Opinions on Cloth EK1

[Daniel Murphy]

Gentlemen,
I picked this up for a song today and believe that it may be real. The Bullion? is all aluminum wire, except for the center details. I also appears to have been sewn on and worn. Can I get your opinions on this?

[Daniel Murphy]

And here is the back,

[tinmantis]

There are members here who have researched these in depth, and let's wait for their conclusions. But for me, this looks very promising. Detlev sold one almost identical, but without your backing. It looks as if constructed by period threads etc (I have my fair share of bullion eagles) and I have my fingers crossed for you
regards
jon

[Daniel Murphy]

Jon,
Thanks for the kind words, I did a search yesterday on the forum and on 2-14-2003 Francois Saez posted one virtually identical, but in much more worn condition. There was no definitive decision reached on his thread. I am only asking for opinions guys, if you have one lets hear it. It does not have to be cast in stone. I suppose that since no one has called it an outright fake that is a good sign?
Dan Murphy

[joe campbell]

dan-

okay.

NOT as an expert...
this is a cloth cross i would look at for a long
time and then would probably purchase. i agree
with jon in terms of fibers and construction, and
i CERTAINLY see why you are interested.

for all the cloth qualification badges, DK's, etc.,
it surprises me that these were not more common.

joe

[Das Reich]

actually, it has been in quite the debate, that this are very hard to authenticate, specially since there were a variety of them. i add mine to the tread. this came with a very nice provenance. this one was pulled from a blood soaked tunic. the medal shows some of it on the back.

[Das Reich]

pic 2

[tinmantis]

here's the Detlev one:
I saw a nice montage a member had done of good/bad ones once, I hope it re-appears
Das Reich, that doesn't seem to show any evidence of being removed....
regards
jon

[Das Reich]

doesnt show well on the pics, thanks to the camera, but the stitches can be seen on the edge of the black area. ill try to get better pics

[bwanek1]

This one looks nearly identical to the one above, but it comes from a seller who also has a LOT of pure crap. Any thoughts on this one?

[Daniel Murphy]

This one looks nearly identical to the one above, but it comes from a seller who also has a LOT of pure crap. Any thoughts on this one?

Bwanek1,

Can I assume you are speaking about the one posted by Das Reich? Can you clarify your statement because "identical to the one above" could be misleading and I might take offense. I am here for opinions on my cross since these are hard to authenticate. I am a serious advanced collector and have no intentions to sell my cross and therefore no intentions to defraud anyone. Please give me your educated opinion of my cross with your reply.
Daniel Murphy

[bwanek1]

Bwanek1,

Can I assume you are speaking about the one posted by Das Reich? Can you clarify your statement because "identical to the one above" could be misleading and I might take offense. I am here for opinions on my cross since these are hard to authenticate. I am a serious advanced collector and have no intentions to sell my cross and therefore no intentions to defraud anyone. Please give me your educated opinion of my cross with your reply.

Daniel Murphy

Daniel,

Perhaps I should have been more specific. Yes, it was the cross posted by Das Reich to which I was referring when I described this one as "nearly identical." I had thought the similarities between the photos of these two spoke for themselves, whereas yours is obviously quite different. I cannot imagine what you might take offense to. What in my post would lead you to believe that I was accusing anyone of intending to defraud someone?!

As for my educated opinion, I haven't one. As you rightly point out, this is a vague area and these are quite difficult to authenticate. Hence, I offered some additional photos simply to spur further discussion. However, if I were to make one observation, it would be to question why the paper backing on the cross similar to the one I posted (Das Reich's not yours) seems to have no holes from stitching which I would have expected for one which was sewn from a tunic. It strikes me as unusual that it would have been stitched on only by the weak black felt and not through the stronger backing.

I look forward to the educational observations of serious advanced collectors such as yourself for enlightenment.

Best regards,
Brad

[Daniel Murphy]

Brad,
I was thought that you meant the other one, but was unsure. I don't like it either, it speaks of the hard sell. The the blood stains, The newspaper with the EK convienently in that piece of paper. The corrosion with no wear and tear, the rounded sides etc. I took no offense, I just wanted my position to be clear to all who read the thread. The serious advanced collector stuff, all true. I have been collecting for 35 years. If you are doing it right, you amass an lot of knowledge and quite a collection. I am however no self proclaimed expert, since no one knows it all. As for Das Reichs cross, he did not ask for an opinion, so I gave him none. Until now.
Dan Murphy

[Das Reich]

i visited this thread a couple of more times afterwards and did not see any follow up so i figured it was a dead one. as per your statement daniel, thanks for your consideration. however, the title of the thread requested opinions. if there are any doubts in any matter i sure definately always welcome a pm or an email if discussing it in the forum causes any discomfort. i dont take offense since there is always some space to learn.

[tinmantis]

DasReich, didn't I see your cross on ebay a few days ago?
regards
jon