Alex W.

Looks like a good old Souval ribbon ;-)

Hi Tony, that's a very nice Grand Cross ! I like the gilded rim "prototype" very much. The"exotic" Grand Cross variants are not very common to find as Souval didn't produce too many. Souval also produced an entirely gilded frame GK; this one is even harder to find. Do you have more pics of the ribbon ? Again, congratiolations to this nice cross. Best regards, Alex

Hi Nick, I would date this neck cross to mid-later 1960's. I've compared the blue enamaling to my PLM which is also a 1960's made piece. It is identical in color tone. My other (later) St&L PLM has a different blue color tone. Regards

Thanks Tony. Indeed much crap is often talked about Souval products mostly by the same certain "collectors" without having any deeper knowledge about the actual subject. In my book this Dk with it's Souval EK center piece is ceraintly one of the most rare '57 DKiG. Regards, Alex

Hey everyone, here is my Souval made Azad Hind Breast Star. Post '45 pin hardware but still with the Souval back plate. Should date to 1960. Regards, Alex

Last ones...

More pics

Hey everyone, Here is a Hohenzollern Neckcross of the St&L imperial replacement series. St&L made most of the imperial medals in the post war years. This one is certainly one of the rarer to find ones. Regards, Alex

Thanks Nick. Indeed, the pin hardware is St&L. Regards, Alex

Some pics of the reverse

Hi everyone, here is a rarity I'd like to show you. While Souval '57er variant German Crosses are very rare in generell, here is one that is even rarer. It's an early-mid production made piece. The color of the starburst is slightly lighter than it appears. The pin block is still closed - I'd date the piece around 1960-1968. Not much earlier since the really early Souval DK's feature pin rivets and have a darker, almost black starburst. What makes this DKiG so special besides being a rivited Souval made 1957er variant, is it's center Iron Cross. All Souval DK's I have come across used the typical St&L EK's as their center piece. Not this one though. It features a Souval EK center piece that follows the typical Souval Ek1 type. (rounded inner corners and the typical "chicken feet" in the corners of the bedding) I have two other earlier Souval 57'er DK's that don't use this style of EK. The handfull known later DK's again also use the St&L EK again. Seems interesting that Souval did go through the hassle of creating a more unique EK center piece for their DK's in the early 60's and than using St&L parts again in later produced pieces. Best regards, Alex

Here is a St&L Luftschutz Medal 1st class. It's made of zinc and sure not a common find. Best regards, Alex

Hi everyone, I would like to show you the Freikorps replacement "Eiserner Roland" award. It's a rather uncommon badge that was produced by St&L in the postwar years as a replacement badge for the 2000 - 3000 initial recipients. It's one of only three Freikorps awards that were officially allowed during the third reich. This particular piece was made in the mid 1960's using the usual St&L hardware (closed hinge block,etc.) of this production period. The overall quality of this badge is very good with a great attention to detail. Best regards, Alex

Some additional pics:

Hey everyone, here now is another hard to find St&L Imperial award. This is the Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross 1914. Also known as the "Hindenburg Stern". This is not a typical imperial replacement award, it's a beautiful display piece. This star dates back to the early 1960's. The attached Iron Cross has a beautiful finish with a nicely polished frame and great frosting. The cross is of three piece construction with magnetic core. The next time I'll add some pics of the star next to the St&L 1914 Grand Cross. These two mint pieces next to each other are just a beautiful sight. Best regards, Alex