Bill Garvy

Here's a close-up of the "1939". . .

An alternate view of the clasp. . .

The clasp. . .

The hinge. . .

Maker mark on the pin. . . At first I thought it was an "11", and quite possibly a Gro?mann variant. . .

The reverse. . .

Here's an unusual cross from my collection. Turns out to be an "N" maker marked (on the pin as you will soon see) cross. "N" was apparently an Imperial manufacturer. Regardless, I would love to hear your thoughts, gentlemen. . .

That 2nd Class L/15 is indeed quite rare; it looks as though the core might rattle a bit. Regardless, this one goes on my 2nd Class "wanted" list. . .

Good to see (?) you here, too, Bill! Yes, our Militaria Collector's Forum Iron Cross Databank (shameless plug, I know. . .) is really turning out to be quite a worthwhile endeavor! Here's a link: "M.C.F. Iron Cross Databank".

Here's the reverse. . .

Hello, George! Here's my L/15 in 1st Class for comparison. . . I wish I could do a side by side visual comparison, but I am restricted by the 60kb maximum. Oh, I could post both crosses side by side, but I am afraid they would be too small to draw any meaningful comparison of their die characteristics. Regardless, to my untrained eye they appear quite simliar, from the rim characteristics to the core. What do you gentlemen think?

The maker mark. . .

The reverse. . .

I agree with the assessments made thus far. The L/56 you show is indeed a rare Funcke & Bruninghaus variant. They are more commonly seen in screwback. Here is another for comparison. . . (I can hardly wait to post scans bigger than 60kb!)

Maker mark; note the squared off reinforcing tab on the top arm by the smaller suspension ring. . .

My favorite "1914" issue in 2nd Class would have to be my recently procured "LW". . .

So many crosses, so little time, so little money! My favorite "1939" issue cross in 2nd Class would have to be my maker marked "1", for Deschler & S?hne. . .

This is also my first time seeing such an example. I guess I shall have to add it to my "wants" list as well. Thank you for posting such a rare example for us to see. . .