The Militarist with Fred Borgmann

CNG Regimental Lapel Badge

2008-11-19T00:25:44.6670000-05:00

Here we have a regimental lapel badge of the Connecticut National Guard Second Infantry Regiment’s Company K. The badge is marked “Solid Gold” on back meaning it should be 10k gold. It is cross shaped, constructed out of two pieces and is beautifully engraved with black enamel highlighting. The center circle is mounted on the body of the cross and has the black enamel letters CNG and the date 1871 divided by ornamentation. The CNG stands for Connecticut National Guard and the date 1871 must be the date the company was raised and accepted into the CNG. In the center of the circle on the original body of the cross are the number 2 and the letter K in gold on a black enamel background. The 2 is the regiment number and the K for Company K of the regiment. The original owners name may have been engraved on the back and then removed at a later time. This privately made badge would have been expensive in the late 1800’s which indicates that membership in this unit must have been quite an honor and the badge would have been proudly worn on the original owners civilian lapel.

Conn 2 rgt k Co back.jpg (11.82 KB)

Happy Veterans Day

2008-11-11T01:55:01.7770000-05:00

When ever I travel I keep my eyes open for war memorials and monuments. Most of the ones I see here in the states are of Civil War and WWI soldiers in heroic or contemplative posses. Most small towns in Germany have memorials which are more somber and list the names of the local men who died in the various wars. The most interesting one is the memorial painted on a wall in Berchtesgaden which tells the sad story of all wars. These four paintings get repainted every so often and each time there are subtle changes, atleast in the three times that I have seen them. Illustrated below are the four panels in the order that I have placed them and not as found on the wall when I took the photos. I interpret the pictures as: Young recruit leaving his wife and child. Soldier leaving for the front bids his father farewell. Soldiers bravely fighting. Soldier’s body returned to grieving family. I guess we all know that collecting military medals is fun but earning them can be hell for both the soldiers and their families.

Scapegoat

2008-11-04T20:34:37.4060000-05:00

When Napoleon III, Emperor of France, declared war on Prussia in 1870 it was one of those rare moments in history when a man listened to his wife and took her advice but shouldn’t have. The war was a disaster for France and Napoleon III became the classic scapegoat of his time. The French coins in circulation at the time bearing his portrait were quickly defaced by engraving to make the unfortunate former emperor look like a traitor and converted the eagle on the reverse into an owl like vampire. Shortly there after these designs became die struck medals. Both the engraved coins and die struck medals are very collectible and command respectable prices. The coins of Nap. III in very worn condition are very common and the engravings are often very crude. What’s to keep someone with a very worn coin worth 50 cents from engraving it and adding 25.00 to it’s value? If they know how to age it properly, not much. To my way of thinking the less wear on the host coin the more likely it is to be a contemporary engraving. Illustrated below are four examples which I believe to be genuine.

Snatch The Bacon

2008-10-29T00:16:45.2805373-04:00

Snatch The Bacon was a fun game we played back when I was in Scouting. The object of the game was for one of two players, both with one hand behind their back, to snatch the hat on the ground and make it back to your home line without getting tagged by the other player or to fake out the other guy and get him to tag you when you were not holding the hat. For some reason the name of that game in my collecting mind has come to mean getting away with something while breaking some arbitrary or asinine rule forced upon me. For example several years ago I bought this badge on an internet auction site. The badge was for participants in a skiing competition held near Berchtesgaden in 1934. I really needed this badge as a companion piece for the event’s first place prize medal that resides in my collection. The badge depicts a ski jumper with three flags behind him; Nazi party flag with the forbidden swastika, the German National tri-color flag of that date and the sports association flag. My greatest fear was that some rat-fink would report the banned item to the auction site, so I asked the seller about the hallmark if any on back. That way I had his email if the badge got pulled off the site before the sale ended. I placed my bid and then sniped it in the final moments. Victory!!. I felt quite a rush just like in the old days when I Snatched The Bacon.

