Posted on 08/25/2017 3:08:26 PM PDT by 50sDad
I am going through a large collection of stuff my late father had, and in addition to a bunch of his WWII ribbons and such, I found what looks like an Iron Cross with ribbon dated 1815 on one side and 1914 on the other. It's in good condition. I see these on Ebay at up to $1000. Does anyone know someone I can trust to evaluate it?
Google groups might have something or mention of your relic in their archives.
Not google but here's a war relics forum. It looks like it breaks down further for more specificity.
You can just browse through and don't have to sign up in case it's click bait.
Daddy brought home a German medal which appeared to be made of pot metal. On one side was a stahlhelm and the other said, “Winterschlaght im Osten” That is the best spelling I can remember.
I had a German medal collector offer me $10 for it but kept it. Now I have no idea where it is.
I think it is the War Cross, most of Europe used it I have a French Medal from WWI that is the “Iron Cross” as we learned from the Germans.
More than 5 million Iron Crosses were awarded during WWI. They cannot be very rare.
My dad brought home a German sword, German bayonet, and a Walther P38 handgun....
If it is the typical Iron Cross 2nd Class (or “EKII”) of World War One vintage, the front will be dated 1914, the rear will be dated 1813, and the ribbon will be black and white (the WWII EK II has a broad bright red stripe down the center of the ribbon). The average EKII from WWI isn’t particularly valuable. The Germans churned them out in quantity during WWI and some years afterward for veterans. A fair number of German military personnel in WWII had served in WWI and they were entitled to wear the ribbon of the EKII, though the complete medal was only worn for certain dress purposes.
A real WWI EKII will have a magnetic core (the center component of the cross really is iron.)
One of my uncles also brought back a WWI EKII along with the WWII stuff.
Be careful with the P38. IIRC, the decockers on those war era P38s are unreliable and may result in an unintended discharge.
It’s long gone...Dad sold it about 30 years ago...But thanks for the info...
Darn, sounds like our National Defense medal.
Basically I think it was. A local pawn shop had a box full of them. They would sell one and then put another one out.
“My dad brought home a German sword, German bayonet, and a Walther P38 handgun”
I know a guy who brought home an Italian woman and married her!
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