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 Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Prince Eugene of Savoy
Posted by Fred
Religion can be a dangerous thing when it is subverted to justify war and other criminal activities. Ever since the barbarism of the Christian Crusades, Militant Islam has been a serious threat to Christian Europe. For example the Iberian Peninsula expelled the last of it’s Moslem rulers shortly before Columbus rediscovered America. In 1683 Vienna was almost captured by the Islamic forces of the Ottoman Empire. Over the next 45 years the struggle against the Islamic Ottoman invaders continued in Eastern and South-eastern Europe. Heroes emerge from such epic struggles and in this case the hero was Prince Eugene of Savoy who is still being honored on modern Austrian coins.
The badge illustrated below features an equestrian Prince Eugene trampling a captured Islamic crescent topped flag pole. This design is modeled from a nearly identical statue in Vienna, Austria. I know this badge is Austrian and that it was issued between WWI and WWII. I suspect it was issued by a paramilitary group, possibly by a Heimwehr unit in Vienna. Anyone know for sure?
Wednesday, July 29, 2009 4:18:25 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00) 
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Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Now This Is Rare!
Posted by Fred
This neck-ribboned silver medal was awarded by the “Notgemeinschaft Der Deutschen Wissenschaft” (Emergency Association of German Science)founded in 1920 by Fritz Haber, Max Planck and Ernst von Harnack, Friedrich Schmidt-Ott and Heinrich Konen. Members included all of the major German Universities, Polytechnic Schools and Scientific Academies including the Kaiser Wilhelm Gesellschaft. To make a long story short, the purpose of this organization was fund raising for the sciences; sort of a United Fund for the German scientific institutions. Donors to this fund were entitled to membership in the ‘Stifterverband Der Notgemeinschaft Der Deutschen Wissenschaft” (Donors Association of the NDDW) and I suspect that it was this branch of the organization that may have issued these medals. The medal’s reverse is inscribed “Den Foerderern Der Deutschen Wissenschaft Ein Dankes-Zeichen” (A mark of thanks to one who has advanced the cause of German Science)
Back in December 1975 the Graf Klenau firm sold one of these medals in their auction for 400 Deutsch marks or about $200, listing it as very scarce and that only about 12 medals were awarded.
If that is true someone must have been a whale of a contributor or a heck of a fund raiser to have earned one of these. Makes me wonder just who the original owner of this one might have been.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009 10:02:59 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Iola Old Car Show Find
Posted by Fred
The annual Iola Old Car Show was held last weekend. The show has a huge flea market called the “swap meet” which requires venders to have a high percentage 90%(?) of automotive related items. This results in slim pickings for us military collectors. It takes the better part of a day to walk the entire swap area plus the mile long walk to and from home. Combine that with the fact that my wife holds her annual garage sale, along with many others in this town during the car show, for which she requires my presence and I haven’t made it to the car show in about five years. This year was different and I actually got to the show Sunday morning. More than half the venders were gone or packing up when I got there but I still got lucky. After the civil war Wisconsin was one of the first places to build a home for disabled veterans in the Milwaukee area. Private funding raised a large portion of the building costs and one of the fund raisers was what was called the “Wisconsin Soldiers’ Home Childrens’ Fund”. This fund sold “shares” for ten cents each. The certificate states that ten cents equals twenty bricks. This certificate must be quite scarce based on the fact that the leading collector of Milwaukee items (not me) has never seen one of these in private hands. I guess the old saying “never say never” applies here.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009 7:25:49 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, July 07, 2009 Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Dr. Livingston I Presume?
Posted by Fred
In the past when I described groups it was groups of military medals earned by one man or woman. Recently in a small local antique shop I stumbled across a group of another kind, one that contained no medals at all. The group includes a brass belt buckle for one of those cloth belts commonly worn in the military. This buckle is engraved with the medical caduceus above the man’s name so we know he served in a medical role. Next we have a sterling silver id bracelet which is engraved with the man’s name and service number. The service number indicates that he was an officer and since the bracelet is a private purchase item our man probably had money and knew how to manage it. Next is his army issue dog tag which is the next of kin type. It confirms that he was an officer and from Chicago. Chances are that he was a doctor. Now all that is left to do is to try and research him. Was he a Doctor? What units did he serve in and what medals did he earn? If I ever find the answers to these questions I will post them here.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009 4:52:31 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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