Claudius Langdon Forney

2008-10-22T11:42:21.2220000-04:00

If one can believe the presidential election polls we are about to have our first black president which will be a milestone by any measurement. Interestingly enough Senator Obama can not trace his direct ancestry to any American slaves as most American blacks can or claim. None the less he is a political pioneer which reminds me of a 1937 dated National Guard Medical Department Lieutenant’s Commission named to Claudius Langdon Forney. I bought it from Haag’s Antiques in Columbus, Wisconsin about 4-5 years ago. I like medical stuff and the name sounded black so how could I resist? A quick name check on Google found the name listed in the 1940 edition of Who’s Who in Colored America as a Physician. The Social Security Death Index lists the doctor as an Illinois resident from the Chicago area with life dates of 1897-1969. Then I checked my 1940 Illinois National Guard book and there was his picture as a Captain in the Eighth Infantry Headquarters Company Medical Staff. To become a black doctor in the America of the 1920’s he must have been an exceptional man. At the time of his death America was being torn apart by race riots. I wonder what would he say if he could see the potential Obama presidency of today?

The Medal That Never Was”….Is

2008-10-15T00:14:21.5900000-04:00

In 1965 the Dominican Republic was in turmoil. A leftist revolution broke out that would have succeeded had it not been for an American military intervention in cooperation with the Organization of American States or OAS. All successful military actions, as we all know, should be commemorated with a medal. To honor the participants of this campaign the Inter-American Peace Medal For Merit was designed with a Spanish legend and inscription and showing the western hemisphere. The design was rejected however by the Department of the Army (US) causing Evans Kerrigan in his American Medals And Decorations book, to label this as “the medal that never was” while conceding that copies of it do exist in some collections. Illustrated here is one of those medals that can be found existing in my collection.“

Midwifery

2008-10-08T18:28:47.5360000-04:00

A midwife is a usually a woman specially trained to assist women giving birth usually at home. This is an old tradition in many parts of the world where doctors were scarce and most people couldn’t afford them anyway. Germany has had a long tradition of highly trained midwifes. In effect these ladies are nurses with specialized midwife training. Back in the Kaiser’s Germany several German States had badges and decorations for midwives. During that time a national midwives organization was established. After the Nazis took over Germany everything became “Nazified”. Swastikas were added to all insignia and names were usually changed to conform with the new reality. The national association for “Hebammen” (midwives) was no exception. Illustrated below is their Nazi era badge. The name was changed to the “Riechsfachschaft Deutscher Hebammen” which roughly translates as the national organization of German midwives. The legend remained the same and translates “in service to the future of our people”. The design remained intact showing a woman holding up a new born in the center of a white enamel cross within a blue enamel circle within a silver wreath. Of course the swastika was added at the bottom to keep collectors like us from selling it on ebay. Maybe some doctors who lost out on their fees because midwife services were available would agree with ebay rules banning this badge as a hateful item. As for me I think it ironic that some of the bloody Third Reich’s most attractive badges and decorations are those issued for life affirming activities.

Going Postal

2008-10-01T00:14:45.1360000-04:00

While on my way home from Illinois this weekend I was able to check out two Milwaukee antique malls where I found with this lucite encased marksmanship prize medal. This Blackinton made medal never had a pin so I am certain that it was issued in the lucite. The pin-less broach is inscribed “MILWAUKEE POST OFFICE // SPORTSMEN’S CLUB // RIFLE TEAM // 1961.” The two bars on the ribbon are inscribed “OFF HAND” and “FIRST PLACE”. The irregular shaped medal has a standing rifleman on a white enamel target.

“Going Postal” is an unfortunate slang expression that came into use back in the early 1990’s to describe someone who becomes angry and crazy enough to shoot fellow workers as happened in several post offices in the 1980’s

The medal described above and illustrated below takes the expression “Going Postal” to a new level.

