The facts about L15 iron crosses:
1. After the war, Mr. Floch bought the leftover parts from Orth company, consisting in different parts from the VIenna makers (Orth, Souval, Schenkl), and commissioned a company (unknown name to date) to assembly that parts. On the other hand, Souval continued with their own postwar production till the seventies.
2. That early iron crosses made by Floch from original parts were marked with L15, incuse relief style.
3. The only authorized maker to use the L/15 number was Otto Schickle, and after very few time was disauthorized. His LDO mark was an L/15 inside a box, few examples survived. The Orth numbers were L/14 for private pieces and 15 for awarded pieces.
4. As the original lefover parts ran out, were replaced with newmade Floch parts, with the same marking mark (L15).
5. Finally, the Floch iron crosses were entirely made from new parts, using the very same L15 mark as well as others in the same style like L11, L21, and L73, or unmarked. These pieces are known as Floch fakes, and they are indeed very well made and so dangerous fakes.
Conclusions: L15 marked iron crosses are postwar assembled or postwar made.
If really there is a war made iron cross marked L15 (it may be, nearly nothing is impossible), it will need to be proved.
I'll be glad to learn more about this matter.
1. After the war, Mr. Floch bought the leftover parts from Orth company, consisting in different parts from the VIenna makers (Orth, Souval, Schenkl), and commissioned a company (unknown name to date) to assembly that parts. On the other hand, Souval continued with their own postwar production till the seventies.
2. That early iron crosses made by Floch from original parts were marked with L15, incuse relief style.
3. The only authorized maker to use the L/15 number was Otto Schickle, and after very few time was disauthorized. His LDO mark was an L/15 inside a box, few examples survived. The Orth numbers were L/14 for private pieces and 15 for awarded pieces.
4. As the original lefover parts ran out, were replaced with newmade Floch parts, with the same marking mark (L15).
5. Finally, the Floch iron crosses were entirely made from new parts, using the very same L15 mark as well as others in the same style like L11, L21, and L73, or unmarked. These pieces are known as Floch fakes, and they are indeed very well made and so dangerous fakes.
Conclusions: L15 marked iron crosses are postwar assembled or postwar made.
If really there is a war made iron cross marked L15 (it may be, nearly nothing is impossible), it will need to be proved.
I'll be glad to learn more about this matter.
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