Original Items: Only One Set Available. This is a very nice collection of German WWII Awards and Insignia, which was brought back from the European theater by a USGI after the war was concluded. Many solders traded these on the way back, and would end up with a pocket full of various different collectible items, and this set represents the typical "haul" one might have come back with. It includes nice variety of items, as well as some things that we have rarely seen before!

This lovely set includes:

- One German WWII War Merit Cross 2nd Class without Swords (Kriegsverdienstkreuz II Klasse ohne Schwertern) with Ribbon. The medal still retains almost all of the original gold wash, and we believe it may be made from early war brass alloy, not the zinc used later, which usually would easily lose the wash. The ribbon is in very good shape, showing some staining from the ring and use, and there is some stitching at the end from a past display. We checked the hanger ring, and did not see any maker markings.

- One German WWII Civil Service Faithful Service Medal 2nd Class with ribbon. The second class award for 25 years of service was a silver cross, with a silver wreath and a black enameled swas in the center of the cross. The medal still looks great, showing some oxidation and tarnishing, and the ribbon is in great shape, with a nice installed attachment pin.

- One German WWII Mothers Cross 3rd Class in Bronze, for eligible mothers with 4 or 5 children. Much of the bronze color is very well retained, and the enamel is in very good shape. It still has the original ribbon, however it was cut short and shows age toning.

- One German WWII Reichsarbeitsdienst (National Labor Service or RAD) EM/NCO's Aluminum Belt Buckle (Koppelschloß). The central RAD logo features five sheaves of wheat surrounding a shovel head with an embossed, canted, pebbled, swas on a textured circular central field. This is a stamped pebbled aluminum box buckle with a pebbled base field and a circular, embossed central motif, which is a separate piece, correct for the later pattern. It is in very good condition, and is not maker marked, as we often see, as at this point the maker would usually be on a leather tab, which is absent.

- One German WWII Heer Army Officers/NCO Machine Embroidered Breast Eagle. It has the correct early pattern bottle green backing with silver bullion wire embroidery. It does however show moth damage to the felt backing, and part of the right "wing" is missing.

- One German WWII Era HJ National Youth Organization BeVo Embroidered Sleeve Insignia. This is in very good service used condition, having had the edges folded under and previously installed on a uniform. There is still stitching on the back from when it was installed.

- One German WWII Heer Army Visor Cap EM/NCO Aluminum Eagle Insignia, as attached to the crown of the cap. All three attachment prongs are present but bent.

- One German Pre-WWII Deutsch Judgendfest 1936 HJ National Youth Association rally tinnie.

- One German WWII WHW "Archaeology" Theme donation tinnie, showing purported ancient Germanic Designs with the swas in them.

- Set of TWO German WWII Silver NSDAP uniform buttons by Assmann, attached together by a split ring.

A wonderful totally genuine grouping perfect for the German collector. Ready to research and display!

"Tinnies" (Veranstaltungsabzeichen - Event Badge) are small commemorative pins or medals, acquired when one attended a specific event held in Germany. They were often made of thin stamped metal, bakelite, or even pressed paper. Many of these were given out as part of the WHW (Winterhilfswerk - Winter Help Work) Organization, which often involved Germans traveling quite a bit to help out the war effort.

War Merit Cross (Kriegsverdienstkreuz) with Swords (for Combat)
This was a decoration of NSDAP Germany during the Second World War, which could be awarded to military personnel and civilians alike. By the end of the war it was issued in four degrees, and had a related civil decoration. It was created by Adolf AH in October 1939 as a successor to the non-combatant Iron Cross which was used in earlier wars. The award was graded the same as the Iron Cross: War Merit Cross Second Class, War Merit Cross First Class, and Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross. The award had two variants: with swords given to soldiers for exceptional service "not in direct connection with combat", and without swords for meritorious service to civilians in "furtherance of the war effort". As with the Iron Cross, Recipients had to have the lower grade of the award before getting the next level.

Faithful Civil Service Decoration First Class Cross for 25 Years of Service -  A fullsize frosted silver with an oak leaf wreath and black enameled Swas (hook cross) on original ribbon. The Civil Service Faithful Service Medal (Treudienst-Ehrenzeichen für Beamte Angestellte und Arbeiter im öffentlichen Dienst) was a NSDAP Germany medal of honor that was founded on 30 January 1938, in two grades, to reward civilians and military in the employ of the German public services for long and faithful service.

All officials, employees, and laborers at any level of the public service (local, regional or national) who complete 25 or 40 years service were eligible. The second class award was for 25 years of service was a silver cross, with a silver wreath and a black enameled swas in the center of the cross. The first class award was for 40 years of service was a gold cross, with a gold wreath and a black enameled swas in the center of the cross.

The reverse of both classes was stamped with Für treue Dienste (For faithful Services). in German black letter typeface. The ribbon for the medal is cornflower blue.