EK 1914 Mounted WW1 EK2 with Hindenburg

[Avitas]

Hi there,

I have a mounted 1914 EK2 and Hindenburg cross here for discussion. It is one-piece (I believe) and non-magnetic, made of brass I think. It has a unique paint job with a pebbled finish, exactly like the Bavarian Regimental service medal in the shape of the Iron Cross that I will post in this forum. The ribbon and all threads do not glow under blacklight. I think it is a TR period WW1 EK2 but I'm not sure. Any ideas on this one?

Thanks,

Pat

[Avitas]

Here is the reverse of the crosses.

[Avitas]

Here is the pin and mounting..

[Daniel Murphy]

I do not think it is TR. I would say it is a late war/post war EK and if in brass/bronze, it is in immaculate condition.

Dan Murphy

[Motorhead]

The EK was made shurly in the late 20ies-look at the crown,you can find it also on a few EK1 models(pin and screwbacks).I don't want to say they are rare,but they are not so easy to find.

Micha

[Avitas]

Here is a nice little 1914 ek2 ribbon bar to go with my ek2's. I am not sure what the other ribbon is though, any help is great.

Pat

[Avitas]

The back of the ribbon bar ek2, magnetic..

[Mike K]

Hi,

The second ribbon looks like a faded Meck-Schwerin KVK2 - the center would have been blue initially.

Regards

Mike

[CHRIS W]

Your ribbon bar matches my medal bar.

Chris

[CHRIS W]

reverse

[JensF.]

Are you sure the EK2 is one-piece?

[Avitas]

Hi guys,

Jens, I am 90% sure it is one-piece, as I can see no room between the center and the frame and ist appears to be sealed. It might just be made extremelu well and tight, but I am fairly certain it is a one-piece cross from the 1920's.

Hope that helps,

Pat

[Avitas]

Finally got some better scans of this Ek2, I think it is brass but it may be zinc, as there is a greyish tone to it as well as the brassy tone in person from what little areas the paint has rubbed off. Enjoy the better scans (this was one of the first items I scanned when I joined, so the first scans are really sub-par) and any more comments are welcome.

Thanks again,

Pat

[Avitas]

The pic we've all been waiting for, a close-up of just the EK2!

Cheers,

Pat

[Avitas]

Lastly, the close-up of the back of the ww1 EK2, which is a 20's issue one-piece I believe after some discussion here. Thanks for all the help so far!

Cheers,

Pat

[Tom Y]

From your new scan the frame looks like silver. Have you tried slipping a piece of paper between the frame and the core? Sometimes that'll catch something the eye can't.

[Avitas]

Hi Tom,

I have tried almost everything but there seems to be no areas to stick a piece of paper in between, it is either perfectly made, or possibly solid silver. When I first got it I assumed it was solid silver because where the paint had worn off the colour underneath matched the frame perfectly, and both looked like silver. After researching I just made the assumption that it was brass because they were the most common type of one-piece. I really don't think it is zinc because there is absolutely no zinc rust and the frame does indeed look and tarnish like silver,as well as the high spots that are worn off appear silverish as well. I wonder what the chances of this being solid silver would be?

Cheers and thanks for the help again,

Pat

[Avitas]

My only other thought about this is that maybe the paint job with the pebbled finish sealed off the connecting areas if it is a 3-piece cross. Everything so far points to it being one piece (non-magnetic) of brass (besides the silver frame, a problem if it is supposed to be brass) or possibly solid silver, but if this type of paint finish did seal the cracks between the core and frames then that is the only possible explanation for it being a 3-piece. I thought it was brass but Tom Y is right about the frame, so maybe my original gut feeling is right about it being all silver, but I don't know if any solid silver crosses were made (maybe if it was a replacement being purchased by a wealthy vet in the 20's) at that time. Any help on this mystery is welcomed of course, and I hope we can come to the answer as this is definitely a tough one to pin down!

Cheers,

Pat

[Tom Y]

Give it the "lick test". Copper alloys have a very distinctive taste.

[Avitas]

Can't say it tasted like much, besides a 90 year old piece of metal! I am really confused on this one and hopefully someone can help us out on this one Tom, as I am not quite sure what this is made of, but my gut feeling says solid silver. Are there any known examples of silver EK2's? I could very well be wrong, as my "taste testing" abilities are far from perfect, so any more help is greatly appreciated on this.

Cheers and thanks again Tom,

Pat