Interesting EKII

[ZacharyB]

Sirs,

I was poking through my old collection of Iron Crosses the other day and came across this one that I haven't looked at in a long time.

I love the strange and unusual and this one certainly qualifies. Clearly, it began life as a nice quality EKI screwback, good vaulting, solid construction. Then for some reason, it was decided to convert the EKI into an EKII.

Over the years, I've seen quite a few EKIIs that have been upgraded to EKI with the addition of a pin or clasp attachment. Usually, these appear to be post-war Frankensteins meant to deceive and increase value.

In all my years though, this is the only one I've ever seen like this. Given the quality of the conversion and the general look, I think this was probably an authentic modification done by the owner.

I thought some here might enjoy seeing this one.

Z

[ZacharyB]

Nice silver stamp. And you can see the care given in affixing a loop for the ribbon.

Z

[ZacharyB]

Endless speculation on why this was done. Perhaps a son/nephew had the EKI of a his KIA father/uncle. Upon being awarded the EKII, he wanted to honor his relative and since he didn't merit the EKI himself, he had this one converted for appropriate wear.

Who knows.

Enjoy,

Z

[swjXE]

I love it. Who wouldn't want a vaulted EK2!

[boch_62]

For me strange ...

Regards
Jarek

[Tiger 1]

The joy and wonder of Iron Cross collecting!

Unusual and very nice.
If you ever want to move it please keep me in mind.
Thanks!

Tony

[Dansson]

I remember seeing this one. It used to be a nice Original EK1, but now it's a very interesting EK2 conversion

[ZacharyB]

I remember seeing this one. It used to be a nice Original EK1, but now it's a very interesting EK2 conversion

I think I picked it up quite a while back on Ebay. I noticed it while browsing the Imperial section. It was interesting and I think mine was the one and only bid, so it came fairly cheaply.

As to whose hands it was in before or when the conversion was done, I cannot say.

But I did venture to take a chance on this one because even if it was fiddled with more recently, I recall thinking that the price was worth it just based on the .800 marked cross.

Once in hand though, I really do think that the conversion was done a long time ago. The craftsmanship is there and the age/wear to the converted hardware seems to fit with the visible aging on the rest of the cross. I have no way to prove that statement though, just my gut feeling based on experience.

In any case, I believe I picked it up for less than what one would pay for a plain pin-back EKI, and it fills its role as a curiosity.

Z

P.S. Sorry, I just realized that I posted this piece in Crosses of the "Wehrmacht." Upon browsing futher, perhaps it should have gone in the Imperial Section. I'm still exploring this site, so I apologize for this faux pas.

[Dansson]

P.S. Sorry, I just realized that I posted this piece in Crosses of the "Wehrmacht." Upon browsing futher, perhaps it should have gone in the Imperial Section.

No problem, the next time you do know where to post it. I would have anyway given you the same answer here as I would have there.