Original Items: Only One Available. This is a very nice rare example of a War Merit Cross KvK 1st Class in Silver with swords, with a rare "screw back" attachment. We have only seen these a few times before, and this is definitely lovely example. This wartime example in cast zinc has a lovely aged patina, and looks to probably have originally been bright zinc with a lacquer coating. Over time that wore away, allowing the zinc to oxidize overall. There are still sharp details to contours and pebbles to internal cross arms.

The back of the badge has an indexing pin and round screw back attachment, which still retains the silver very well, as does the base it screws into, so both are made from a different material than the cross itself. The badge is totally non-magnetic, and we checked thoroughly, and were not able to locate any maker markings on the cross or the removable back. This is not uncommon for later produced badges, who usually had the maker marking on the packacing.

A great example of a rare screwback KvKi, ready to research and display!

The War Merit Cross (Kriegsverdienstkreuz) 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.

The ribbon of the War Merit Cross was in red-white-black-white-red; that was, the red and black colors being reversed from the ribbon of the World War II version of the Iron Cross. The ribbon for the War Merit Medal was similar, but with a narrow red vertical red strip in the center of the black field. Soldiers who earned the War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords wore a small crossed-swords device on the ribbon. The War Merit Cross 1st Class was a pin-backed medal worn on the pocket of the tunic (like the Iron Cross 1st Class). The ribbon of the War Merit Cross 2nd Class could be worn like the ribbon of the Iron Cross 2nd Class (through the second buttonhole). Nonetheless combat soldiers tended to hold the War Merit Cross in low regard, referring to its wearers as being in 'Iron Cross Training'. The Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross was a neck decoration and worn the same way as the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross.