EK 1914 A rare EK 2 1914 with zinc frame

[Solomon]

Hi,

I would like to show you one of the ugliest EKs, I?ve have ever seen

The frame is made of zinc...and the core contains of two pieces

The size is quite normal but the weight is quite low.

The 4 in 1914 is closed...

I guess this one is made after 1918...but I?ve never seen a zinc-frame before...

Does anybody have a similiar iron cross 1914 ???

Greetings

Solomon

Edited October 13, 2006 by Solomon

[Solomon]

another picture...don?t forget your sun-glasses!!!!!

Edited October 13, 2006 by Solomon

[Solomon]

...and the last picture...The EK II on the right is a KO-marked.

[stevo4361]

Hi Solomon,

Interesting cross man, I have never seen one like that. Looking at it I was wondering, is the jump ring soldered directly to the frame on a bump, or a complete ring that is soldered to the top of the frame?

Kind Regards,

Steve

[Scott P]

Is that the one that was on ebay.de?The zinc part caught my eye,but the way the medal ring was attached sorta made me think.Your pics are much better then what was on ebay.Interesting catch!

Scott

[Solomon]

Is that the one that was on ebay.de?The zinc part caught my eye,but the way the medal ring was attached sorta made me think.Your pics are much better then what was on ebay.Interesting catch!

Scott

Yes, it?s from ebay.de...quite cheap, so I couldn?t say no

The wire for the ring is soldered inside the frame...I guess it is silver, it is not magnetic.

I made a better scan...I hope you can see what I mean...

Greetings

Solomon

[joe campbell]

conjecture to some extent, but i believe

these were sheet metal stamped and the

joined, with multiple variations being

possible to find.

they were bargain basement replacements,

perhaps, and interesting in their own right.

thanks for the pix.

joe

[Tony J]

Solomon,

Very, very interesting EKII variant. You may be on to something rare and special.

With all due respect and in the interest of knowledge several questions need to be asked.

While it looks similar to a zinc frame has it been tested by a jeweler or other metalurgist to determine definately that it is zinc?

What does this cross weigh?. You mentioned that it was light.

I'm also curious how one tells if an assembled EK's core is two piece?

I am in no way casting aspessions on this EK by asking these questions. I don't know the answers and I am extremely curious as I have never seen this variant before. I think the answers will be very helpful in learning more about this unusual EKII.

All the best,

Tony

[Solomon]

Hi Tony,

here are some answers:

It is zinc, for sure. It is the same zinc, the late red-cross medals or the prussian cross for war-aid are made of

(the zinc is not like the zinc-badges from WW II).

I have various metals in my collection (gold, silver, iron, tin, zinc or bronze....), the only compareable metal is tin...but this metal is different.

It weight is just 11.6 gram.

The core contains two pieces...there is no doubt. As you can see on my last picture, the frame is damaged where the ring is soldered.

I took a careful look inside the frame and I saw two core-plates.

I know some other ICs which look very similiar to my one (posted on another military-board).

I?m quite sure they came from the same manufacture, but none of the others had a zinc-frame

I hope I helped you...

Greetings

Solomon

[Tony J]

Thank you very much Solomon,

That sure is a very unusual EKII variant. I have a variety of different 1914 ekIIs in my collection but this one is a new one for me. I seem to have developed another space in my collection that needs to be filled.

Thanks again.

All the best,

Tony

[Steve campbell]

Here's a picture of a zinc core EK2 I have. This is the only picture I have right now, pictured with another of my EK's. This one is obviously on the right and is marked on the ring with the square punch mark. It's an interesting piece for sure.

[TerryG]

Interesting thread. I have seen crosses with a zinc core as posted above and these retain a good degree of workmanship and still have a general " look of quality". I must say that I am very much "on the fence" about the 1st one posted at the top of this thread. Assuming these were made because of their low manufacturing cost / availability of materials, why don't we see more of these on the market? Maybe other members have similar ones in their collections and/or can provide more information about these.

[Herman]

And what do you guys think of this iron cross 2nd class 1914?

It is made out of one piece bronze and has a correct ribbon ring and attachment.

I don't have any idea where it is used for. It was very dirty when i got it, so I cleaned it. I coul'dn't find any remains of black and silver paint on it.

I'm sorry for the low quality pictures, but its the best i can do for the moment.

What do you experts think of it?

Herman

Edited January 9, 2012 by Herman

[Herman]

and the reverse compared with others.

[Solomon]

Also an interesting piece...never seen before.

It seems, that the lack of raw material the manufacturers forced to try some other materials ;-)

Best regards

Roman

[saschaw]

It seems, that the lack of raw material the manufacturers forced to try some other materials ;-)

Iron and silver were not to rare, while brass/bronze was. This is a typical weares copy from the 20s to 30s, which aparently lost it's silver and black paint. You see this quite often, at least two of the three variations that are known.

I'm having several of these currently in my shop.

Edited January 10, 2012 by saschaw

[Eric Stahlhut]

here's a one-piece ek1 done entirely (pin,hinge, clasp as well) in brass or bronze

Edited January 10, 2012 by Eric Stahlhut

[Eric Stahlhut]

[dond]

That is an odd pin/catch assembly.....

[saschaw]

The EK1 looks like a fire damage cross... ? So probably due that it lost his silver finish and black paint...

[Herman]

Hello again,

I took some better pictures (I hope) during daylight of my bronze iron cross 2nd class 1914.

By the way, the ek2 is unmarked and is slightly heavier than a normal ek2 1914.

Herman

Edited January 11, 2012 by Herman

[Herman]

and some better comparison shots.

The bright spots at the edges of the beading is some contact damage. This happened ebfore the cleaning and came to the surface after cleaning this ek.

The cleaning process was putting the ek in a small cup with some super soapy cleaning fluid. After a while i took a toothbrush and removed the dirt. It came out like this.

I also really like the pictures of the ek1 Eric Stahlhut posted. Am I close when i say that all (or most) of these bronze ek's 1 and 2nd class were produced after WW1 during the 20s and 30s? And were they painted or was it something else they did to get the different color?

Thanks for the replies.

best regards

Herman

Edited January 11, 2012 by Herman

[Herman]

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[Herman]

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