Eisernes Kreuz 1.Klasse (113) - opinions please

[Maikäfer]

We found this cross when going through Opa's things a while after he passed away. We know he was awarded the EK.1 in 1944 as a Leutnant in Russia, he just never said anything about still having the cross in his possesion. When it was discovered we naturally directly assumed it was his original piece. I am not an awards collector so I am a blind mole on this field, therefore I would like any opinions.

We always assumed it was Opi's cross and therefore we think very highly of it, it being the only war-relic we have from him. But I'm not so sure of it's originality anymore now. On the pin it reads 113, a good soul told me to search this subforum for crosses to compare with - und jetzt haben wir den Salat. It turms out 113 refers to Hermann Aurich from Dresden, but he just made EK 2.Kl! All the 113 EK. 1.Kl. which previously appeared on this forum have been ruled out fake. If true, that would be rather dramatic news. I tried to make as good photos as possible, sorry if they seem like an alien autopsy photo series, but I guess it's the only way to tell if it's a reproduction or not.

Thanks in advance for any opinions.

[Okrach]

Fake. See the fake gallery.

Same typ but 'aged'.

Here is the link:

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...=101955&page=3

[Hank C.]

Looks possible, if you could possibly take straight-on, in focus, properly lighted pictures.
I don't mean to sound rude, but you've got every angle here but a good one...

best,
Hank

[Okrach]

Where is my mistake then, Hank? IMO it is looking EXACTELY as this one (taken from fake gallery):

[Okrach]

catch

[Okrach]

rev

[Hank C.]

Where is my mistake then, Hank? IMO it is looking EXACTELY as this one (taken from fake gallery):

Never said you made a mistake; we were actually typing at the same time.

I said it looks possible, but from the 47 different angles provided, none of them were good enough to say for sure.

best
Hank

[Okrach]

sorry misunderstanding

[Okrach]

To Maikäfer: I would say, Your Opa lost his EK during capture or it was stolen from him. Since the cross looks exactely as the copy cross presented above I would vote he organized himself a substitute.

What is more, '113' (Hermann Aurich, Dresden) doesn't figure on the KNOWN EK I manufacturers' list...

[Peter Wiking]

Fake in my opinion.

Peter

[George Stimson]

Does anybody have any idea as to how long these have been around?

[franki]

Hello,

nice creepy cross
Absolutly not contemporary.

Best Franki

[Maikäfer]

Well, thank you all for the opinions. It was to be expected. The big lesson is: never jump to conclusions or take something for granted, even if the provenance is still so good!

[GELIS44]

A well known fake, like others have said.
Very crude...

[Darrell]

I agree .. not something I'd want in my collection.

However, is it magnetic? It sure looks like it's one piece construction.