Fake Wake Island Bar

2008-09-24T20:41:54.4320000-04:00

The Wake Island Bar is found on the Navy and Marine Corps Expeditionary Medals and was awarded to those who were part of the desperate defense of Wake Island during WWII. It is a very rare and expensive bar. Illustrated below is one of the common fakes. If you are thinking about buying one of these rare bars save this and compare before you buy. Note that on the fake the rope border segments are not of equal size along the bottom. The letters in the word “WAKE” on the fake are perfectly aligned. On the genuine bars all the rope segments are of equal size and the letter “E” in “WAKE” looks like it is starting to fall off. The horizontal part of the letter “L” in “ISLAND” is much longer on the fake than on the genuine version. It is kind of strange that while the lettering on the fakes is too good to be true the rope border is not good enough to be true. Good pictures of a genuine bar can be found in The Call Of Duty book by Strandberg and Bender.

British or Canadian?

2008-09-17T00:22:19.1530000-04:00

British War Medal 1939-45 or is it the Canadian version?

The British War Medal, made of copper-nickel is a common medal and nearly impossible to visually distinguish from the Canadian version struck in .800 fine silver. There is no weight difference so a simple scale won’t help. An acid test would do it if you don’t mind damaging your medal if it turns out to be the copper-nickel version. To make sure it is not plated you would also have to file into the rim to get below the level of any possible plating. If you are like me and don’t believe in mutilating medals then the only other option is a specific gravity test.

The medal pictured below is my medal and it tested out with a specific gravity of 9.81 which indicates that it is the .800 fine silver Canadian version. The copper-nickel version would have had a number of 8.94. The .800 fine silver should be about 10.14 so why is this medal only 9.81? Because the suspension bar mounted on top of the medal could not be removed and it is copper-nickel which screws up the results of the specific gravity test. Fortunately the resulting number of 9.81 is too high to be anything but the silver version.

Evergreen City Guard Anniversary Medal

2008-09-10T00:12:53.0360000-04:00

Evergreen City Guard ( Sheboygan Wisconsin) 50^th Anniversary Veterans medal, bronze 35.5mm wide and 41.5mm tall on a red, white and blue ribbon with a plain bronze broach. Made by “SCHWAAB S&S MILWAUKEE” as marked on the back of the medal.

Obverse has an eagle on a US shield resting on crossed rifles which divide the dates 1869 1919. Below this is a circle with the following inscription “50^TH ANNIVERSARY EVERGREEN CITY GUARD VETERAN CORPS AUG. 21, 1869”

It is interesting to note that the Evergreen City Cadets were organized as a unit on August 23, 1869 and recognized by the Governor as the Evergreen City Cadets Sept. 10, 1869. The Cadets voluntarily disbanded on June 10,1872. Then nearly two and a half years later on Nov. 4, 1874 the unit was reconstituted as the Evergreen City Guard which eventually became Company C of the 2nd Regiment of the Wisconsin National Guard. Technically their 50^th anniversary would have been in 1924 but such technicalities didn’t stop the celebration or the issuance of this scarce historical medal in 1919.

Germany’s Prussian Iron Cross

2008-09-04T18:07:51.5970000-04:00

As most of you know Germany was composed of various independent states ranking from kingdoms to free city states. The largest and most powerful was Prussia which eventually forced the German unification in 1871 when the Prussian King also became the German Emperor. Ever since 1813 when the Iron Cross was established it has become the most famous military decoration in the world and is often thought of as a Germany decoration which is incorrect until 1939 when Hitler actually made it an official German award. The 1914 version is the most common and was the lowest priced. The 1939’s are also common but more expensive since demand is greater for Nazi stuff . Over the last decade things have been changing and now I see dealers asking 75.00 or more for common 2^nd class IC’s and 1^st class crosses are running from 125.00 to well over 400.00! For an old time collector like me these prices just look nuts. What are they really worth, well I just put one on ebay so we will see. Supply and demand determines prices over all so I did some looking around. German dealers are also listing at these prices and I see that many collectors are now collecting by maker and other varieties. Supply didn’t change but demand sure seems to have grown, so much so that fakes are now a problem for the 1914’s.

