With the high price of gas now I always plan several things to do when ever I have to make a trip. I had a medical appointment in Wausau a few days ago so I took the wife along and we went to the local art museum and had lunch which made her day. No trip to Wausau is complete for me without a visit to Ginny’s, my favorite downtown antique shop. I don’t often find anything there in my line  but once in a while I actually do spend some money in that little shop. This trip was one of those times. In one of her cases was this spectacular silver five arm cross. The cross is 86mm and weighs 50.37 grams. The ring is hallmarked “800” which is the fine silver content of the cross. On the obverse in the center is a medal with a standing woman leaning against a shield and holding a bird nest full of hatchlings. The background is a city view and there is a German legend “MENSCHEN NUTZEN VOGEL SCHUTZEN” which roughly translates, people benefit (when) birds are protected. On the reverse is the inscription “Dem Verdienste” which means that this is a medal of merit. Unfortunately there is no mention of the group that issued this cross or who the recipient was. The only clue would be the city view. If anyone recognizes it please let me know.

Early this year I lost one of the best collecting friends anyone could wish for. Leonard and I had been friends for over 30 years and both of us were serious collectors of Wisconsin state and local issue military medals.  Our collections about equal in size and were kind of like the jagged cut coin.  What I was missing he usually had and what he was missing I had.  With out his help and encouragement I might never have published my Wisconsin military medals book. He also collected the medals of other states like I do. Beyond that we went our seperate ways.  He didn't collect Imperial German like I do and I didn't collect US medals like he did. When it came to ebay we found that we wouldn't bid against each other so we both were in a race to find medals and be the  first to bid on them.  At the Iola Military Show Leonard would display his Wisconsin medals and stay at my house for the weekend.  My wife Cathy thought of him as the perfect house guest even though she found very little she could talk with him about.  No one in his family collected medals but they knew about me and eventually I recieved the call to come look at the collection. I was staggered by what I saw.  Leonard's Wisconsin collection was only the tip of the iceberg and what I though would be an afternoon's worth of work suddenly looked like several days worth. Then much to my relief I found the my friend had kept good records!  Note books listing the medals, what he paid for them, when he bought them and even some recent pages with current value estimates and therein lies an important message for us all; please keep good records of your collection. It will make a world of difference to your heirs and who ever will have to appraise and or buy the estate.  It will help insure that your heirs will get a fair price for your collection.  Do It Now!! Please.