Original Item: One of a Kind. This was just acquired from a collector at a large military collection. This is a very nice Imperial German WWI Textured steel Cigarette case, with a wonderful Iron Cross 1914 device attached to the lid. There are no maker marking that we can see, but it definitely features high quality German construction. It has a locking latch on the lid, and the blued interior has the original cigarette retaining springs still present and in great shape.

The case itself measures approximately 2 7/8"W x 3 3/4" x 5/8", and the latch and hinge are fully functional. It has a lovely worn look on the exterior, with the original bluing faded, now showing some peppery oxidation.

A wonderful piece of Imperial German WWI Militaria!

There is no more iconic German military award than the Iron Cross. Established by Frederick William in 1813 for gallantry in action, the Eisernes Kreuz (EK) decoration was revived several times for later conflicts. The bulk of the issues are divided into 1st and 2nd class versions, but a rare and superior 'Grand Cross' was also awarded for successful field commanders. During WW1 the lower decoration was freely awarded with 5½ million second class types issued. Originally, the Iron Cross was an award of the Kingdom of Prussia, however given Prussia's pre-eminent place in the German Empire formed in 1871, it became an award for all of Germany.

The basic design of the WW1 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 1914 under a crowned 'W' monogram. Reverse bears an oak leaf cluster with the date of the decoration’s institution, 1813 underneath - the crowned initials of Frederick William are in the top arm above the oak leaf cluster. Suspension for second-class types is by means of a ring, and frequently this ring bears a maker's stamp.

Please examine 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.