EK 1914 a VERY interesting EK1

[Eric Stahlhut]

doubt this one was ever actually worn. laquer is mirror-like. only a minimal amount of wear is evident on any part of the cross. except for the beading, which looks to have been polished down to the base metal for some reason. anyways, front frame and core are brass. not sure about the rear frame- it could be silver.

Edited February 26, 2009 by Eric Stahlhut

[Eric Stahlhut]

[Eric Stahlhut]

mirror finish to rear frame. however, screw post assembly is silvered brass, as you will see

[Eric Stahlhut]

side view of disc and nut

[Eric Stahlhut]

oops out of sequence

[Eric Stahlhut]

here is a closeup to show relatively minimal wear. i bet i have been the person to fiddle with this the most in the last hour since the 20s! haha

[Eric Stahlhut]

now for the most interesting part: the hallmarks on the disc and backing plate. any theories? export stamp? i never have seen anything like this myself, and was extremely doubtful until i had this cross in my hand. everything checks out, though! aging/toning is commensurate for all of the parts- in fact, it's screaming at me!

[Eric Stahlhut]

this is an interesting oddity, whatever the case may be.

[gregM]

HI Eric,

So you are the one who got this one. I looked at this one as well.

The cross is the typical 1920s style. Most I have seen, have the finish

missing on the the beaded frame and highpoints to the crown. I like

these--The look of the gold tone in addition to the black and silver is nice.

Yours is in great condition. Mine is missing a lot of paint on the core as well.

I do not think the screw device is original to your cross. But still a great score.

[Eric Stahlhut]

hiya greg,

my idea is that this could possibly be a jeweler's upgrade. buy a common mass produced item and glitz it up a bit, then charge a hefty amount more--that's what jewelers do! in any case, it's a beauty and i am happy to have it.

hopefully someone can identify the hallmark. i'm guessing italian or middle europe right off the top of my head.

[Jim R]

hiya greg,

my idea is that this could possibly be a jeweler's upgrade. buy a common mass produced item and glitz it up a bit, then charge a hefty amount more--that's what jewelers do! in any case, it's a beauty and i am happy to have it.

hopefully someone can identify the hallmark. i'm guessing italian or middle europe right off the top of my head.

I have a WWII EKI screwback made by L/19 originally with pen back and then converted to screwback with the same style nut. On mine you can see where the pin was located. Also, L/19 never made screwbacks. Jim

Edited February 27, 2009 by Jim R

[Josef Rietveld]

as addition:

IMHO this hallmark is Latvian and was used between ca. 1920-1939.

It stands for 875/1000 silver.

Source: Jan Divis, Silberstempel aus aller Welt

regrads

josef

[Valgor]

A repairjob?

German forces fought in that area in 1919. The order to withdraw was given after the Treaty of Versailles, signed in June 1919.

In 1919 only a small part of the Freikorps left that area.

Most fought on with the Bermontian forces under Cossack General Pavel Bermont-Avalov.

But by By december 15th 1919, the Bermontians were completely removed from Lithuania.

So that doesn't seem to apply here, if the date 1920 is correct.

But some Baltic germans must have fought in WWI.

The borders of empireal Germany reached just insite Latvia.

If original, i bet the owner of this EK had an interesting life.

as addition:

IMHO this hallmark is Latvian and was used between ca. 1920-1939.

It stands for 875/1000 silver.

Source: Jan Divis, Silberstempel aus aller Welt

regrads

josef

[Eric Stahlhut]

thank you for helping with the chop, josef. much appreciated!

[Motorhead]

That's an interesting one-definitely from the 20ies.The screw/washer are added....my theory-if the hallmark is Latvian the cross could be sold there by a local jeweler who also replaced the attachment parts.But....there's no silber! But for sure an EK that I would add to my collection without any problems!

Micha

[Valgor]

I need to correct my previous post here.

Impereal Germany had a border with latvia, it did not reach into Latvia.