Danny70

Hi Richard, Very impressive crosses... and quite a few in there that aren't seen very often. Beautiful photography too. Regards - Danny

Hi Steiner, Looking at it again, I'm not so sure about my earlier opinion of it being a fake. I had a look at the fake schinkel that I thought it matched, and it turns out that it is quite different. (must remember not to post opinions before the first few cups of coffee!!) So now, I'm equally as eager to find out some more about it! Regards - Danny

Hi Steiner, I don't like to be the bearer of bad news, and I may well be wrong (it's just after 6.00 am here & I'm still not really awake!), but IMO this one is a copy of a Schinkel-form cross. The 'lines' and symmetry just don't look right to me. I hope I am wrong. Sorry. Regards - Danny

Micha, Good job! Thanks for the great comparisons. It surprises me that the fakers would go to such trouble to produce a replica Godet core of this quality and then encase it in a frame with such poor quality beading (in relation to the original Godet cross). Regards - Danny

Hi and welcome to GMIC! I echo ALL of the previous comments and want to add the suggestion of building up your own database of downloaded pictures of both real and known fakes. Study these and try to be prepared before any purchase. Most budding collectors (myself included) cannot help but rush in to make their first purchase, so, you have done the correct thing by asking for advice. The afore mentioned '333', '666' & '999' marked fakes, to my knowledge, are not the same as the fakes made by 'Floch'. The Floch fakes have distinctive dates & swastikas (but still very convincing) while the '333's (which are also found in unmarked form) have somewhat better details, they sometimes can be seen with a small frame die flaw on the lower part of the 3 o'clock arm. I have also read suggestions that there is an excellent fake Fritz Zimmermann '6' doing the rounds, but this is still being debated. With so many makers, collecting these crosses is definitely a minefield.... but still very addictive! Good luck, and never be too shy to ask for advice! Regards - Danny

Hi Mark and welcome to GMIC! Generally, I leave my crosses as I found them, as I like the 'worn' look, but sometimes a little help is needed. When a cross is showing rust on the core you need to make sure that it is completely dry and kept in a very dry environment. I have a few crosses that had bits of rust showing and I applied a very, very light coat of oil which I then let dry and then stored the crosses in an airtight container along with some silica gel sachets. The rust eventually turns a black colour. (Unashamed sales pitch!!) To show what I mean, have a look at one (the last one down) of the crosses I have for sale here at the moment. It is an unmarked Klein & Quenzer (65) which was suffering from some rust outbreak on the swastika and date. You can see how the rust has 'blackened'. http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=22390 I hope you are aware of the addictive qualities of these crosses, so be warned, there's no going back now!! Regards - Danny

Richard - Two more beautiful pieces of 'worthless metal'!! That K&Q EK1 is absolutely stunning... they don't come much better than that! Excellent photographs too. Regards - Danny

Congrats Micha, An absolute beauty! and not seen everyday either. - Danny

LOL! I can honestly say that is the first time I have ever been told that! Thanks for the picture Ulsterman. As far as I know, this medal is quite rare, with very few recipients. Regards - Danny

Thanks Ulsterman, Any pictures of it? Here is a link to what I found: http://www.garda.ie/angarda/history4.html

Hi All... A friend of the family passed away recently, he was a holder of the Scott Medal for Bravery, the highest honour for bravery and valour which can be awarded to a member of the Garda S?och?na. I have found this information about the medal on-line, but I cannot find an image of the medal. Can anyone post a link or picture of it? "The one condition attached to the award of the Scott Medal was as follows: "No action, however heroic, will merit the award of the Scott medal unless it takes the shape of an act of personal bravery, performed intelligently in the execution of duty at imminent risk to the life of the doer, and armed with full previous knowledge of the risk involved". The medal is in the form of a Celtic cross, 44mm in diameter. There are five panels on the face. The inscription on the top panel are the words "The Scott Medal" and on the lower panel "For Valor" (note the American influence on the spelling). On the right and left are the eagle and shield of the U.S.A. and the harp and sunburst of Ireland, respectively. The centerpiece is from the Garda Crest with the intertwined letters G.S. - the initials of the words, Garda S?och?na." Thanks in advance, Regards - Danny

