Eric Stahlhut

yep!

back to jonas' cross--hard to upgrade that one given the condition, that's for sure!

i like this one but am too lazy to dig it out

Chris, you did not do a deep enough search on gmic, there have been plenty of these posted in the past...

...I'll take as many of these as I can get in any kind of fastener configuration!

it looks good to me and is certainly in remarkable condition. the hallmark is correct and is the first style--'St' is for stuttgart--

i finally got around to the two that i have, and i lied...the crosses are not "super deluxe" but they are super nice indeed!

the first one with the blue lining is a heavily vaulted .935er (behind pin) and is superb---note the finishing of the pin

here is the one with a purple lining---early flat cast core k.a.g. cross

the badge is interesting, but the engraving confuses me in that breslau was designated wehrkreis VIII rather than wehrkreis III, which is berlin. perhaps different during the weimar era??

p.s. designation 'breslau III' is valid, but not sure if it should be used in conjunction with 'wehrkreis'

it surely has nice toning on the reverse.

it could even be affixed to a paperweight, award plaque, walking stick, or cane. a myriad of possibilities!

out of all of them i think the forestry/hunting suggestions are the most logical 

"Herbert, I insist that you inform them that they must move IMMEDIATELY. That is OUR picnic spot"

oder...den Feind im Ruecken haben...

have you messed around with different fonts?

i have two of these cases, one with light blue interior and one with purple interior. both have "super-deluxe" high quality crosses in them. i will post images this weekend

the fixing system is totally believable, it is found on all kinds of badges from that era (and earlier)

what is the size?

the photographer's retouching of the eyes has made most of them look like they are on drugs!

i don't believe the pin represents a particular freikorps unit per se, rather this is the 2nd type (1933-35) stickpin for an organization representing ex-freikorps fighters and veterans of the post-ww1 baltic conflicts, that went through several name changes and reorganizing between 1921-36

field-repaired examples are fairly common, and are an area of collecting focus in itself. also of interest are 2nd class crosses that have been "upgraded" to 1st class by adding a fastening system to the reverse, as well as crosses that have been converted into jewelry, such as broaches

in my opinion, any cross from any of the above categories should be considered a unique and singular item and should not be altered.

your cross seems to have suffered an unfortunate accident--its hard to determine if the pin was intentionally broken off. i doubt it

if the pin looked like it was intentionally cut, i wouldn't have suggested a replacement. to me, a cross with a sheared pin or catch means that there could have been a specific reason why it was done, and hopefully someday the significance may become clear.

i read somewhere that the british liked to damage the awards of captured germans troops so that they couldn't wear their medals or badges. no idea if that is true, but it wouldn't surprise me if perhaps a small bit of the story was

another for comparison, minus the disc

very original and hard to find with the disc intact. the retailer's stamp on both components is an added bonus. the blued core needs some maintenance. highly desirable cross!

very cool!

other than the snapped pin, the rest of the cross appears to be in fine shape. i would leave it, and if the stars align correctly for you perhaps you will eventually find another square punch example in absolutely deplorable/relic condition for cheap that has an intact pin; then very patiently and very carefully swap it out

as you mentioned, purists would of course immediately decry the alteration of this artifact because you would be forever changing the story of the piece. it depends on your motives, i guess. a replaced (correct) pin would increase the value should you decide to ever part with it

 i tend to leave crosses as found unless mitigation of rust is required, plus i never buy stuff with the intent to resell at a profit. others have far different views/motivations regarding militaria and i'm sure you will read their opinions. or not!

in essence, i agree with your initial post on this topic. there are always at least two ways of looking at it, but the fact remains that these crosses with iron cores won't last forever unless they are taken care of and handled/stored appropriately

first question is: what type of damage?

if it's a rusty core, the application of a drop of odorless lucas gun oil would help to prevent further spreading

if the issue is a missing/damaged piece of reverse hardware such as pin or catch, i'd leave it as is--sometimes the catches were cut off intentionally so that they couldn't be worn again. kinda like the sword blade that was snapped in half intentionally

very interesting-- i'm looking forward to learning more!

i meant that it was likely that an entrepreneur such as fred harvey would have hired mexicans to organize and oversee the tourist jewelry aspect of his operation, since they had so much experience working with silver, or as you mentioned, had the pieces made in mexico and exported to the US. hence the stamps

i have a few pre-ww2 pieces with the swastica incorporated into an indian theme, but i don't think they are silver nor were made by native americans. i think they were good luck charms. i'll post them once i've dug them up

925 silver is sterling silver-which is the minimum standard for mexican silver. mexicans have been mining silver since pre-columbian times, and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if the workshop where this was made was staffed by people of mexican descent

any faint markings on the spinner, such as 'victoria drgm'? sometimes a magnifying glass is needed and sometimes only a few letters can be discernable

it looks like a long time ago someone cleaned the heck out of it, touched up the core, and gave it a coating of some type of protective lacquer that has since yellowed

do the frames show signs of separation and having been neatly resoldered? strong chance of that happening when the spikes were applied

i like it!

what do you think the gent on the left could be wearing on his right pinky finger? looks like by his pose, he meant to show it off as well

RIP Philip Kerr...

yep, same core. the 'online source now unknown' cross is mine--from an old thread on this particular version--another unique feature of these reinforced crosses is the indentation or 'dimple' with centering mark in the middle of the back planchet. almost as if they realized they were out of a screwback component, such as lengths of threaded screwpost, so they whipped up this style as a sturdier than normal alternative. 

one of my first crosses! 

p.s. i still have some of those catalogues from the early 80s. not only were the descriptions rudimentary at best, it would take an eternity to complete the transaction. no internet in those days!! i'll post an image of exactly what alex is talking about regarding the written descriptions, i remember reading each vague description and trying to figure out which was the best one to send off for, lol