Strange Engraved EKI Intak 1922

[hmsbrinmaric]

Hi Everyone,

This piece really puzzles me. I'm not well versed on WWI EK's to start with but I really don't get this one. The piece is vaulted and the core is magnetic. The blakcfinish may have been redone at some point, it's kind of shiny. The finish to the arms is a bit uneven. The engraving on the back is very well done. It is made of three seperate pieces.

My questions are:

1. Is it real?
2. What does the engraving mean? I tried a search for the word Intak but got nothing back.

All help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Keith

[hmsbrinmaric]

pic 2

[hmsbrinmaric]

pic 3

[gregM]

It's not a fake that I am familiar with BUT the quality of this piece
is not what I would like to see in an original.

[Don D.]

I have to agree with Greg on this one. The frame looks really sloppy from the reverse.

[Ammersee]

The cross may not be of high quality but the engraving is. It looks period to me, and it was definitely done with a hammer and chisel. I went to a school in Italy for metal engraving in '84-'85 and have engraved quite a few guns and other items.
Look at both the number "2's" and you can see the chatter marks left by the engraving chisel. Each mark represents one stroke of the hammer.
Lettering is hard to engrave because it has to be perfect. We look at perfect lettering all day long in newspapers, books, etc. and any mistake made would be very noticeable. Script lettering, like on the cross, is a bit easier to hide your mistakes on. Block letters are much more difficult. Ammersee

[hmsbrinmaric]

Thanks guys,

Could this be a 1920's piece? Someone went to alot of trouble to engrave it.
I bought it sveral years ago and pinned it on a tunic and forgot all about the engraving on the back until I took it off the other day.

I had an email from a collector who stated he believes this may be a Freikorps issue piece hence the 1922 date..


I have had some more information that it could be Turkish made for action on the Turkish/Armenian border "Antak" , where Germans were involved fighting the communists.

Thanks again for the opinions,
Keith

[Don D.]

There was no authority to award and EK for actions after the end of the war. The front of the cross looks ok to me, it is the reverse that appears strange. The bottom row of numbers make no sense to me. Anyone else?

[hmsbrinmaric]

Hi Don,
This is the information I found on line:

After 11 November 1918, the term Freikorps (Free Corps) was used for the various paramilitary organizations (to include air and sea units) that sprang up in defeated Germany - which included foreign volunteers from many nations. Later, the Stahlhelm (Steel Helmet) organization members were sometimes associated with the Freikorps but this was on a case-by-case basis rather than as a unit. The Freikorps was the Weimar Republic's main force active during that time, receiving support from the Defence Minister in response to the communist's movements. While not an absolutely complete list, some of the more notable events were:

• 10 to 13 January 1919: Battle of Berlin between the Spartakusbund (Spartacus League) and Police & Freikorps. (Awards may have been made retroactively but are currently unknown.)
• 3 to 10 March 1919: 2nd Battle of Berlin between the Spartakusbund and Police & Freikorps. (At least 3 unspecified decorations awarded - possibly EK II. - but it is unclear for which Spartakusbund action.)
• 14 April 1919: Freikorps suppresses communists in Dresden. (Sachsen awards are suspected to have been awarded rather than the Prussian Iron Cross but little research has been attempted.)
• 18 April 1919: Freikorps suppresses communists in Braunschweig (Brunswick). (No awards have been documented by collectors to date although it is suspected.)
• 27 April to 3 May 1919: Battle for Munich between the communists and Police & Freikorps. (Bavarian awards are suspected to have been awarded rather than the Prussian Iron Cross but little research has been attempted. Awards to Police are known.)
• 10 May 1919: Freikorps suppresses communists in Leipzig on the Baltic Sea. (At least 2 awards to members of the Freikorps have been documented - often mentioned as an award for Upper Silesia by non-Germans, incorrectly.) The Baltic Cross is often attributed to this action.
• 13 to 17 March 1920: A small faction of the Freikorps attempts to overthrow the government in the Kapp Putsch. (No awards are believed to have been made.)
• 13 March to 12 April 1920: Freikorps and German Army battles communists - and the occassional French Army patrol - in the Ruhr River (Düsseldorf, Essen, Dortmund, Mülheim, Hagen, Remscheid) area. (1 award - probably many more - to a member of the Freikorps for battling the communists and 1 is currently suspected for an attack against a French Army patrol. At least 1 to an Army soldier but this one was for battling the communists.)
• Late-March 1920 to late-1923: The French Army occupation troops battle remnants of the Freikorps and some Stahlhelm members in the Ruhr River (Düsseldorf, Neuss, Essen, Oberhausen, Dortmund, Herne, Mülheim, Hagen, Remscheid) area. Many members are captured and sent to French prisons or executed. (1 award for mid-1920, 1 award for late-1920, and 1 award for early-1921 is suspected to members of the Freikorps while 1 award for late-1921 to a member of the Stahlhelm is suspected although none have been verified to date.)
• 21 to 23 May 1921: Battle of St. Annaberg in Upper Silesia between insurgents fighting for Polish independence and the Freikorps. There were some associated actions outside of these dates. (At least 3 awards to members of the Freikorps have been documented, other decorations such as the Order of the Silesian Eagle appear to have been awarded as well.)

I'm not saying that this is what it is, just information I found about the EK's being awarded post war.

On the other hand it may explain the crudeness of this one not being an official award.

Keith

[Mike Kenny]

I have no problems with the cross. To me the core does look repainted from the pics. Re the engraving, it's probably original, although such a heavy style is not something I encountere often. Re the dating, the cross would not have been awarded for Freikorps actions. However, EKs of both grades coutinued to be awarded for many years after 1918. It may simply be that the original owner has inscribed the date he was finally awarded - and subsequently received - his EK1.

Regards
Mike

[Don D.]

Then why the two different dates?

[Mike Kenny]

Then why the two different dates?

I would assume approved in Feb but not actually awarded/received until April.

[Don D.]

Never saw a cross with such a date marking. Usually just one.

[hmsbrinmaric]

Thank you all for the comments. I appreciate them all. It's a real odd piece to say the least.

Keith