EK 1914 1914 Grand Cross - Opinions Needed Please

[BrianH]

I picked this Grand Cross up last weekend from a museum. It was brought in by a vet a while back, but that's all I know. I know these are HEAVILY faked, but this one looked good enough to my eye that I thought it was worth posting. Let me know what you guys think. If it's real, I'll be doing backflips!

Front

More pics to follow.

BrianH

[BrianH]

Rear:

[BrianH]

Center beading detail:

[BrianH]

1914 Date:

1813 Date:

Crown and "FW" on Rear:

[BrianH]

Eyelet and "800" silver hallmark on rear of cross:

[Biro]

...If it's real, I'll be doing backflips!.....BrianH

Brian.

Relax.

Gymnastics will not be required.

There are no 'real' 1914 grand crosses floating around out there.

This one is also available with swaz.... http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=1046...;hl=grand+cross

Marshall

[Gordon Williamson]

Brian,

Is this definitely of three piece construction ? I know there are a lot of copies of this type around which have been cast using one of the conventionally constructed iron core/silver frame examples as a master. They therefore pick up the 800 silver mark from the original, but are usually in a softer base metal. The overall greyish colour with no apparent difference between the core and frame makes it look like one of these single piece castings, but photos of course can be very deceptive.

[BrianH]

Brian,

Is this definitely of three piece construction ? I know there are a lot of copies of this type around which have been cast using one of the conventionally constructed iron core/silver frame examples as a master. They therefore pick up the 800 silver mark from the original, but are usually in a softer base metal. The overall greyish colour with no apparent difference between the core and frame makes it look like one of these single piece castings, but photos of course can be very deceptive.

Gordon,

It's a bit difficult to tell for sure, since the whole medal has some sort of greenish overspray on it. There are places on the frame where the silver is showing through as you can see in the pictures. I examined the inside edges of the beaded frame, and it does appear to be of three-piece construction, but it's a little hard to tell since some of the paint got in there and it makes it hard to see the little gap between the iron core and the frame.

Also, when I look at the top of the medal, there appears to be a very faint seam between the front and rear frames. This seam extends up into the eyelet, as it should. I can't say for certain if it's a casting or not, but the details are so crisp that I didn't think it was possible that it was a casting.

BrianH

[Stogieman]

Looks like a one-piece cast copy. There's nothing crisp (or accurate per iron Time I) regarding the details.