Hi All... I thought some of you might be interested to see this - something not encountered everyday... A memorial/death card for: Sean Doyle, 4th Batt. Engineers, I.R.A. Inchicore, Dublin who was shot at Kilmashogue, Co. Dublin on Sunday 19th September, 1920 by the armed forces of the British Crown Aged 19 years. Sorry about the image quality, it was photographed in bad light and heavily compressed to reduce the file-size. Regards - Danny

Thanks guys for all the kind comments, they are very mach appreciated I know that the general rule in collecting is 'quality over quantity', but I just can't resist those worn and battered crosses! ... so if anyone has a maker marked cross that they don't like the look of... contact me ASAP!!!

And finally (for now!) a '123' (Beck, Hassinger & Co., Stra?burg). I have wanted one of these for quite a while, having purchased a cross previously under the assumption that it was a '123' but after debate with other collectors it transpired to be (in general opinion) a '125'. So here is its replacement! This one has no question about it with a clear incused relief maker mark. Again, a rather 'salty' cross but showing lots of character. No paint loss or rust on the core but some spidering. As usual, any help, comments or opinions are greatly appreciated. Regards - Danny

Next up is a '15' (Friedrich Orth, Wien). This one is a lot 'saltier' and has such a heavy patina, the cross is almost completely black. It has all the traits of this maker including the oversized jump ring which is not soldered at the back. It has a very distinctive 3 in the 1813 date.

The '100' again showing obverse and reverse. The maker mark is quite visible on the suspension ring.

Hi All, After seeing Richards beautiful new crosses, I decided to share my latest purchases also. Not as minty as Richards, but I like them this way! First off is a Wachtler & Lange '100' with a beautiful frame with lots of frosting still remaining, unfortunately, the core is showing traces of minor blistering. I was never in a huryy to get one of these crosses as I already have 2 unmarked versions and they are one of the more common makers. However, I was very happy that I got this one as the seller very kindly enclosed a "Visitenkarte" (wartime) from Mr. Horst Joachim Meye, (the original owner of the cross). This was a pleasant surprise as I was unaware of it until after I had paid for the cross. The card (shown below) reads: Horst Joachim Meye Oberleutnant in Einer PZ.-Aufkl.-Abtlg. Forgive my ignorance, but can anyone translate what this is, (I realise that it is his rank, division, company ((or german equivalent)) but does anyone have any more information for me? I have never before had any crosses that had a name connected, so I am totally in the dark on this front.

Hi Oleg, I agree with the previous posts. I'm certainly no expert, but IMO this one looks like a bad fake. Regards - Danny

Congratulations on some great additions to your collection Richard! I especially like the EK2 with the blue packet - it looks to have a great patina. Regards - Danny

Micha, A W&L with a '48' stamp.... that's definitely an unusual one! In my very limited experience, I have never seen an EK2 stamping with those 'italic' style numbers. Are you aware of any other cross with this style of stamping? Regards - Danny

Thanks everyone for all the kind comments. As regards the armband, this was just a quick photo taken when I had all of the crosses out of storage and the armaband was a quick space filler! When I do eventually get them into a display I will be taking Chris's advice and use a more fitting centre-piece. Regards - Danny

And with it's new extended family!

Reverse:

Hi All... I haven't posted anything recently so I decided to show my latest purchase. This is my 50th EKII, so to mark the occasion I decided to treat myself to one of these - a "round 3" variant. This example has a stippled core with a stepped swastika (similar to the swastika on some '13's). It is in very good condition but looks as if it may have been cleaned at some stage. It has all the unusual die flaws and characteristics of other examples I have seen. It is quite a 'thick' and heavy cross and far more substantial than most. Hope you all like it as much as I do! As usual, all opinions and comments are appreciated. Regards - Danny

Thanks for your reply Hunyadi. I have since been told it is a West German M62. Regards - Danny