Brunswick Veteran Badges With Skulls

**Dos** · 03-05-2021, 06:31 PM

Hello Members,

I've recently acquired a group of badges that are from Braunschweig. I believe they are called in German, Kriegervereins Abzeichen. I've examined them, and they all seem to be of high quality construction. Unfortunately there are not any maker marks present on these pieces. I inspected them with a microscope and even carefully looked behind the cloth ribbons. They all are made of multiple die stamped parts. I have a hard time finding any information on these awards. I don't think these are official awards, but more something in the line of commemorative or veteran awards. They might have a relation to the Braunschweiger Husaren Regiment 17 or Infantry Regiment 92..

I have spoken to the author of "Braunschweiger Orden und Ehrenzeichen" and asked if any of these pieces are in it, but this is not the case sadly. He did mention the year book of the historic community of Brunswick that was published from 1880 or so on, on a yearly basis. These books are not easy to find and i did not have any luck with this lead.

Maybe there are some members here that have these year books? Or any other information about these pieces would be much appreciated!

With my own knowledge and experience, looking at the construction of these badges it has the look of being alright. I can't spot any red flags. The only piece i have my doubts on is the one with the long ribbon, but i will clarify this with the close up photos. I know that Robin Lumsden has some of these badges. I hope you see this and can respond to this post! I have compared them with the photos that are available from his collection and there are some tiny differences with the long ribbon badge. Fortunately, the rest matches the other badges.

Below is a group photo shown of these badges with my 100th Anniversary badge of Brunswick Infantry Regiment 92 on the bottom. I will post each badge seperatly here after.

The link to the 100th Anniversary badge is: 100th Anniversary IR 92 Braunschweig with totenkopf

This first piece is very well made and has a 3-piece construction. It shows a white horse with crossed swords and a skull below it. Behind this is a golden wreath with oak leafs. The thing that is different on this badge is that there is a ring on the top. I think this one is related to a cavalry regiment or maybe it resembles the white horse of Hanover again? There are some threads that hold the badge to the ribbon with behind a plate that caries the pin. Here below are some photos of badge #1.

This is the only badge i doubt to be authentic. The cloth ribbons feels and looks different to all other badges that came with this group. The wreath and skull are die stamped and is a 2-piece construction. The details are a bit weaker and the finish looks a bit different. If you compare this piece to the one from Robin Lumsden, You will see that the crown is not perforated and the ribbon is different. I don't know enough about how a ribbon should look like from this time period. I hope that some of you can give your opinion on this! Of course there can be different makers of these badges and that could explain the small differences. Here below is a photo of badge #2

This final badge is the only one i could not compare to any other known example in a collection. It shows a crown with on top an Eiserne Kreuz, A wreath with two swords crossed behind a Braunschweig skull. The skull is practically equal to my other example that i have in my collection. Looking at this specific part is the only way for me to authenticate this piece. It is die stamped and has the worn frosted silver finish that goes with it. The details on the whole piece are incredible! Here are some close up photos of #3:

The Braunschweig skull is pinned behind the wreath on the back side with the regular flat prongs that are known to the cap and collar skulls. I believe that the ring that is on the bottom side of the wreath is there for a service time medal. Unfortunately it is missing on this piece and the other one (#2). Here below is a photo of what is seen behind the cloth ribbon:

I think i got really lucky with these badges, but also have some concerns on a few points. The fact that there is little to find about these badges makes it harder to authenticate them. I hope that you read this Robin Lumsden, since you are the only one that i know that has some of these badges! For comparison i will show the only high-res photo i have from your collection. (Don't mind the red circle) You will all notice the differences i mentioned above if you look closely to this photo. Any opinions or additional information are much appreciated! I can make additional photos if needed! Feel free to reply. I've put a number with each badge since i don't know how to call them and wanted to keep them together in one post.

-Dos

**Dos** · 03-07-2021, 09:08 PM

I figured a photo of badge #3 with a comparison to my other Braunschweig skull would be good to post here. The skull on the right is a different variation. The small details like the nose, eye cavities and crossbones show that this one on the badge was made from a different die stamp. I have compared it to the collection of Aldo and the grouping from Chopperman, but can't seem to find a match. This topic can be found here: Show Your Braunschweig Skulls

The ribbon that is on this badge #3 looks similar in construction to the 50th Anniversary badge from Aldo and Robin.

Maybe the color difference with the additional black, white and pink line can tell us more?

I have also made some additional photos that show some close ups of the other cloth ribbons. I hope they are sharp enough to see there construction better. The ribbon on the two photos below closest to the middel is from badge #2. I don't know what to think of this.. It looks similar to the ribbon on my 100th Anniversary IR. 92 badge, but it feels different in hand.

Is there anyone that can comment on the construction of these ribbons?

-Dos

**Robin Lumsden** · 03-11-2021, 08:43 PM

Dos.

They all look like nice original badges to me. No red flags.

The 'blue cross' one is usually made by Gustav Brehmer.

**Dos** · 03-11-2021, 10:27 PM

Thank you Robin! Much appreciated

You are correct. The blue cross is marked G. Brehmer.

Do you know of any books that mention these awards?

I would like to learn more about these awards, but this was not an easy path to take so far.

The crown on badge #2 with the long ribbon is not perforated like your example. The ribbon also seems different. Do you think these were made by different makers?

-Dos

**Robin Lumsden** · 03-12-2021, 08:54 PM

Dos.

I'm not aware of any books specifically on these items. They were commemorative badges which, I assume, soldiers and their relatives could buy on certain regimental anniversary occasions. Badge no. 2 probably just has a maker variant re. the perforations ............... same maker or different makers.