schickle RK

[tom hansen]

Here is a L/15 schickle RK. It is certainly an odd cross, starting with the weight- 24.8 grams with the loop. That would make it one of the lightest RKs, but not as light as the early neusilber juncker piece that Detlev has in his catalog.The core is iron and the frame is unmarked with regard to silver content, which I would presume to mean that it is neusilber. It has that brownish patina that neusilber has. The loop is 7.8 mm wide and the wire is 1.55 mm in diameter. The cross has a very shallow, or low riding swaz, which rests below the beading like some of the post war crosses. There is lack of finishing of the frame at the base, where the beading meets the core, giving the impression of vertical "teeth" protruding below the base of the frame. There are flaws on the top of the beading on the upper and lower parts of the 3 oclock arm, but not as pronounced as the flaws on the 3 oclock arm of the S&L pieces. The ring appears slightly bent, as though worn.

[tom hansen]

beading flaws on the 3 oclock arm

[tom hansen]

extension of beading "teeth" below the base of the frame

[tom hansen]

low, shallow swaz

[tom hansen]

bent ring

[tom hansen]

1939

[tom hansen]

1813

[tom hansen]

shallow swaz again

[tom hansen]

AP view

[tom hansen]

reverse

[Dave Kane]

Damn, Tom that nice!

[George Stimson]

Does anybody know when Schickle began manufacturing RKs?

[tom hansen]

Thanks Dave. I think it is an interesting piece. The VERY light weight (with iron core), the low swaz and the lack of finishing of the beading adjacent to the core is interesting. This latter effect does not seem to appear on juncker crosses with poorly finished inner beading. The core is also slightly loose; I do not know if this is typical of other schickle RKs. There is also a "beaded" type of flaw in the gaps of the beading, which is not as pronounced as that seen on the S&L crosses.

George- Nope. Presuming this is a wartime cross, it would have to pre-date 1942 manufacture, given that schickle was not officially awarded a contract to produce RKs and it is "L" stamped.

[George Stimson]

There's no reason to presume it's not a wartime cross, is there?

[tom hansen]

No, there is not any reason to presume it is not a wartime cross. I think it is a wartime cross. However, there is also a presumption that like S&L and K&Q, shickle dies survived the war, so who knows. The cross is nicely put together with the seams barely visible and the quality of the beading is comparable to the other known makers. There is not a hidden agenda here- I know nothing that would lead me to believe it is not a wartime piece.