Later War Vaulted EK1s

[DasEiserneKreuz]

I was wondering if I could get some input from you guys on later-war vaulted EK1s. It is commonly understood that vaulted crosses were "banned" around mid-war. Do you guys believe that many makers still continued to produce vaulted crosses later on? And if so, were these crosses likely private purchase pieces rather than award pieces? Any input would be appreciated. Thank you.

[Tiger 1]

The manufacture and sale of vaulted EKIs was halted early 1941 if I remember correctly. Many times you will see a 'vaulted' EKI that left the factory as a standard flat cross. There are several ways to determine if a flat cross has been bent or 'vaulted' after it left the factory. The first is to look at the inside corners of the frame beading. Rarely will the beading follow the curve of the core on a flat cross that has been bent. The inner beading points end up sticking up off the core. The second way is to carefully look at the back of the cross. If the arms of a flat EKI have been bent to 'vault' it, it'll show on the back. The shadows of the creases of where the arms were bent will show up as a faint square between the inner points of the cross. Sometimes it won't be the complete square but only two or three of the lines. You will have to look carefully with the back of the cross angled to a single light source. Genuine factory vaulted crosses wil have a continuous smooth curve on the back side that show no creases where the arms meet the center.

Hope this helps some.

Tony

[EKman]

I have encountered late war iron crosses that appear to have been vaulted from manufacture. However, these seem to be private purchase commission pieces.

[Tiger 1]

TTT for Peter