Original Items: Only One Set Available. This is a very nice collection of German WWII Insignia, which was brought back from the European theater by a USGI after the war was concluded. It includes two medal awards, a belt buckle, some coins, and even a WWII era stamp.

This lovely set includes:

- One German WWII Iron Cross 2nd Class 1939 (Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse 1939) with Ribbon. This fine example is in very good condition, and is maker marked 113 on the hanger ring, for Hermann Aurich of Dresden, Germany.

- One German WWII War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords (Kriegsverdienstkreuz II. Klasse mit Schwertern) with two ribbons. There is no maker mark on this example, but it is in very good condition, with two ribbons installed. There is some light oxidation, probably from being in the leather wallet for so long.

- One German WWII Heer Army Pebbled Aluminum Belt Buckle with Tab. The belt buckle looks to be in worn condition, and does show oxidation in the aluminum on both sides. It may have been a battlefield pickup during the war. The tab is quite shrunken with the stitching completely gone, and markings cannot be read. However the buckle itself is still marked R. S. & S. for Richard Sieper & Söhne of Lüdenscheid, a German city with a large garment accessories industry.

- One Imperial German Silver 1 MARK Coin dated 1914.

- NINE German NSDAP Period Coins, including Four 1 Reichspfennig, Two 5 Reichspfennig, Two 10 Reichspfennig, and one 2 Reichsmark. Condition varies as shown, and dates are from the 30s and 40s.

- One German WWII Stamp stuck on the interior of the wallet.

We do not know if the wallet is German manufacture or not, but it does not look to be of American design or manufacture.

A wonderful totally genuine grouping perfect for the WWII German collector.

Iron Cross (Eisernes Kreuz) 2nd Class:
The Iron Cross (Eisernes Kreuz, abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and NSDAP Germany (1933–1945). It was established by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia in March 1813 backdated to the birthday of his late wife Queen Louise on 10 March 1813 during the Napoleonic Wars (EK 1813). Louise was the first person to receive this decoration (posthumous). The recommissioned Iron Cross was also awarded during the Franco-Prussian War (EK 1870), World War I (EK 1914), and World War II (EK 1939, re-introduced with a swas added in the center).

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.

Please note the edge seam 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 fine example.

War Merit Cross 2nd Class (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.