Original Items: Only One Available. This is a lovely cased example of a WWII Iron Cross First Class 1939, with a Magnetic core, gently "vaulted" design, and straight pin attachment. It is marked on the back with Präsidialkanzlei des Führers Lieferant (Presidential Chancellery Supplier) number 6 on the pin, which represents maker Fritz Zimmermann of Stuttgart. In general the "vaulted" examples are more desirable, as they have that classic profile everyone loves.

The medal is in very good condition. The silver is retained quite well, with a lovely lightly tarnished patina, showing that it is indeed genuine silver. The black paint on the central core cross is very good, with some crazing and oxidation overall. The paint on the raised Swas and 1939 date is still present, rare to see on the "Vaulted" examples. The rear features a functional pin with a barrel hinge, showing a bit of deformation to the pin itself.

The award comes complete in its original leatherette presentation case, with the Iron Cross emblem in silver on the lid, however it unfortunately looks to have been slightly crushed long ago. It still has a functional hinge on the back, but the front latch is missing, and it shows overall deformation and some splitting on the corners from being crushed. The interior velvet and satin lining is very well retained, with just a bit of wear and discoloration on the bottom.

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. Second class crosses would have a ring at the top where a ring was attached, and had more markings on the back. The first class award, however, was meant to attach directly to the front of the uniform.

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.

A great cased "vaulted" example, ready to add to your collection!

There is no more iconic German military award than the Iron Cross (Eisernes Kreuz, abbreviated EK). The long history of this order began during the Napoleonic Wars. 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 (EK 1813), who was the first person to receive this decoration (posthumous). 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.