Strange Iron Cross First Class

[Brian R]

I recently picked up this Iron Cross (with case) from an Antique dealer in Michigan. She is a dealer who knows very little about militaria - her story is that a man came in one day with a number of U.S. WWII items and this EK. I saw pictures of the cross and the case on the internet and asked her a few questions about them. She answered everything the best she could. The cross looked a little fishy to me but I decided to take the risk as she has given me an inspection period. I was convinced that I needed to see this EK in person to really judge. Also, the case definately looked original in the pictures - I have the case in my posession now and I am postive that it is authentic. The cross is of a three piece construction and has a non-magmetic center. It has a very think coat of black paint on the core - as opposed to being blued. The reverse is the really interesting part. It has been painted and does not have the usual silver-like finish. Now, I have never seen a painted reverse like this and I know this is a pretty good sign that it's a repro. But, I'm still not 100% convinced that it's bad. The non-magnetic center doesn't scare me as I have two brass centered EKs in my collection. The pin structure is pretty convincing and the thick coat of paint to the front is something I have seen before...like the EK1 on the Wehrmacht-Awards.com Iron Cross page. I think the main thing that has me thinking it may still be original is that it came in an authentic case (even though anyone can put a fake cross in a real case to pass it off as original). Basically, I need you guys to straighten me out. Could this cross possibly be real or should I just quit hoping and realize it's junk?

Thanks for your help!!

Brian

[Brian R]

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[Brian R]

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[Brian R]

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[Brian R]

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[Luftm40]

That just looks like a standard frosted reverse to me. Not all of the pics showed up for me, but from what I can see I would say the cross is good

[Ralph A]

An observation:

Wassup with this?...

[Calvin Hall]

Hello Brian,

A few questions...

I am wondering if the core has been repainted? Can you tell if it has? Is there any paint on the beading?

The hinge, pin and catch look OK to me.

I have seen some differences in the finish on the reverse of various original Iron Crosses. I assume these differeces are due to variations in storage, wear and manufactureing methods.

Are you sure that the reverse on this one has been painted? It is difficult to tell from the photo.

Calvin

[Bill V]

Cross

Brain:On the 1939 onthe front,the #1 has like little feet and the other numbers have large balls on the ends, cross looks bad ,front looks repainted pass on it. My opinion Van

[Brian R]

Well, I definately don't think the core has been repainted. I compared the area where the core meets the beading on my other crosses and I really don't see a difference. I have seen this thick paint before - especially on EK2s. The frosting on the back covers the whole area including much of the edge. It's actually hard to make out the line where the front and back frames are joined. On the picture below you can see on the top of the left arm where the paint/frosting didn't cover the whole spot - it's not a scratch, the paint was never there.

Bill V - I understand what you are saying about the date. But, I've seen the difference in the numbers before - I don't neccessarily think that's a bad sign.

Brian

[Brian R]

I've been looking around the internet to see if I could find a core with a similar paint job. Check out this cross from Peter v Lukas. It has the same thick paint job.

http://www.ww-2militaria.com/b/metaw...6mint_desc.htm


Brian

[admcdonald]

Look's good to me.

[rkoy]

hi all

im with flak40 was that ? looks like poor hand finishing? or what? i would pass unless the price was so good it wouldnt hurt to take a chance...rodney

[Brian R]

One More Picture...

Here's one more shot - this time in the case. I think this photo shows the painted core a little better - it doesn't look as sloppy as the the images above (I took the pictures above by a window with no flash - this image was with a flash)

Brian

[Bill M]

--Brian, is there a maker mark on the underside of the pin?