Vaulted L/55 Iron Cross 1st Class

[theepiphanynow]

Gentlemen,

A been there, done that attempted De-Nazification Iron Cross 1st Class. Cross is a 3 piece construction and the reverse of the pin is marked L55. It appears that someone tried to remove the swastika at some point and then cover it with paint. Beautiful cross with lots of character. We would love your opinion on this one. As always, thank you for your help. The maker's mark is a bit difficult to make out in the pictures, but in hand it is definitely an L/55 mark.

Thanks,

Jeremiah

[theepiphanynow]

2

2

[theepiphanynow]

3

3

[theepiphanynow]

4

4

[theepiphanynow]

5

5

[theepiphanynow]

6

6

[theepiphanynow]

7

7

[Robert P.]

It looks like a textbook W&L in every way. The maker mark is as should be also.

[theepiphanynow]

Thank You!

Thanks Robert. We appreciate you taking the time to look and respond to our post.

[juoneen]

Vaulting seem added by pounding in from the back center,tool marks are visible IMO not done at the manufacturer, most likely by someone who collected that wanted a vaulted cross, but still a nice cross. I have a ww1 cross thats been vaulted by someone , but more bent at the corners. This one may not have been an atempt to denazify, but possibly damaged by something lying underneath the center while it was being pounded , most likely they gave it a few shots for a while, then turned it , and thats how you got the marks crossing. Looks like they may have realized it , and stopped. This cross would have been a real nice example if left alone instead of the brilliant idea to vault it to make it seem worth more, just my theory.Looks like the hit it 30 to 40 times at least .