EKII marked 800

[hagwalther]

Just a thought but, the mark to me looks like it was added after the cross was assembled as the metal frame seems to have been 'squashed' a little.

If the frame was to have been orginally marked in this way I would have expected it to be done before assembly with the frame against a solid base.

This would have prevented the 'squashed' metal appearance and would have given a crisper finish.

Regards ...

[JerryW]

Heres an EK2 with an 800 mark.

[Chet Sowersby]

Jerry,
It may be the picture but this one does not look all that much different from the one leading the thread.

Chet

[EKman]

The two crosses look to be marked in a similar fashion. We have a couple of possibilities here, either we are dealing with a fairly rare varient (private purchase or whatever) of the 1939 EKII we all know and love, but then there is the issue, if these are private purchase or a manufacturers varient, why are the stamps sloppy and damaging to the overall frame. Option two, we have a faker out there who is taking otherwise good EKIIs and stamping them for silver content. I think to really solve this we would need to have one of these 800 EKIIs chemically tested to see if it really is 800 silver, if not , we obviously have a fake mark, if it is silver, that lends credibility to the stamp. However, barring this type of investigation, I would stay away from these and take them for what they look like--someone's (maybe the same person) attempt to increase the value of some EKs.

[JerryW]

Unfortunately my camera and close-up skills are not the best. While the frame has been tweaked, the stamp is a very clear and well defined 800. Additionally, the cross "feels" like many of the 800 WW1 EKs I own. The frame reflects like the 800 marked EKs and has that smooth feel to the edges. One last note is the the edges of the cross have been finished much better than most (if not all) of the other crosses I own. There are no file marks and it is difficult to see any joints between the two pieces of frame.
Out of curiosity, can a jeweler test the piece to check for silver content without detriment to the cross? It would be interesting to know for sure...

[tinmantis]

I think someone's having fun with us!
here's the 2 mentioned eks as a comparison pic...
regards
jon

[Jim Baker]

They are interesting. The stamps are also different, look at the zero's.

Jerry, how long have you had yours and where did you get it?? It sure seems like I have heard of these before somewhere, and it's bugging the hell out of me.

[EKman]

Tinmantis, thanks for the comparison photo. It is obvious that these two crosses did not come from the same maker, I think that that lends credence to the view that their marks are not genuine. If we had two crosses with identical beading and loops, with this 800 mark, I would lean more closely to calling them an orriginal variant.

[JerryW]

I have had the cross for about a year and a half. I picked it up from Carsten Baldes website. It also appears to have 77 stamped into the suspension ring.

[Jim Baker]

Hey Jerry,

Did the guy you bought it from offer any explanation? I'm really curious about these. I mean it's no big deal, but it's one of those things you get into your head and can't remember..... I know I have heard (or seen) of these before, and it was a while back. Just can't remember where. They may be queer as a three dollar bill, but why would somebody with enough knowledge of awards (to know about a silver content mark) screw up a good EKII.

[JerryW]

P-man,

I didn't ask for an explanation about the mark. The cross looks good and I have no issues with its authenticity. A while back there was a thread with a group that had an 800 marked EK2. I will attempt to find it.

Here is another thread I started about this cross
dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30962

Jerry

[Jim Baker]

Thanks Jerry,

That was interesting. Now I wish I would have picked that one up.

[Rendsburg]

Me too.

Otto