Illustrated below is a genuine 1914 First class Iron Cross. Genuine 1st class ICs have a black painted iron core within a silver frame mounted on a silver back plate. The flat version with a pin back is the government issue while the convex versions which are often screw backs, are private purchase pieces. Many Germans didn’t want to risk damaging or losing the originals in combat or had to replace ones that were. There are many different hallmarks on genuine crosses and some are not marked at all. If the cross is not made of multi piece construction and the center core is not magnetic it is almost certainly a fake.

PS It didn't sell. Probably for a number of reasons mainly that at this price which was still lower than dealers lists, the trust factor on ebay isn't there. Many collectors who pay these hefty prices are loyal to only one or a few dealers and won't buy anywhere else. I can only hope that these dealers are just as loyal to their customers when they want to sell.

Collectors Paradise Lost

2008-08-26T01:09:34.1990000-04:00

Not so long ago Ebay was a collectors dream come true. It was an easy and economical way to sell duplicates as well as the happy hunting grounds for buyers. As time moved on Ebay gradually became ever more restrictive and “politically correct” by banning many legal items from the site like medals with swastikas, badges and US military medals. Corporate greed also grew as reflected by their rising fees. Now as of October 2008 Ebay is banning all forms of paper payments like checks and money orders from the site and requiring sellers to have and accept only Paypal or a few other plastic accounts that do not compete with Ebay’s Paypal. To say the least this is the double dipping level of corporate greed. Is it an illegal restraint of trade? Maybe, but only time will tell. If one would want to choose another Ebay acceptable form of payment be sure to read all the fine print. You will find that the standard fees and potential additional charges appear to be more expensive than paypal until you read Paypal’s terms of service and understand the rights and legal protections that you are signing away if you agree to open a Paypal account.

If anyone reading this thinks Paypal is a good system I would ask them, and all of us, to read Paypal's terms of service. Just how dangerous can Paypal be? There are several internet sites full of the Paypal horrors experienced by too many victims to dismiss. One of these sites also has statements from several former Paypal employees that are a must read. Disgruntled employees? Definitely, but remember the old adage “where there’s smoke there’s fire.” Check out these sites and decide for yourself:

http://www.paypalsucks.com/

http://www.paypalwarning.com/

http://dan.tobias.name/thenet/paypal/

Final observation, the SEC has reported the Margaret C. Whitman, a lady who must know more about Ebay than all the rest of us combined, has legally sold 715,000 shares of Ebay stock. What does that mean? I’ll leave you to decide that for yourself.

As for myself, I have been on ebay since Jan. 2000 and have almost 600 feedbacks which are 100% positive. I have a star rating of 4.9 all of which I managed to do by using only paper payments without ever having subjected myself to Paypal's onerous terms of service. Regrettably by the end of October I will no longer be able to sell on Ebay. Will I still buy on Ebay? Maybe, but only if the item is very rare and only if I can do it without having a Paypal account.

There is a bright side and we should all take heart. Yes Ebay’s actions have alienated and cast out a large percentage of it's collector base but that has created a new environment in which competing internet sites now stand a good chance of succeeding. As for me I have established a new home on ecrater. Please stop by and check it out at: http://freds.ecrater.com/

Grading Military Medals

2008-08-20T00:50:11.5331141-04:00

Sooner or later every military medal collector will sell medals on eBay or some other form of indirect sale where the condition of the medal must be described.

