Eric Stahlhut

rear of cross

view of the seam on the frame. notice the profile of the backing disc...it looks crooked, but everything is perfectly symmetrical.

a view of the core from an angle; core was quite rusty along the edges of the frame--sorry for the q-tip threads everywhere

i will post 9 pics of dubious quality but hopefully you can get a general idea here's the reverse: large disc, with the retaining nut permanently applied to the disc. very awkward to remove or screw the disc to the cross--no grip

i must say that i'm fairly pleased with this example. it's an interesting piece, and i haven't noticed this type before. however, i'd like your opinions, guys. the obverse frame still has a great deal of the original frosting and laquering (which has yellowed with age), and the flat, non-vaulted magnetic core is pretty interesting in that it's pebbled--perhaps cast?

there are also images where one can see these packets scattered all over the ground during the award event. i've wondered what the protocol was and how they decided to disburse them. was it merely dependent on the day's schedule or how far behind they were on time? or was it dictated by quantity of awardess or even after a particularly important victory?

my opinion is that this is a fairly early piece of 'kitsch'. as chris alludes, this type of item came in all sorts of permutations, but were eventually frowned upon once old adolf started to gain real power. one only has to glance at the photo. he looks relatively young and is wearing an earlier uniform.

and i'm sure women can appreciate my comment just as much as men. menopause is a fact of life. if you can't laugh at life, then you are doomed. anyways, if you have been following this seller's comments and updates on her auction, it's fairly evident that her mood was set by the initial notifications she received from concerned parties. something along the lines of, "leave me alone, you bossy and overbearing men..." p.s. my comment was not meant as an insult. i'm merely stating a possibility.

menopause

i used to have one of these when i was a teenager. picked it up at a flea market and it worked great!! i wonder if it's still around somewhere..

it's an authentic piece; my opinion is that it was improperly cleaned at some point (probably a very long time ago), and as a result the thin finish was removed. i have a very similar example in which the plating is 80% gone...but i think the plating on mine just wore off or faded out over time

oh, i know... i merely presumed that they were all produced in chile. interesting!

is that a chilean order of merit mixed in there on post #8?!

did the guy in back step back out of formation so he could get a pic with the beautiful woman? who are they?

nice silver frame

here it is

it's a piece of costume jewelry

i was pleasantly surprised by the condition of the core on this one. pretty minty! a really really nice example..i'll post pics this weekend

hi dale, the first thing to point out is that this is an austrian award, not a german weimar or freikorps badge. these badges have been heavily reproduced. do you have images of the reverse? many were issued with a clip fastening device

gilles, i presumed you were joking, but wasn't quite sure. thank you for the speculation! kind regards, e

especially when times started to get tough! ;)

because the iron cross awards transcended all social barriers and class levels of germany's society. everyone could win one regardless of social standing.

mike, that was me. i decided to get it in order to round out my blued-core selection. i already have 800, 930, 935, and 'silber' versions, and the mark on this one was very nicely done. hinge looks kinda wonky, tho

all very nice items! what's the reverse of the ek1 look like?