1914 bar on 1870 EKII

[Kevin K]

About a month ago I came across this 1870 EKII with the 1914 bar and cant get it out of my mind. I have only collected 1914 crosses so I don't know much about this. Anything stand out as a red flag? Sorry for only the one photo, should have taken many more .

[streptile]

That is (at best) a non-standard repetition clasp for the 1870 EK2.

That piece, or one very like it, is shown in Steve Previtera's book The Iron Time. The cross and the oakleaves are both good. That ensemble would be worth about $2250 if all three parts were award-type originals. But the clasp is either a period duplicate or a fake. As far as I know, no one has been able to say just what it is.

If you are thinking of branching out into 1870 EKs, I would recommend getting the set at a very modest price (maybe $800 for the set) and preparing to live with some doubt about its authenticity, or just trying to find a no-nonsense original set. Looking for one can be rewarding and they're very nice:

IMG_4879.jpg

[joelhall]

Still luck myself that a couple of months ago I lost in an auction for this due to the time lag, and a very poor auctioneer. The buyer got it for £380.