EK 1914 copper iron cross ?

[Christian L]

i've never seen such an iron cross before - it looks to be made of some kind of copper ...

but thats sadly all i can say about it!

front:

[Chris Boonzaier]

Ahhhh, the navy diver version.... never seen a real one before ;-)

[ekhunter]

This is a new one for me. Hopefully, someone can I.D. it accurately for you. Great detail, if it is legit, it's a very, very, rare bird.

Edited May 24, 2006 by ekhunter

[coastie]

Can you give some more details? Is it all copper? Silver plated? weight? is it possible to get a side shot?

[Christophe]

Is there a maker or mint mark ?

Ch.

[Tony J]

Looks more like a patinaed bronze or brass example moreso than copper to me.

How thick is this EK?

Tony

[Motorhead]

It's also new to me-very well detailed core,I wouldn't have a problem with it.Probably made in the 20ies

Micha

[Bob Hunter]

Could it be copper cladding?

[Christian L]

its in the hands of a collector friend of mine - here are a little bigger pics of the front and reverse.

he also told me that i his eyes it seems to be casted of copper. its 5.5 mm thick.

[Christian L]

and the reverse:

[Minas Henrik]

Hi!

Lovely looking cross never seen one of this fine and made in copper. Is the navy the only one ho got this copper crosses?

Best Regards Henrik.

[Tony J]

Henrik,

Original Imperial era award Iron Crosses were generally three piece construction of an iron core and silver frame. It didn't matter what branch of the service the soldier or sailor was in. The Iron Cross being a government award was the same for all branches. There was no 'brass' or 'copper' model just for navy personel.

Differences in materials used and the type of construction varied at times in the commercially available 'duplicates'. Some service men bought these in addition to their award pieces or later after the war to replace lost or otherwise missing awards. The quality of the materials can sometimes vary greatly in these non official decorations. Some variants from the standard iron core/silver frame are brass core/silver frame; iron core/ plated brass frame; copper plated iron core/silver frame; one piece iron, plated and painted; one piece brass silvered and painted; two piece brass silvered and painted. There certainly are other variations to the theme. These are just a few that I can verify as I have them in my collection.

Just some thoughts.

Tony

[Daniel Murphy]

I agree that this piece is probably a real spangenstuck from the 20's. That ball suspension has to be a replacement though. I have never seen one of these with that style. Tony, I thought I was the only one who even gave a second looks to these "substandard" variations. I have 6 in all 2 two piece construction, 3 one piece construction and 1 '39 pattern in one piece zinc. Not to mention the plated brass frames, neusilber frames and tin cores.

Dan Murphy

[Tony J]

Tony, I thought I was the only one who even gave a second looks to these "substandard" variations.

Dan Murphy

Dan,

They're all part of the wonderful world of Iron Crosses. The old collector's adage of 'Never say never and never say always' certainly applies to collecting Iron Crosses.

As a point of interest, I saw a similar one in an auction that closed recently. The same ball and noticable thickness to the planchet. I don't believe that it's cast copper as pure copper is hard to cast. Brass or tombak would be my likely guess. The tin and/or zinc added to copper to formulate the various brasses and bronzes make for a better fluidity during casting.

Tony

[joe campbell]

interesting thread!

while one must tread the minefield lightly,

there was SO MUCH MORE poetic license in the

Imperial and Wiemar periods, a lot of talent,

and alot of personal and national pride.

it wouldn't surprise me to find a rather large

number of these "variations", and to find that

they are rather rare.

i personally like this copper cross, and would

find a place for it in my collection.

joe