L/58 "800" marked Souval Grand Cross

[Leroy]

For a certainty, Souval did not have a contract to produce either the Grand Cross or the Ritterkreuz (and higher grades) for the government. It MAY have produced copies at some point during the war, but there has never been any confirmation of that (beyond a statement by W.C. Stump, mentioned in Gordon Williamson's book, that his Uncle had brought back a Souval Grand Cross - shown in the book - as a war souvenir). Still, there is the possibility of something, so all these are worth examining and discussing in the hopes of learning more.

Perhaps Bob Hritz could say something about this, as he dealt directly with Herr Umlauff, manager of Souval.

Interesting to see these pieces.

[Tony T-S]

Yes, totally agree.

[all1knew]

He made lots of cool stuff after the war. They were collectible then (i.e. there was a market or he wouldn't have produced them) and from what I can tell they're collectible now as well. I certainly won't be affording the real version of this in my lifetime but IMO still neat to have!

William Kramer

[Alex W.]

Ah the German Order ... I have all three grades of these rare decorations.
The second grade was definitely the hardest one to find.
Next to the National Prize for Arts and Science decoration this is one of my favorite Souval pieces. It's made of 935 silver and the stones are Saphires.

It might be of interest for the purists that according to Mr. Umlauf (director of the Souval) the company actually had the official authorizatios to produce a wearers copy during the third reich area which was also used for displays at museums etc.
Here is an external link about these dress copies.

Best regards,
Alex

[all1knew]

this is one of my favorite Souval pieces. It's made of 935 silver and the stones are Saphires.

psh, nobody would want to collect one of those "fakes"

[Tony T-S]

Both great examples. The German order is not cheap when you find it either. Again I have an ioffer cheapie, which thankfully is a lot better than the pock marked Grand cross.

[Thomas Durante]

He made lots of cool stuff after the war.

No doubt about it, some really nice pieces shown here.

Tom

[Leroy]

Not to beat a dead horse.....BUT when you see all those early lists (1950's) offering everything under the sun from German dealers, you would do well to think "Wien" instead of "Lüdenscheid".

[Alex W.]

Well spoken, Alex

Souvals have their own collecting field, same with the 57ers. We, who collect these, are happy with our section and spend much time and investigation to find out more about these. They are harder to find than "simple" TR pieces and still have a real history.

And guys, don´t forget that postwar B-frame RK´s with swaz from S&L are well paid by now ....... about 1000$ for a "fake"

Very true, a lot of these pieces are indeed harder to find than their common third reich counterpart.

Best regards,
Alex

[August von Mackensen]

Can only totally agree with you guys!

Matt