed

 

Thanks Skip Waiting for another silver ww1 broche and a Mecklenburg cross 2nd class wich are still in the mail at the moment . I really like Imperial ww1 stuff a lot but sometimes its very hard to idenify some items . The medal below was a hard one to find out about too ..its a 50year membership medal for the Austrian Kriegerverein (veterans org.) with a 20year membership pin Kyffhauserbund attached on the lapel . The other medal is propably from an even older war ,the 1870 war .

enjoy

 

Great items , the second is indeed a commemoration from 1870 , but not from the Franco Prussian war, but rather the Unity of the German states and the Creation of The 2nd Reich thanks to Bismarck. In 1920 Germany was partly occupied by France (Rhineland, Silezia , Memel, Allenstein, mareinwerder , Saarland etc... , so it was a subtle way to commemorate the Franco Prussian war, without mentionning it and evade censorship. It's a very interesting medal because it is clearly a testimony of early German nationalism, before the rise of te NSDAP.

 

Another broche i've been researching for years already:

I believe this to be an WW1 observer or pilots badge ..
Beautifully handmade jugendstil piece in silver ..bought this from a aged couple in Holland who told me it was bought just after the second worldwar in an antiques shop in Antwerp /Belgium as a wedding gift .
The old lady proudly wore it for over 50 years on special occasions ,and it tickled every bone in my body when i saw it first time as it screams its a special find all over .

First impressions were it was Rumanian , if you look at 'newer' observer badges you'll notice the similar round bend wings.
On the back it bears no makers mark though..
but it was inscribed by the 1st owner :

MA FOI ET MON DESTIN - NIHIL SINEDIE -

My faith and my destiny - Nothing without god

And now i get lost bigtime ...as NIHIL SINEDIE is the credo of the House of Hohenzollern which is the direct family of Kaiser Wilhelm himself ...
As there are still living members of the Hohenzollern royal family in Belgium it might explain why it was found in Belgium ,and yes ,there were some active flying family members . Put pics on some other forae too so you might have seen pics of it before ..still hoping one day its true origins will come to light ,and until then I just enjoy it for the beautifull object it is

enjoy the pics








View attachment 9819

View attachment 9820

View attachment 9821

 

a few precisions ; the motto Nihil sin die means "nothing tha tis not planned (or dated)"

not

nothing without deity ( = nihil sine numini)

The other one "foi et destin" is probably a nobility motto (faith and destiny)

both inscriptions are apparently hand carved

the closing clap makes me think of something French or Belgian rather than German, besides I doubt a German would venture to use French on his insignia during the war, even a familly motto. I would also think the badge would a from the 1930s rahter than WWI.

 

You'll find the exact same credo on high Hohenzollern Rumanian orders Skip ..

The family had a prussian and a rumanian branch and thats also why i get lost as one half of the family fought with the prussians , the other half joined the allies . So hard to know where to look ..can be Imprial German , KuK , but also French made as ther were some Rumanian's flying with the French on the westfront too ..and a family that's been living in Belgium ever since WW1's end and where the whole Hohenzollern-bunch fought each other and it was found . Arrgh...A researchers nightmare this one lol

As ive worked in an antique store for years where we bought in and sold plenty of Jugendstil and Art Nouveau silverware and jewelry can almost certainly say its not from the thirties by feel alone , it's got even a pre ww1 feel to it to be honest .

I think it was a one off handmade commision piece done by a very good jeweller ,maybe in Vienna or even Paris ..On one the other forums someone thoughd it to be Cold war era but I dont take that serious although I do think its Rumanian and thus eastern ..
My estimation will be between 1910 and 1918 as in later periods the worlds design tastes change to a more modernized art deco style too .

Nihil Sine Deo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

House of Hohenzollern - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I think die instead of deo is because of the language , maybe someone from Rumania can say something more abouth that ...

Here's a fourties Romanian observers badge for comparison too . Obvious a cast piece very unlike the one above ,but with similar idea with the wings in a way . Romanian Air Force - Observer

 

possible, I'm beleive you mention two different things though.

