S&L EK1 & Spange Combo

[Nigel N]

Hi guys, picked this one up nice and cheap!!
Typical EK1 and Spange combination, from S&L.
What i find interesting about these pieces, is when they were made, and the relatively short production period!
There are'nt (as far as i know) any early ones, or any modern ones, they all seem to have been made between the late 60's and early 70's.
They have a magnetic core, and all pretty much the same hardware, thick catch, open hingeblock only the pins vary, and thats more in length than style!!
This one i would date to around 1970, it has the "0" locating mark on the frame to show where to solder the suspension ring when the same frame was used on EK2's!!
Anyway.....have a look
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[Nigel N]

[ATTACH]2244844[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]2244845[/ATTACH]

[Nigel N]

Reverse.......
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[Nigel N]

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Notice black paint behind the numbers!!!

[Nigel N]

Here it is on the left, compared with a slightly earlier late 60's version.....
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-Nigel

[Tom C.]

does the earlier one have a partially smaller frame?
its very odd that they only seem to have been produced mid/late wouldn't have been that many ww1 and ww2 vets then compared to the 50s /60s thanks for sharing this with us Nigel

best regards
tom

[Nigel N]

Hi Tom, i have'nt measured them, but i'd guess they were the same size!!
I think these pieces were more for collectors than vets, otherwise, i'm sure they would have made them earlier??
But why they did'nt carry on making them right thru to the sandblasted frames and cores painted after assembly, like they did with most other pieces, i dont know??
-Nigel

[Mike Yokum]

Some nice, later crosses Nigel.

Every one of these EKI's I've seen with the repeat spangen seem to have rounded edges on the reverse frame. I've always wondered why that is the case, but it seem to be on 100% of them. Any thoughts on that Nigel? Anyone?

Do your other S&L crosses from the same period of manufacture have the rounded edges?

[Nigel N]

Hi Mike!!
Yes the rounded corners can be found on many late 60's/ early 70's crosses....
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[Matthieu]

I don't really like them ..... they surely will not win any beauty contest, that's for sure .

Not the finish one would expect for such a type of combo .....

[Mike Yokum]

Hi Nigel,

I was referring to all of the edges along the backside.

This seems to be a feature on all of these crosses and I've long wondered why it's specific to them all.

[Nigel N]

Hi Mike!
Now i see what you mean, i thought you were referring to the rounded corners!!!
Yes, they do seem to have the feature you mentioned, and i think it is on most if not all of them, but why, i dont know????
-Nigel
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[DavidM]

Could the reason behind the short production span simply be that of timing? In 1964 it was 50 years since the start of WW1, and in 1968 50 years since the finish. This is, of course, pure speculation on my part, but perhaps these were done for those vets who had fought in WW1, won the EK1 and also been awarded the bar in to the EK in WW2? 50th anniversarys are often a cause for celebration and, or rememberance, so why not a surge in demand from vets wanting to show off their medals in a format that they could by then legally wear and display (the spange that is, as the EK from WW1 was always legal)?

As I say, just speculation on my part.

Regards
David

[Nigel N]

Hi David!!
That is a fantastic theory!! Dont know if its right or not, but it would explain a few things!!
S&L made Imperial cored EK1's right from the start of 57 era production, the EK1 and 2 Spangen can also be found right from the earliest production period, but as far as i know, they never put them together in the early days, not until the late 60's at the earliest!
What also puzzled me, was why they did'nt carry on making them for long after that??
They did'nt even produce them again when the collectors market was in full swing in the 80's????
Thanks for your input David, appreciated as always!!!!!!
-Nigel