My new 1st class

[Dansson]

Hello,

I aquired a new great 1st class from my good friend!
It is in my opinion an AWS made by Juncker in WWII (1939 - early 1940) would be my guess becuase of the factory made vaulting.

No documentation like papers or pictures, but I have no reason to doubt what I was told about the owner AFTER the purchase was made. The original owner is supposed to be Major Kurt Zehr and what I know he was as a teacher in a Flak school during world war 2, and I have no other service information about him from ww2 or ww1.

But I hope you like the cross itself as much as I do
I hope it is okay to post here even if a WW2 product (has anyway an AWS 3rd core which is now enough for a ticket to this forum in my opinion )

[Dansson]

the catch

[Dansson]

Don't know what to call it, but here we have a "shiny corner" picture, just like from a toothpaste commercial

[Dansson]

But with the help of my friend, I got now better pictures and the cross! Thanks

[StevenR]

Very nice and original AWS-Junker...IMO is one of the best ek1 1914 for design.
Congrats

Stefano

[Dansson]

Very nice and original AWS-Junker...IMO is one of the best ek1 1914 for design.
Congrats

Stefano

Oh yes I can only fully agree with you!

[morel5000]

Very nice ww2 AWS. I think it has the last core and a proper ww2 Juncker needle?

Oh yes I can only fully agree with you!

Well... Let's agree to disagree. I find other ek1's 1914 have better design, even within the AWS family.. but that is just taste

[Dansson]

Very nice ww2 AWS. I think it has the last core and a proper ww2 Juncker needle?

That's right, the 3rd core type and Juncker pin setup!

but that is just taste

Yes it is just taste, I really like the AWS overall and I have hard to say which type I do like the most within AWS!

[Green]

Congrats......beautiful AWS/Juncker cross
One of my wish list!

[gregM]

Very nice cross Daniel.
I've always liked that particular core design.

[streptile]

Very nice Dansson.

If I'm not mistaken this cross has a Juncker core (adopted from AWS), Juncker pin, Juncker finish and a W&L frame, which was not uncommon for Juncker to use.

In my opinion it's a good WWII-era replacement piece from the first half of WWII. I have one of these as well, although with a different frame.

[Dansson]

Thanks for the comments, most glad that you all like it!

What comes to the cross, why I think it is a 1939/mid 1940 manufactured cross and not 1939-1941. If my mind isn't fooling me around I think it was Dietrich who shared in the crosses of the wehrmacht forum some kind of document or letter which was from the PKZ/LDO sent to the company Steinhauer & Lück, saying it was not anymore allowed to vault the crosses even though the several requests from the customers to get a valuted one. I think this was in the summer of 1940.
My cross is heavily factory vaulted with a full vaulting, the innercorners are not rising and it is made before the assembling of the pin in my opinion

[streptile]

...document or letter which was from the PKZ/LDO sent to the company Steinhauer & Lück, saying it was not anymore allowed to vault the crosses even though the several requests from the customers to get a valuted one. I think this was in the summer of 1940.

Hi Dansson,

Good thinking and good memory.

However, it is clear from the crosses themselves that this prohibition did not apply to 1914 replacement crosses. It's possible to find factory-vaulted EK1s with LDO numbers (e.g. L/12). These were made after the introduction of the LDO, naturally, and therefore after the document to which you refer above.

So the fact that this cross is vaulted does not mean it was made before the summer of 1940 (although it may have been).

[Dansson]

Yikes,

Well looks like in collecting nothing is impossible, certanly not the exceptions!
I thought that this would logically apply for all crosses, something new has now been learnt!

[streptile]

I thought that this would logically apply for all crosses, something new has now been learnt!

Vaulting is not the only evidence we have that WWII-era Iron Cross regulations applied only to 1939 versions.

1914 replacement versions were made throughout the war that flouted these regulations also:

• screwback disc style (single disc mandated on 1939 versions)
• size (44mm mandated for 1939 versions)
• core material (steel mandated for 1939 versions)