I had a chance to examine a few of the infamous "Latvian" iron crosses at a gun show in Tulsa last weekend. A dealer whose initials are Mike M. had a remarkable mounted collection of 1813-1957 iron crosses. Really a nice collection--had they been real. In all fairness, there were a few possible originals in there, but his collection (for sale) would serve as a great reference for good fakes, in my opinion. I was drawn to two or three EK1's--a 1914, a 1939, and a 1914/spange combo. The frame on the 1914 was a bit wider than usual, but not as wide as a 1939. All were marked 800, except the 1939. When I examined them, I noticed that all had similar manufacturing traits. The cores were extremely detailed--better than most originals--very very crisp as if laser cut or die stamped. The cores on all 3 were also devoid of paint and apparently aged. All were three piece construction, and it was difficult to see the seams. The pin on the 1914 was close enough to the original style. I believe he also had a fake 1870 by the same maker. Had I not seen all three together, and seen these for sale on eBay, I would have been fooled. Once you see one of these Latvian "gems", you'll be able to recognize them, but these could easily fool many collectors. These Latvian crosses are not just an eBay aberration--they are out there on the market.
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Hi Doug
Do you have any pictures of these? -
Yeah, I would like to see some photos as well.
Calvin-Calvin Hall, repressed Appalachian American.
Desperately seeking a Juncker Knights Cross ribbon loop and well used Knights Cross ribbon!!!Comment
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If anyone's got any reference photos on these we could benefit from getting them on here.Comment
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Sorry, no photos. They've been shown several times on this forum, mainly from eBay auctions. You might be able to do an archive search using Latvia, Latvian, etc. They were being sold as originals on eBay by lfburwell, Marchello4444, and Maxutaz, to name a couple. Also, check Epier.Comment
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Good afternoon gentlemen... the thread below will show some of the FAKES that the Latvian's are producing.. As well as the crosses, these people are bringing out HJ honour badges, High seas fleet with diamonds, can't remember the whole series but they seem to be having a go at every badge they can lay their hands on.....http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...threadid=13746Comment
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