"sine die" is definitely latin though and refers to "date" rahther than "deo" "God"

sine die is used in modern French (especially law texts) as well as in business language, for instance if you have a meeting without a planned date the next date, you'll say "reported sine die"

sine die : définition du mot sine die

sine die - Wiktionnaire

and a 2009 example in a newspaper article

Le lancement d’Eutelsat reporté sine die | www.rfi.fr

I therefore think it is not linked to the Hohenzollern motto which refers to God, nor that the moto is partly romanian.

This however takes not away that your clasp could be German

 

Its a head breaker ...and thanks for the interesse Skip
I've spent so many hours already on it , but something deep inside me tells me its story will come out in time .. sometimes you just have that with items ,same i knew it would be coming my way first time laid eyes on it too .

If i follow my hunch that its Romanian it would help a lot finding some info how many Romanian pilots were flying with the French over Flanders and in what Squadrons and go from there , as it cant be that many ..Bet the owner has worn it very proudly and had enough money to have it made so he was no poor chap and should be IDable that way .. maybe from a photothread the answer will come one day .. items like this make collecting a fascinating hobby , thats for shure !

Nihil sine die as in nothing without end ..hmm. .even more sinister .. but that explanation fits the Ma foi et mon destiny well too.. I took it for a misspell..

 

I could help yo with infantry, but I'm afraid I don't have any figures for Romanian aviators in France. Basically the French and the British had airplanes on the allied side on the west front, Amercian aircrafts were to be added to this list in 1918 (hardly any in 1917) and I suppose if there were any romanians they would have flown under French colours .

 

Hi Heinrich, you have some unique stuff there-thanks for posting them.

 

Latest arrivals :

Mecklenburg cross 2nd class 1914
awarded for bravery or military merit in wartime
Its like an Iron cross but by Friedrich Franz IV instead of Wilhelm II



The second item is a silver ' 2aug 1914 - Einigkeit macht stark ' medal set in beautiful handmade brocheframe .
Kaisers Wilhelm II and Franz Josef I of Austria in the back and two handshaking soldiers from Austria and Germany in front .
The second of August 1914 the final ultimatum to Belgium was set and thereby sets the war apparatus for the western areas in motion
(the west feldzug). If it could only talk.... enjoy

View attachment 9862

View attachment 9863

 

Beautiful items Heinrich. Like you said if only they could talk. The handmade design around the medal was this a common thing found with these medals and others or just a very rare find? Very nice

 

Thanks Cav I dont find those that often ,but for some reason they unexpected come on my way as 'sidefinds' .

the medal itself I see sometimes offered around Europe ,sometimes for giveaway prices too .. but these broches were privately ordered . Lucky for me silver objects sometimes look a bit off when very blackened so people easily overlook those objects and instead go for the 'crosses'.

Really enjoy the mastership of the silversmith who made this ..its got a gracefull 'rhytm 'of its own ...must have took him hours to handpress and hammer the rim from a piece of sheetsilver ,solder the filigrain and pearldots to it , place a well sized aesthetic needle holder and needle , make the inner rim where the needle is attached to ..all perfectly done handwork.

 

I've had two Franz Friedrichs-but gave both of them away as they no longer appealed to me. I HOPE Andy and Paul are enjoying theirs? ;-))

 

Picked up a few imperial photos and postcards: (sorry for the poor quality)

 

Nice cards Will. I wish I still had the few I had so I could give them to you. I gave them away a couple of years ago.

 

Offcourse i'm always looking out for new medals and items ,but it doesnt have to be an expensive thing that catches my eye . I like hunting tinnies and stickpins and other patriotic regalia . When your a bit lucky you might buy this stuff for almost zilch and I think its the little thingy's that give me the most pleasure looking at . I'dd like to show an item I picked up last week , its been advertised for ages online and for some odd reason it just wouldnt sell ...not even for peanuts .

Its a beautiful German WW1 patriotic kokarde in the national colours ...and its in almost the same state as it was made nearly a 100 years ago .
My thanks to all the blind collectors who've never even noticed it ..enjoy

View attachment 10050

View attachment 10051

 

thank for keeping this fine thread going guys and nice additions, both for the medals, pins and postcards