Hi Andrew!
Certainly postwar, but not that early!!!
Its an S&L piece, from the period approx. 64-67, not sure why there is so much rust on the core, maybe poor storage???
But still a nice cross, and quite scarce to find Imperial cores with this pin style!!!
-Nigel
Indeed as Nigel states a nice Imperial EK I from St u L albeit rather salty !!...rather nice in my eyes !
On the subject of Imperial EK's anyone seen this way overpriced example currently on E-Bay Deutschland..... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2518037297...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
A great cross, just a crazy price, notice the St u L double catch....nice !
As the E-Bay auction page will go in time I have saved the images, here we go......
described thus "IRON CROSS 1ST CL. GERMAN KRIEGSMARINE 1914 NAVY EK1 SILVER ALLOY CORE WW1 14.7G" !! priced at $297.49 (approximately £197.99).
Interesting cross, and definitely on the "HIGH" side as far as pricing!
I have purchased from this eBay seller before (located in Los Angeles, CA) and they are legitimate. I have found that if you drop them an email, they will negotiate a price. You can always pick out their pieces, as they are photographed on the same map, and normally on a clear stand.
Well, the Ebay EK is described wrongly, wether explaining to the seller its a 60's cross will make any difference.......?????
Whats also worth pointing out, is that while the Ebay cross (with the scarcer "double" catch) is the earlier, smaller size frame 42mm X 42mm, Andrews appears to be the later, full size variant!!
-Nigel
I agree with what Nigel has said, the price may be negotiable, but down to around £80, what these crosses can generally go for, from £197 is doubtful.......
Prost ! Steve.
I agree with both of your points! I find it interesting that on the eBay EK1 the front looks pretty good, while the back is quite bad. I wonder if at some point "artificial aging" was attempted? Maybe a try to pass it as a WW1 manufactured EK1? It would be nice to have an S&L double catch piece, however no way, at anywhere near that price!
Hi Jeff!
The loss of the silver finish on the backplate and pin on the E-bay cross, look, to me, to be consistent to that found on early, worn S&L Ek's, so for me, no artificial aging, just honest wear??
-Nigel
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