First thing to keep in mind is that medals were made to be worn so condition is not as important as it is with coins. Also many military medal collectors are not familiar with basic coin grades; F, VF, EF, Unc, BU. I use my own system which has worked very well for me and is based on the word ‘used’ like very nice used, slightly used or near mint. In addition any flaws must be described including any problems with the ribbon. I use near mint even for medals in mint condition because I don’t have the time or patience to argue, with every wisenheimer and novice collector, that not every medal is flawless at the time of issue. This is especially true when the medal is made by a private manufacturer. A prime example is the WWII service medal from Utica New York that I currently have listed on eBay and which is illustrated below. At first glance it appears to be worn or cast but the medal is actually in near mint condition! What makes the medal look so misleading is that it is a weak strike that was struck from pitted dies. If that wasn’t bad enough it was then given an antique golden bronze finish in an attempt to make it look like it was made with a higher grade of metal. The weak strike is most likely due to the fact that the center of the medal is much thicker than the arms which also slope downward and away from the center. Since this is one of the most common of the WWII local issue service medals I am sure that there were at least two production runs. Between the production runs the dies were probably stored on a shelf somewhere and quickly became rusted. Rust when removed leaves pitting and the cleaning also softens the resulting image giving the newly struck medals a worn and cast look. When the false finish was applied to the medal even more detail was lost. The fact that this medal is on a crimped broach proves to me that this medal was not part of the original 1946 production run. So as we can all see, the grading of military medals requires some thought and technical knowledge. It also helps to be a numismatist.

The Iola Vintage Military Show

2008-08-13T01:11:56.3140000-04:00

Well the Iola Vintage Military Show has come and gone and yes it was a great show this year. The crowds looked as good as ever to me so the high gas prices didn't keep people away. As usual I met a lot of old friends and interesting veterans who freely shared their historical memories. Our stressed economy has not hit the military collecting hobby as hard as expected and the high prices can still put a long time collector like me into sticker shock. I did over hear some dealers talking about a tighter market and slower sales but as of yet I am still having no trouble selling stuff on eBay and eCrater so maybe their prices are just too high. From an exhibiters point of view it is very gratifying year after year to watch so many people stop and actually take the time to read the text of my exhibits. As a long time medal collector I am sorry to say that I couldn't find anything to add to my collection. Prices were not the problem here; there simply was nothing that I saw that I needed or wanted. I couldn’t even find a Marine Corps Good Conduct miniature medal to replace the one my father-in-law lost from his group. On a related topic I see that the local sheriffs deputies are not wearing metal badges any more. All the badges I saw were thin cloth patch like badges that are sewn or stenciled on their shirts. The USO style show by Chicago's Honey Bears on Saturday evening, was great even though the sound level was so high that one couldn't understand most of the words in the songs. One bit of news gleaned from the show was that an old American WWII glider was found in Northern Michigan and is being restored in Wausau Wisconsin. I'll keep you posted as they are planning a dedication event when the restoration is completed.

What about my medals?

2008-08-06T12:18:42.2920000-04:00

Most collectors know what is going to happen to their medal collections after or even before they die. Most will have the collection sold and they will rest easy knowing that the medals are being well cared for by other collectors. Some collectors and veterans will toy with the idea of donating their medals to a museum of some sort. As I have said many times before most museums are not too thrilled with donated medals and coins though few will refuse to accept them. A little over a week ago I was traveling through Southeastern Wisconsin and visited three fine museums. All were really nice and had good dedicated staffs but one really proved my point. The museum had an extensive local history of WWII exhibit including uniforms worn by local vets along with their recorded voices telling of their war time experiences. In the far back corner was a locked display cabinet with a glass shelf upon which a small hoard of medals pins and insignia were scattered about willy-nilly with many items upside down or sideways and absolutely nothing attributed. I tracked down the lady in charge and asked her if she would like to know what the items were? “No” she said , “I know what they are.” Then why isn’t any of it labeled? I asked her. “Labels would just distract from the exhibit” she replied. “We just wanted to show what kind of souvenirs the guys brought back” she continued. “Oh” I said, “but what about all the US items?” A slight frown then arose over her face and she shot back “I didn’t really want to bother with that stuff but I couldn’t leave that shelf empty.” Well at that point I figured I had better leave well enough alone. After all if she was responsible for the rest of the museum’s displays she had earned a 90% positive score overall. So I thanked her and said good bye all the while thinking how much I wished that every veteran who thinks that his medals would be better off in a museum could see the exhibit and talk to the boss lady. If you want to see how I think medals should be displayed come to the Iola Vintage Military Show this weekend and take a look at some of my exhibits.

