EK1 "800" Pinback

[Darrell]

Hi Imperial guys ... anyone have a pinback maker marked EK1 with a pin attachment device?

[Daniel Murphy]

Darrell,
Not really sure what you are getting at. Do you mean a standard EK1 that is maker marked? A lot of us probably have them. If you mean for sale, you should probably put this in the wanted section.
Dan Murphy

[Darrell]

Darrell,
Not really sure what you are getting at. Do you mean a standard EK1 that is maker marked? A lot of us probably have them. If you mean for sale, you should probably put this in the wanted section.
Dan Murphy

Hi Dan ... I guess it's my crappy question What I have is an "800" maker marked pinback EK1 that is vaulted. It appears to be hand vaulted, but done extremely well as it is quite symetrical and doesn't have alot of typical dents and gouges on the reverse like you normaly see. The beading is very flat to the core (ie.not lifted) near the corners as well.

I plan on posted pics when I get home in a few days ...

[AWwaterhouse]

Hi Dan ... I guess it's my crappy question What I have is an "800" maker marked pinback EK1 that is vaulted. It appears to be hand vaulted, but done extremely well as it is quite symetrical and doesn't have alot of typical dents and gouges on the reverse like you normaly see. The beading is very flat to the core (ie.not lifted) near the corners as well.

I plan on posted pics when I get home in a few days ...

.800 purity is quite common one WW1 EK1's, I have a .999 stamped peice that is unsually heavy compared to the lesser quality pieces.
Without using the digial scales I would say 1/3 more the weight.

[joe campbell]

i would love to see a picture of your.999
1914 EK 1. this one is new to me.

thanks!

joe

[IMPERIAL QUEST]

Hi Dan ... I guess it's my crappy question What I have is an "800" maker marked pinback EK1 that is vaulted. It appears to be hand vaulted, but done extremely well as it is quite symetrical and doesn't have alot of typical dents and gouges on the reverse like you normaly see. The beading is very flat to the core (ie.not lifted) near the corners as well.

I plan on posted pics when I get home in a few days ...

Hi Darrell,
I have one as you are describing, but I believe mine was vaulted by the jeweler. It has "800" stamped in the center of the cross. I will take a few shots over the holiday and post them when I return.

[Darrell]

Ok guys ... I'm home finally

Here are some pictures of this guy ... I've looked at him with a loop and he is amazingly quite symetrical considering he has been vaulted (I assume by the recipient).

It makes a nice pair for my "800" marked screwback

1. Obverse:

[Darrell]

2. Obverse Angle shot showing vaulted shape:

[Darrell]

3. Reverse:

[Darrell]

4. Reverse at an angle:

[Darrell]

5. Finally a bad closeup of the "800" mark (it is November in Canada ):

[CRBeery]

Darrell,
That is a nice EK1. The core detail looks like my square marked example. I am not sure why you think it was vaulted by the recipient. Remember that vaulting was not banned until the TR and even some TR EK1s were vaulted. I have seen a handful (3-4) of TR crosses that were vaulted by the recipient and in all cases the frame had seperated on at least one of the arms and one or two had cracked cores. This is a very nice piece with beautiful patina. The way I like to find them!

[gregM]

That is a nice looking cross. Patina in all the right pieces and just enough ware and tear to give it that "been there-done that" look. ---I agree with
CRBeery, I don't see anything that would make me think it was hand vaulted.
Nice piece

Greg

[Darrell]

Darrell,
That is a nice EK1. The core detail looks like my square marked example. I am not sure why you think it was vaulted by the recipient. Remember that vaulting was not banned until the TR and even some TR EK1s were vaulted. I have seen a handful (3-4) of TR crosses that were vaulted by the recipient and in all cases the frame had seperated on at least one of the arms and one or two had cracked cores. This is a very nice piece with beautiful patina. The way I like to find them!

It just appears there are some marks on the reverse that sure look like "self-vaulting". My vaulted screwback is smooth and exhibits none of these. Then again ... my eyeballs are not what they used to be either

[Daniel Murphy]

This cross appears to me as well, to be a factory vaulted piece. The core is consistent with most of the iron centers I have seen. For this to be a hand vault, it would have to be one of the later pieces with the stamped tin core. These often are easy to spot since the finish is glass smooth, and very different from the slightly textured cast iron. Those as in the TR period crosses were easy to hand vault. To hand vault a iron cored piece would be next to impossible without it cracking. The only way would involve extreme heat (Such as a torch to heat it) and I am sure you would severely damage the cross before you were able to vault it, since the silver would melt before the iron would bend. I have a 1914 ek2 core with all the silver frame missing that was rusted and pitted, basically little or no value. I had seen cracked EK's and just for the heck of it, I decided to see what kind of force it would take to crack it. Using a pointed hardened steel center punch and a hammer on a hard surface, after a number of heavy blows all I was able to do was make a small indentation in the iron core. By 1914 metallurgy had much improved since 1813 and 1870, when breakage was fairly common.
Dan Murphy