EK 1914 Difference:Issue/Private Purchase/Postwar/LDO

[Chris Boonzaier]

I still have a bit of a problem drawing boundries here....

Issue ones are easiest... apparently pinned flatbacks, (Mostly with makers initial?) no probleme here

Private Purchase, It is said that domed crosses are private purchase.... ok, but how do we recognise a flatback private purchase (How often did people buy flatback private purchase crosses?)

Lets say firm XX and YY were making private purchase crosses in 1916.... and still in 1930... there is nothing to say their 1930 crosses will be any different than their 1916 crosses, either in material or quality.... so how do we differentiate between war time private purchase and a post war crosses...

How many crosses are 100% identifyable as Post war... as opposed to private purchase?

Can we say most post war crosses are of lesser quality? Why would they be? The same fine firms were making them.... what would make them drop in quality between the wars?

So, can we say, Non Issue fall into 1) Private purchase, both wartime and postwar where it is not sure when they were made and 2) A handfull of positively identifiable post war...

LDO- We look down on LDO 1914 crosses, but they are technically as official as a WW1 Issue cross if gotten through official channels?

Any thoughts to issue, post war , private purchase etc?

[Motorhead]

Well-flatbacks with maker marks are the "original,awarded" pieces.More or less......We know a lot of these variations from groupings that have popped up over the last centuries.

Then we have the domed pin and screwbacks-pieces like the Meybauer variations,Godet with fangs,the lovely Zimmermanns or the endless families of AWS and Carl Dillenius-just to name a few of these crosses.

Original in the sense of meaning "original,awarded crosses"? No,of course not-they are wearers copies,private purchased during or after the wartime. We know from pictures that these crosses have been worn at uniforms during the war..but they don't count as "original" in the sense of meaning.....

The next group are the crosses of poor quality and bad craftsmanship some of the AWS crosses or the Victoria DRGM.....just all the crosses that look old but really poor and ugly(it's not that simple but it's OK for the moment).The next following group are the pieces from the 20/30ies-mostly made in brass or complete in iron-they look different to all the other groups....the later ones of them will be seen often with hardware we can find also at crosses from the 3rd Reich time line.....and at the end of this list the LDO pieces-still wearers copies-legal but not the same as the copies that have been made during the WW1 wartime...All this is just my point of view as a collector!

Micha

[Chris Boonzaier]

Hi Micha,

What do you think of the thought that the initials on crosses could simply have been for control.... and that full or no names (or simply 800) may be for retail...

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/57129-the-makers-marks/

Best

Chris

[Glenn R]

I've a tendency to think that high quality crosses would surely have continued to be made post war. The good makers would still be in existence and there was surely a continuing market for privately purchased pieces.

Most companies producing badges want them identified as there own so would initials necessarily be quality control or just like any other product, to identify the maker and sell more.

I'd always assumed no maker mark or simple 800 for example to be award pieces. Just my thoughts.

[saschaw]

I''d always assumed no maker mark or simple 800 for example to be award pieces. Just my thoughts.

Officially made and awarded Prussian awards were usually not marked for their silver content, which is why I believe the silver marked ones to be rather private pruchase than award crosses. Exceptions to this are known, of course. This is just in general. And it seems logical, too: no official state supplier would have fooled the state. The GOK guys know what they payd for, but a soldier buying a premium quality real silver cross would have prefered to have "written" on the cross it is real silver...