Spot on: IMPERIAL FAKES!

[JensF.]

Back with soldered disc:

[JensF.]

Not a real fake but often used as a "Spangenstück" is the Golden Military Merit Cross made by the german firm Göde as so called "Museumskopie". Watch out for any of them, they appear in ebay frequently! I even saw one at Weitzes website for sale as "Spangenstück"!!!

Here is one from ebay. Watch for the very long and strange screwed looking small ring/loop which is part of the cross!

[JensF.]

And the pics from Weitze. Same cheap Göde cross with the strange ring!

[JensF.]

2:

[JensF.]

And a third one now at ebay:

[Carsten126]

I found this Waldorf card on which one can see the difference. Thanks for posting the fake pics. I didnt know that even the EK II is not safe anymore !

[JensF.]

Thanks for this pic. This is the awarded cross. There are "real" Spangenstücke but they all have a soldered small ring.

[Tom Y]

Another early cast fake. Interestingly, it came on what appears to be a piece of early 1813 ribbon.

[Tony & Kaiser]

Next one is the classic polish EK1 copy. It is one-piece and non-magnetic.

Hi Jens, I just bought one of these for 12 Euro to have an example. Ebay item #3252124868 . Its good to have this posted, I see lots of them being sold as originals on ebay Deutschland. Tony

[JensF.]

Here is a website which deals with reproductions of Imperial German medals:

http://yawp.com/3rd-i/staff/abbadon/...k/badges2.html

[Doug See]

1914 Spange

These also come marked Wagner.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=13965

[George Stimson]

Here's another example of the bad one in posts 3, 4, and 5. (It's the only Imperial resident of the Fakes Case!)

[George Stimson]

Reverse.

[JensF.]

Yep, the classic polish copy. Thanks for this contribution.

[Dave Danner]

Here is a website which deals with reproductions of Imperial German medals:

http://yawp.com/3rd-i/staff/abbadon/...k/badges2.html

The Imperial orders there look like the one-sided Göde "museum" copies which pop up from time to time and shouldn't fool anyone.

Here is an Order of the Zähringen Lion. This one-sided example truly is a "wearer's copy". From the front, the detail is pretty good (albeit not as good as an original) and much better than a Göde, but the back gives it away.