Randow Cross

[novara]

Hello,

I suppose this must be a copy but just wanted to double check, thanks in advance.

Best,

Andrew

[Brian L.]

Not a copy. But, it may not be a Randow Cross, which is usually silvered bronze rather than gilt and smaller than this cross. There is anecdotal belief that these were deluxe private purchase pieces for Randow officers. But, I don't know of any contemporary proof of this.

[novara]

Thanks. I have seen similar examples with the protruding centrepiece but not in this goldish colour. Any idea about the value?

By the way the cross is 54 mm in size.

[Brian L.]

Thanks. I have seen similar examples with the protruding centrepiece but not in this goldish colour. Any idea about the value?

By the way the cross is 54 mm in size.

Hard to value it because of the question on ID. The official Randow Cross is 46-48 mm.

[Green]

I have an almost simular cross. It is in silver, 48 mm wide and weights 10,3 gramm. Here is also an page from a catalog from Boerger & Co (Beco) from around 1939.

Beco catalog.jpg

IMG_8872.jpg

IMG_8873.jpg

IMG_8874.jpg

IMG_8876.jpg

IMG_8879.jpg

[Green]

I was wonder if there are pictures of oiginal/official Randow crosses? Maybe i'm not looking well, but I can hardly find anything about these crosses!

I hope some on can help me out, I am very interested in these crosses and want to find more about them

[Brian L.]

I was wonder if there are pictures of oiginal/official Randow crosses? Maybe i'm not looking well, but I can hardly find anything about these crosses!

I hope some on can help me out, I am very interested in these crosses and want to find more about them

Yes. You can see one here in post #9.

https://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/for...=763199&page=5

[Green]

Yes. You can see one here in post #9.

https://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/for...=763199&page=5

Thank you
Interesting thread and indeed a difficult to judge cross. As you can see in the catalog, they also made/sold them in 1939-45, as a Maltezer cross, maybe for different organizations?

I think my cross is a Maltezer cross of that period...but than again I am not sure

[Brian L.]

It should be noted that the Randow Cross, along with all Freikorps awards with the exception of the Baltic Cross, Silesian Eagle and Carinthian Cross was banned for wear from 1935 on. Active military personnel and of course veterans can occasionally still be seen in photos wearing these unauthorized awards. Randow continued to wear it as a major in the Wehrmacht, for example. But, by and large, they weren't worn, nor sold anymore. But, the generic black enameled "Malteser Kreuz" because it was used by some university student organizations and perhaps other societies like the Freemasons continued to appear in orders catalogues like the one from Beco that was posted. This has led to a considerable amount of confusion about the two Freikorps uses of this cross: Detachement von Randow (Deutschritter-Kreuz) and Freiwillige Russische Westarmee (Malteser Kreuz). The result has been large numbers of legitimate period crosses that aren't likely Freikorps related. To add to the confusion, there are variations of both the Randow cross and Russian West Army cross that do relate to these two Freikorps units. So, it becomes a bit of a minefield deciding if a cross is one of these variations or a period, but non-military cross for other uses. The link I provided to my thread shows one of the accepted examples of awarded Randow crosses. The following link shows the other accepted award version which was a black lacquered silvered cross.

https://www.ehrenzeichen-orden.de/we...-lackiert.html

My guess about the one posted by Green is that it may be a high quality late 20s, early 30s private purchase variation of the Randow cross. But, it's hard to know exactly.

[Green]

It should be noted that the Randow Cross, along with all Freikorps awards with the exception of the Baltic Cross, Silesian Eagle and Carinthian Cross was banned for wear from 1935 on. Active military personnel and of course veterans can occasionally still be seen in photos wearing these unauthorized awards. Randow continued to wear it as a major in the Wehrmacht, for example. But, by and large, they weren't worn, nor sold anymore. But, the generic black enameled "Malteser Kreuz" because it was used by some university student organizations and perhaps other societies like the Freemasons continued to appear in orders catalogues like the one from Beco that was posted. This has led to a considerable amount of confusion about the two Freikorps uses of this cross: Detachement von Randow (Deutschritter-Kreuz) and Freiwillige Russische Westarmee (Malteser Kreuz). The result has been large numbers of legitimate period crosses that aren't likely Freikorps related. To add to the confusion, there are variations of both the Randow cross and Russian West Army cross that do relate to these two Freikorps units. So, it becomes a bit of a minefield deciding if a cross is one of these variations or a period, but non-military cross for other uses. The link I provided to my thread shows one of the accepted examples of awarded Randow crosses. The following link shows the other accepted award version which was a black lacquered silvered cross.

https://www.ehrenzeichen-orden.de/we...-lackiert.html

My guess about the one posted by Green is that it may be a high quality late 20s, early 30s private purchase variation of the Randow cross. But, it's hard to know exactly.

Very interesting information! Thanks for sharing