WW1 Iron Cross. Any good ?

[Peter Brydon]

The "tale " behind this medal is that it supposedly was a veterans souvenir that he acquired from a German soldier in WW2.

No makers marks anywhere and the quality is poor and it is very light in weight but before consigning it to the duds box I would welcome any members thoughts.

Thanks

P.B.

[GriffMJ]

is there a mark on the ring of the cross?

[Peter Brydon]

Originally Posted by GriffMJ

is there a mark on the ring of the cross?

Griff,

No, the first thing I looked for.

Peter

[11th Armoured]

Originally Posted by Peter Brydon

The "tale " behind this medal is that it supposedly was a veterans souvenir that he acquired from a German soldier in WW2.

No makers marks anywhere and the quality is poor and it is very light in weight but before consigning it to the duds box I would welcome any members thoughts.

Thanks

P.B.

Hello Peter, I know very little about the subject, but my Dad also acquired one from a Wehrmacht veteran (who I believe had also served in the First World War) when he was part of the occupying forces in Austria after the war. The provenance is impeccable with accompanying photographs and also the recipient's 'Schützenschnur Heer, I. Stufe' (marksman's lanyard, 1st class), so I'm happy it's a good 'un.

Compared to yours, the embossing (or whatever you call it) seems a bit tidier, but whether there were variations, I don't know. Mine weighs just over 17 grams (with ribbon) & seems relatively sturdy.


Sorry I can't be of more help,

Kevin

[Peter Brydon]

Thanks Kevin,

The detail on your dads is a lot crisper than on the one I have. I will try and weigh mine.

Regards

Peter

[MEDALMAN]

Hi pete,

On the face of it I am sorry to say that it looks wrong

However how is it constructed? Is the centre magnetic?

Cheers

Andrew

[Peter Brydon]

Thanks Andrew,

I don't think it has the quality to be a genuine item but yes the centre is magnetic.

Peter

[yorkstone]

Peter
Is it magnetic? Does it rattle? Dose the center move a little

And is their a solder seam around the edge?

The lack of a mark possibly indicates a Manufacture date 1930's many produced to replace lost and souvenir taken by the Victors

Depending on cost some times quality is lacking that of awarded IC 2's

Looks ok to me

Regards

Stephen

[MEDALMAN]

Peter

Yes I must admit from the photo it looks like a nasty copy

However Stephen May be correct and it could be a 1930,s replacement?

However I think it's one of those things made for biker gangs in the 1960,s

Cheers

Andrew

[Marcus H]

Originally Posted by yorkstone

Peter
Is it magnetic? Does it rattle? Dose the center move a little

And is their a solder seam around the edge?

The lack of a mark possibly indicates a Manufacture date 1930's many produced to replace lost and souvenir taken by the Victors

Depending on cost some times quality is lacking that of awarded IC 2's

Looks ok to me

Regards

Stephen

It could well be, Stephen. I too, believe this cross to be a legitimate example; however, I'm not yet sure if it is 1930s or even 1940s (1939; not incipient wartime, but by virtue perhaps ''earlier'') produced, as there a few traits that relate to both era's - in my opinion - pertaining to the period of manufacture. Although, the EK family were never my forte.

Personally, to my eyes and mind, the distortion in the ''detail'' on the core is due to the fact that the core has been repainted, hence also the sealing of the ''gap'' between the frame and core surface; its had a hard life!

In the 1930s there were smaller sized rings produced for suspending the awards on ribbon bars of a type; I'm not overly sure about the gauge though. The lack of a maker's mark stamped into the ring is not an uncommon practice, of course.

And, the apparent ''straight-9'' in the 1914 also interests me, too.

Peter, if you can take some more level plan view pictures of this cross, I can send the pictures to a couple of serious come bordering obsessed EK collectors who I know, and then perhaps they can enlighten you further.

Kind regards,

Marcus

[Peter Brydon]

Thanks again Andrew, Stephen and Marcus,

Marcus I will send you some more pictures later.

I would have immediately dismissed the item as being a fake if it was not for the fact that it came from a middle aged couple with the wife`s fathers medals in the tin that all the items had been in for many years. So I thought it was worth seeking more opinions.

Thanks again to everyone who has commented.

Peter

[Unknownsoldier]

not a ww1 example, but I think possibly a tailors example/copy whatever as the frame looks like a ww2 type whic is sharper and marginally thicker than a ww2 type, i have both that came from a veteran both look similar, but there is a difference.

[hagwalther]

Originally Posted by Peter Brydon

The "tale " behind this medal is that it supposedly was a veterans souvenir that he acquired from a German soldier in WW2.

No makers marks anywhere and the quality is poor and it is very light in weight but before consigning it to the duds box I would welcome any members thoughts.

Thanks

P.B.

Hi PB,

I would say that it is a genuine item but in very distressed condition.

Both the suspension and ribbon rings look good and of the correct size.

Not all EKII from WW1 had magnetic cores and not all rattled.

A nice WW1 EKII with ribbon would only cost approx. 40 Euro so you can guess that one in this condition, without ribbon (a genuine full length ribbon is rarer that the cross) would be a lot less. When it comes to WW1 Iron Crosses there are a lot more genuine items around than duds probably due to the fact that there are so many around.

Attached images of a mounted item by Alfred Rosner.

Regards

Chris

[Peter Brydon]

Thanks Chris,

Peter

[Frank Kelley]

Hello Peter,
I would suggest it is quite original too, you must bare in mind that these were made in huge numbers and as such, they are certainly not rare, it is as easy to buy an original as it is to buy a copy, but, they are far too expensive, when you do the number crunching.
Kind regards Frank

Originally Posted by Peter Brydon

The "tale " behind this medal is that it supposedly was a veterans souvenir that he acquired from a German soldier in WW2.

No makers marks anywhere and the quality is poor and it is very light in weight but before consigning it to the duds box I would welcome any members thoughts.

Thanks

P.B.