Original Item: Only One Available. This is an original German WWII Iron Cross 2nd Class 1939, or Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse 1939, complete with its original red, black, and white ribbon and tan paper issue packet. The cross is in very good condition, with crisp frame beading, a strong black painted magnetic core, and a largely bright silver colored frame showing only light age tarnish.

Please note the edge seam on the cross for authentication, which is not present on reproductions. Iron crosses were commonly constructed from an iron core sandwiched in a surrounding two part silver frame, normally the seam of these two silver parts is visible around the edge of the cross as is seen on this example.

The basic design of the WWII crosses is a central Tatzenkreuz (cross pattée) struck from iron and mounted in a silver frame which has a raised crenulated decorative border. The obverse of the cross bears the date 1939 under a "mobile" swas on the black finished core. 1st Class crosses were designed to be attached directly to the front of the uniform, while the 2nd Class crosses have a ring at the top where a ring was attached, and had an additional 1813 date on the painted reverse side of the core.

The obverse of this example bears the standard 1939 design with a central mobile swas above the date:

1939

The matte black finish on the iron core is very well preserved on both sides, showing only light crazing and minor wear to the raised areas. The frame remains crisp and undamaged, with the silver colored finish still mostly bright and only lightly tarnished along portions of the border.

The reverse of the core carries the date:

1813

commemorating the institution of the original Iron Cross during the Napoleonic Wars.

The suspension ring is unmarked, which is encountered on original Iron Cross 2nd Class examples and does not by itself identify a specific maker.

The original ribbon remains present and is still folded in the manner associated with issue or storage, showing little to no apparent use. Its red, black, and white colors remain strong.

The original tan paper packet is also included and shows light period wear, fading, and handling. It is printed in German Black Letter type with:

Eiſernes Kreuz
II. Klaſſe
1939

No maker mark is present on the rear of the packet. The packet does not appear to have been manufactured with a closing flap at the top.

With its well preserved magnetic core, crisp frame, visible construction seam, original folded ribbon, and matching period issue packet, this is a particularly complete example of an Iron Cross 2nd Class 1939. The light frame tarnish, minor core paint crazing, packet fading, and unmarked suspension ring are all fully disclosed. It would fit especially well in an Iron Cross, German WWII decorations, military awards, or advanced Third Reich insignia collection.

There is no more iconic German military award than the Iron Cross. The long history of this order began during the Napoleonic Wars. King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia instituted the “Eisernes Kreuz” (Iron Cross) in March of 1813. The award criteria changed somewhat with time, but generally speaking, Iron Crosses could be awarded for individual acts of bravery, or for leadership achievements on the battlefield. The design was created by a Karl Friedrich Schinkel, his choice of the black cross with silver outline was derived from the heraldic emblem of the Teutonic Knights.

There were a number of different type and grades of Iron Cross awards throughout its long history, but the basic details of the most widely awarded grades: The Iron Cross 1st Class and Iron Cross 2nd Class- remained the same. The first class award was a breast badge, with fittings on the reverse to allow it to be worn on the uniform. These fittings varied widely over time and from maker to maker, and could be a simple in and catch, a screw post and retaining disc, or more elaborate setups. The second class award was suspended from a ribbon, originally in the Prussian colors of black and white, later in the Reich colors of black, red and white.

On the original versions of these crosses, in 1813, the front of the iron core of each grade was bare, and only the second class award had ornamentation: a crown over the initials “FW” representing the King, a sprig of oak leaves, and the date 1813. The core was redesigned in 1870, when the cross was re-instituted during the Franco-Prussian War. The reverse ornamentation on the Iron Cross 2nd Class remained the same, but the front of the core on both grades now bore another crown, a “W” representing Kaiser Wilhelm, and the date 1870. This pattern repeated again when the cross was reinstituted for WWI- everything stayed the same, only the date 1870 was replaced with 1914.

The final reinstitution of the cross came in 1939. For this version, the front of the core for both grades bore a swas and the date 1939. The oak leaves, crown and royal initials were removed from the reverse, with only the date 1813 remaining as a reminder of the legacy of this award. In WWII, hundreds of thousands of Iron Cross First Class awards were bestowed, and four and a half million Iron Cross Second Class awards. Iron Crosses were made by a large number of authorized manufacturers. Some variants of these awards were mass produced in huge numbers. Others were made in very limited quantities.

The Iron Cross was normally a military decoration only, though there were instances of it being awarded to civilians for performing military functions. Two examples of this were civilian test pilots Hanna Reitsch who was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class and 1st Class and Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg, who was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class, for their actions as pilots during World War II.