Original Item: Only One Available. This is an original German WWII 1939 Iron Cross 2nd Class, or Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse, presented in a particularly attractive single-decoration medal-bar mount. The cross retains the familiar multi-piece appearance of the 1939 award, with a blackened iron center enclosed within a silver-colored frame and finely ribbed inner border. The obverse bears the raised swas. at center and the date 1939 on the lower arm, while the reverse carries the traditional 1813 date commemorating the original institution of the Iron Cross during the Napoleonic Wars.

The decoration is suspended from its correct black, white, and red ribbon, which has been professionally folded over a rectangular metal backing to form a single Ordensspange or medal-bar arrangement. The reverse of the mounting plate retains its horizontal pin, hinge, and catch assembly. This particular configuration illustrates one of the regulation methods by which the complete Iron Cross 2nd Class could be worn rather than simply displaying its ribbon through a uniform buttonhole. No manufacturer marking is visible in the supplied photographs; because part of the suspension assembly is concealed by the mount, no specific maker attribution is offered.

Condition is very good overall, with an appealing naturally aged appearance. The blackened center remains dark and the principal devices and dates are sharply defined, while the surrounding frame has developed a gray-silver patina with scattered surface wear. The ribbon remains strong in color with minor age and handling wear. The reverse metal mounting plate shows noticeably heavier oxidation and finish loss, particularly around the edges and attachment hardware, though the pin and catch assembly remain present.

Historical Context

The Iron Cross is one of the longest-lived and most recognizable German military decorations. It was first instituted by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia on March 10, 1813, during the Wars of Liberation against Napoleonic France. The basic cross pattée form was designed by architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel, and the decoration was deliberately conceived as a relatively austere military award: a dark iron center surrounded by a contrasting metal frame. Unlike many earlier European orders closely associated with aristocratic status, the Iron Cross could be awarded across the military hierarchy for distinguished wartime service.

The decoration was subsequently renewed for major German wars in 1870, 1914, and finally 1939. The Deutsches Historisches Museum notes this succession explicitly, documenting the Iron Cross as having been instituted in 1813 and renewed for the Franco-Prussian War, the First World War, and the Second World War. The retention of the date 1813 on later versions deliberately connected each renewal with the original Prussian decoration and its historical tradition.

The version represented here was formally renewed by decree on September 1, 1939, the opening day of the war in Poland. The official decree, published in the Reichsgesetzblatt, established the wartime hierarchy as the Iron Cross 2nd Class, Iron Cross 1st Class, Knight's Cross, and Grand Cross. It specified that the award was to recognize special bravery before the enemy or outstanding merit in troop leadership, and that possession of the preceding class was required before advancement to the next.

The 1939 regulations deliberately preserved the general size and form of the earlier Iron Cross while changing the central devices to distinguish the new issue. The obverse received the swas. and the date 1939. On the 2nd Class, the traditional commemorative date 1813 appeared on the reverse. This arrangement explains the two very different dates visible on the present example: 1939 identifies the wartime renewal under which the decoration was awarded, while 1813 refers back to the original creation of the Iron Cross more than a century earlier.

The 2nd Class was a ribbon-suspended decoration, unlike the pin-backed Iron Cross 1st Class. The wartime regulations stated that the 2nd Class was worn from a black-white-red ribbon either in the buttonhole or on a medal bar (im Knopfloch oder an der Schnalle). The mounted form seen here therefore represents a specifically authorized method of wear rather than merely a later display arrangement. Medal bars were ordinarily assembled on rigid backing plates by military outfitters or tailors, with the ribbons folded neatly across the front and a horizontal pin system on the reverse permitting the entire assembly to be attached to the uniform.

In everyday field wear, however, recipients did not ordinarily wear the complete hanging cross continuously. The ribbon alone could be passed through the second buttonhole of the service tunic, providing a visible indication of the award without the inconvenience of a suspended decoration during normal duties. The complete medal could instead be worn for more formal occasions, and decorations could be incorporated into an Ordensspange for dress and parade wear. The present single mounted example is an especially straightforward illustration of that latter practice.

The ribbon colors themselves were specific to the 1939 version. Earlier Prussian Iron Cross ribbons traditionally employed black and white, while the renewed wartime decoration used black, white, and red, incorporating the national colors then employed by the German state. On this example those colors remain readily visible in the broad folded ribbon above the cross.

The Iron Cross 2nd Class also occupied an important position within the larger wartime award system. It was the entry grade of the renewed Iron Cross and normally preceded the 1st Class. The 1st Class used essentially the same cross form but was manufactured as a breast badge with a pin or other attachment system rather than being suspended from a ribbon. The subsequently created Knight's Cross occupied a higher position and was worn at the neck. Consequently, although the visual vocabulary of the different grades remained closely related, their mounting and manner of wear immediately distinguished them on the uniform.