EK 1914 Iron Cross 1914

[Yankee]

Dear Gentlemen

Can any member provide some info on the maker of this cross. There are two letters on the ring "we" or "WG" The interior of the case has a dedication of some sort but no maker and the outside is a small black printed crown on a gray background. Thanks for any help

Sincerely

Yankee

[gregM]

"we" is a makers mark that we have seen before. To the best of my knowledge we still do

not know who that is.

BTW--nice cross.

[Yankee]

Glade to know there are others with the same mark. After reading some of the threads amazed that some have gone into the business of making copies of 1914 thought only that was reserved for the 1813 & 1870 issues. I'm not so sure if the case is for the cross. The inscription reads more or less " In remembrance of Germanys great time" which is a bit odd. I don't think war is a great time... Is this normal for cases to read or only with this maker. I do not collect the Iron Cross, received as an extra piece so whatever info is greatly appreciated. Thanks Yankee

[Brian R]

Glade to know there are others with the same mark. After reading some of the threads amazed that some have gone into the business of making copies of 1914 thought only that was reserved for the 1813 & 1870 issues. I'm not so sure if the case is for the cross. The inscription reads more or less " In remembrance of Germanys great time" which is a bit odd. I don't think war is a great time... Is this normal for cases to read or only with this maker. I do not collect the Iron Cross, received as an extra piece so whatever info is greatly appreciated. Thanks Yankee

That exact style of case is rather common along with similar style cases with the same inscription. Here's an example of a similar case with the same inscription...

Edited July 24, 2008 by Brian R

[Brian R]

Heres an example of a "We" EK1.

Edited July 24, 2008 by Brian R

[Yankee]

Heres an example of a "We" EK1.

Hi Brian

really greattttt foto

Many kind thanks for your pictures and explaination. I was fascinated to see an inscription on the Iron Cross itself. Is this the recipient having done this or from his comrades as a remembrance of their esteem?

[Steve campbell]

Yes, this is an inscription seen on these cases. The view of war up until that point was different than what many of us believe today, hence such an inscription. I have not seen a we marked EK2, only EK1s, whicg are not even the most common. Are you sure it says we?

[Yankee]

Yes, this is an inscription seen on these cases. The view of war up until that point was different than what many of us believe today, hence such an inscription. I have not seen a we marked EK2, only EK1s, whicg are not even the most common. Are you sure it says we?

Hi Steve

Good point, back then it was a different mind set I suppose. I used a 10 X loop on the ring and feel fairly certain it is a "we". The W is very clear, letter "e" 95% certain unless it is a small number "8" Were there many makers for the cross? If you can post a scan of the letters we on the 1st class Iron Cross then I can compare the two to be 100% certain.

[joe campbell]

we and We are known MM's.

joe