WW2 Greek Cross of Valour-Third Grade?

[Shots Dave]

Hi Gents

I have recently acquired the illustrated medal. There appear to be several types of these crosses, some with 2 part crowns,some with holes in the crown etc. There also appear to be differing bars with 1940 on them. Could you give me your opinions on this with regards to WW2 authenticity please, and maybe show different versions you might have with regards to makers etc and highlight any differences.

Cheers

Dave

[laskaris1254]

Hi,

That's an original silver Cross of Valour with 1940 clasp. It's of greek manufacture.

Follows a boxed gold Cross of Valour manufactured by Godet.

Nikos

The crown of the Godet version is hinged and holed.

[Shots Dave]

Thanks for the confirmation of my cross, and sharing the pictures and the information on your Gold Cross Nikos.

Dave

[Igor Ostapenko]

Spink ? 

and two cosses from Godet

[Shots Dave]

Very nice Igor, your first cross(Spinks) is very similar to my cross.  I am afraid my pictures are no where as crisp as all the other others provided. I must congratulate you and Nikos on your photography.

Dave

[giorgos_p]

A cased Gold Cross, made by Zimmermann.

And another Silver Cross made by Godet, with a nice patina.

[giorgos_p]

Although it's been a long time since the thread was originally posted, here's an answer about the different variations of the medal, based on published information and some observations I 've made.

"Greek Medals" of George Stratoudakis show a table with the variations. 8 of the Gold and 6 of the Silver Cross. Not all of them are pictured, though. What can be considered a safe conclusion in my opinion is that both Silver and Gold Crosses made by Zimmermann and Godet are the earlier -and of higher quality - ones, awarded during the 1920s (possibly even 1930s?). Both variations come with a separate crown, made of two hollow, soldered halves. The Godet variation has a "thicker" impression of St. Demetrius on the obverse than the Zimmermann one, and it also has a "." next to "ΑΞΙΑι" on the reverse.

There is another, rare variation of an unknown -and probably foreign- maker, also of high quality and with a separate, but solid crown, the blue of the enamel being of a much lighter shade and the central part being all gold. 

The Spink and the greek-made variations (two of which are attributed to Anagnostopoulos and Kelaidis, the others still being unidentified) are of a single-piece construction, and of considerably lower quality than the earlier ones.

The "1940" clasps were instituted in November 1940, with an Emergency Law that (re)instituted the War Medals. Two types, with a slightly different font exist. Contemporary photographs of the Greek-Italian War, though, show Silver Crosses being awarded by Crown Prince Paul himself, without the clasps. My guess is that the Crosses awarded during 1940/41 were ones of an older stock and that the Greek ones (possibly even the ones made by Spink?) are post-war made, awarded for actions committed during WW2, the Civil War of 1946-1949 and the Korean War, well into the 1950s. Even then, some clearly post-war awarded Crosses do not have a "1940" clasp attached.

[Shots Dave]

Thank you Giorgos for adding your images and providing some very useful information.

Dave

[Shots Dave]

How about this 2nd Class Cross, is it Spink maybe?

[Igor Ostapenko]

Yes, Spink

[Shots Dave]

Thanks for the confirmation Igor.

[Sławek]

Hello everyone.

While in Athens I bought the Silver Cross of Valor. I cannot clearly identify the manufacturer. According to earlier descriptions on this forum, it may be a Zimmermann (separate crown, made of two hollow halves soldered together). But I found a photo of a similar one on the internet, described as a medal from a Greek manufacturer (Grigorakis). I know there were silver plated versions. Is mine, which weighs 14.53 grams without the ribbon, silver?

Best Regards. Sławek

[Sławek]

On 13.04.2023 at 22:35, Sławek said:

Witam wszystkich.

Będąc w Atenach kupiłem Srebrny Krzyż Walecznych. Nie potrafię jednoznacznie określić producenta. Według wcześniejszych opisów na tym forum może to być Zimmermann (oddzielna korona, zrobiona z dwóch pustych połówek zlutowanych razem). Ale znalazłem w internecie zdjęcie podobnego, opisanego jako medal od greckiego producenta (Grigorakis). Wiem, że były wersje posrebrzane. Czy moja, która waży 14,53 grama bez wstążki, jest srebrna?

Pozdrowienia. Sławek