And Another 1870 EK II With 25th Jubilee Oak Leaves

[TracA]

Hello,

 

I thought that an example of a nice Type A and a nice Type B core for 1870 EK IIs would satisfy me, but I really should have known better. 

 

I kept my eye on the wonderful cross below, with 25th jubilee oak leaves, for several weeks, and was surprised when it did not sell. Perhaps it was the damage to the frame at the top of the 9h arm or the price (it was a bit high) or both, but on a Sunday morning I finally pulled the trigger. I felt that it kept calling to me.

 

I tried my best to weigh just the cross itself, which after eight instances came in at an average of 17.7g. Dimensions all around are a spot on 42 mm. The core is magnetic and the jump ring is open on the reverse. The 25th jubilee oak leaves are approximately 25 mm wide by 19 mm high. 

 

I tried to identify the oak leaves variant using Komtur’s old post here on GMIC (https://gmic.co.uk/topic/60702-oak-leaf-for-iron-cross-2nd-class-1870/) 

but I cannot see an exact match. The 2 on my oak leaves looks similar to the 2 on Variant 3, but my 2 is slimmer. Another possibility that I considered was Variant 4. The stems on my piece do not seem to match the examples in the thread. VtwinVince rightly asked for a picture of the reverse, but the two round, pointed prongs are bent all of the way onto the ribbon and I am loath to unbend them for fear that they might break.

 

I find myself really drawn to these very detailed Type A cores, on which as Chopperman so eloquently stated on War Relics Forum ‘[y]ou could stub your toe tripping over the sharp edges of the date and "W"’.

 

Enjoy.

 

Obverse:

 

 

Obverse crown close-up:

 

 

 

W and date close-up:

 

 

25th Jubilee Oak Leaves:

 

 

Reverse:

 

 

1813 close-up:

 

Edited 6 hours ago by TracA

[VtwinVince]

Nice one, also my favourite 1870 core.