Ehrentafelspange der Kriegsmarine - Juncker Type 1 (KM Honor Roll Clasp)

[MAP]

This is now "officially" mine. Big thanks to Chris (CBH) for offering and working with me on this beautiful example.

I've been on the hunt to add one of these to my collection for many years. Now the question is...do I get the Heer and Luft versions?

This is a C.E. Juncker Type 1 which has been hand trimmed, as opposed to the later type 2 clasp where a more standardized trimming stamp was used for the internal cutouts.

This is in near mint condition with burnished highlights on the anchor and wreath still present (although the photos do not show it all that well). Some slight age/stains to ribbon face which is to be expected given the age. Probably never issued. Reverse crimps to the prongs are correct.



I always found these awards very interesting and not well understood by most collectors. And they are quite rare. Especially the KM versions. The KM Clasps are the rarest of all the KM awards.

The short version is that it was awarded to holders of both the 1st & 2nd Class Iron Cross for distinguished action in combat but that were not eligible for the Deutsche Cross or the Knights Cross. So...kind of a gap filler but not really as only 4,500 of these were awarded the Heer and SS. I think that is less than KC's and DKiG's.

KM and Luft records were lost but known KM recipients amounts to less than 60 (yes... 60). I have read that the Luft ones are more common than the Heer versions, but KM's are by far the rarest of all three. Whether this is true I can not confirm. Either way, I would assume most of what we see are leftover unissued stocks, as I doubt I am lucky enough to own an issued example LoL


From Wiki (for the Heer version):

The Honour Roll Clasp of the army was instituted after the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Until 30 January 1944, it was only a paper award. After this date, Adolf Hitler introduced the metallic version of the award for the decoration. There were a number of possible qualifications for the Honour Roll Clasp of the Army:

- The award could only be bestowed after a recipient had been awarded the Iron Cross in both the First and Second Class.
- To those who "once again (after being awarded the Iron Cross in both classes) distinguished himself in combat".
- Inclusion in the Honour Roll of the German Army (the Ehrenblatt des deutschen Heeres)

There were no specific qualifications to earn this award other than what is mentioned above; its bestowing was at the discretion of the German High Command. It was awarded sparingly to retain a high level of prestige and honor. The Waffen-SS was not legally part of the German Army, but were nevertheless eligible on the same conditions as the army.


The KM HR Clasp was instituted on February 23, 1943.




Double click to enlarge the photos


Enjoy!

M

[MAP]

Just found Chris's original thread...

Ehrentafelspange der Kriegsmarine (Navy Honor Roll Clasp)

[Christian K]

Lovely piece! Love the Fleet Badge by the way

[MAP]

Lovely piece! Love the Fleet Badge by the way

Thanks! That badge is an issued and worn example! The way I like them!

[Rescue190]

Very nice acquisition. Congrats.
John

[MAP]

Very nice acquisition. Congrats.
John

Thanks. And a long time coming!

M

[CBH]

It looks great in your collection, and you were a pleasure to deal with.
I'll have to keep an eye out for a Retired Pilots badge now!
All the best.

[MAP]

It looks great in your collection, and you were a pleasure to deal with.
I'll have to keep an eye out for a Retired Pilots badge now!
All the best.

Same here Chris. And thanks. I have a mint EK1 spange arriving today. I will take a group photo of my EK collection including this and the new spange as soon as I can

And yes...a retired pilots bagde is a big hole in my Luft collection. The missing piece!

[Ullergaard]

Michael! Thank you for showing this wonder once more!
It IS the rarest of the 3 Heer, Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine...
Thank you for the great thread and for a great presentation of the Ehrentafelspange der Kriegsmarine!.. rare and speciel! Love it..

[MAP]

Michael! Thank you for showing this wonder once more!
It IS the rarest of the 3 Heer, Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine...
Thank you for the great thread and for a great presentation of the Ehrentafelspange der Kriegsmarine!.. rare and speciel! Love it..

Thanks. As noted above, issued examples are extremely rare but I'm sure this was from unissued stocks. We just don't know how many unissued examples there were. Still you rarely see them for sale. Funny though, and Chris alluded to this, the Canadians did fight along the coast and I saw during my research that the dealer "eMedals" did have a few examples for sale/sold. As they are a Canadian located dealer, this might make sense if they are sourcing these locally. Who really knows though.......