Chicago Alderman Bumper Badge

2008-08-03T17:32:01.2090000-04:00

Now here is one I am sure you haven't seen before.

Chicago City Alderman Star shaped bumper badge circa 1920-30‘s. This badge was made to be mounted above the license plate on an alderman’s private car so that the car could cross police lines and park anywhere without getting towed. This type of badge, which was most often used by sheriff’s department officers, is considered scarce and very hard to find by badge collectors. An aldermanic version of this type of badge is virtually unheard of and must be very rare indeed. This badge is made of nickel or chrome plated cast bronze, weighs 10.5 ounces and is 5 inches across. The convex center features the Chicago city coat of arms with the words “CITY OF CHICAGO” at the top and “ALDERMAN” at the bottom. The center of this badge is worn so I don’t know if this badge was plated when issued or plated later.

For more scans go to http://www.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=2873255

The Berlin Air Lift

2008-07-30T00:17:19.9240000-04:00

Isn’t it amazing how fast things can change? One of my favorite military medals is the Humane Action Service medal issued to those who took part in the Berlin Air Lift from June 1948 to Sept. 1949. The Soviets had cut off all land supply routes into the western sector of occupied Berlin in order to starve the city into submission. The US then flew in all the food and fuel needed to save the city’s population from starving and freezing to death. The children of the same population that only four years earlier we were trying to bomb into oblivion were now being bombed with candy tied to miniature parachutes. This medal is a historic milestone commemorating one of our finest moments.

The Emil Nelson Group

2008-07-24T22:21:04.5470000-04:00

Yet another interesting military medal group to show you. This one was an easy research job since it came with the soldier’s discharge! Emil Nelson served with the 127^th Ambulance company (32^nd Division) which was made up of mostly Racine Wisconsin men. On his WWI Victory medal he has the normal four bars for the 32^nd: AISNE-MARNE, OISE-AISNE, MEUSE-ARGONNE and the common DEFENSIVE SECTOR.

On his discharge Nelson is credited for action in the Alsace Sector for which there is no bar. As I found out on the US Militaria Forum when I asked the question, the Defensive Sector Bar was a catch all for all the so called quiet sector actions for which no actual bars were issued. Sergeant Nelson’s service during the post war occupation of parts of Germany is also mentioned on his record and again there was no bar for that, but later in the 1940’s the medal with General Pershing’s profile was issued for that.

This is a great group and as a collector I should be happy with it but darn I sure would have liked to have gotten his dog tags too.

32ND Division Mothers Medal

2008-07-16T00:35:14.9900000-04:00

The two years following the end of the First World War saw the greatest flood of military service medals in our history. Since the Federal Government didn’t show any interest in issuing a WWI service medal nearly everyone else decided to make sure that their veterans got a medal. State and local government units, veterans and fraternal groups, employers and even mothers groups issued medals. The medal illustrated below was issued by the Mothers of The 32^ND Division to their boys. The obverse has the American Eagle, the Wisconsin State Arms and the 32^ND Division Red Arrow symbol. The reverse has a blank name space and a nine line inscription. The medal was issued as a pocket piece without a loop or ribbon and a blank name space. When you see one like the one below with a ribbon and a name engraved on the reverse then you know that someone went the extra mile for their veteran or to sell you the medal. If the name checks out then you really have a nice medal.