57?????

[stug]

hi guys , out of my comfort zone on this one. but suspect it may be a 57 type , the pin reminds me of 57 awards . official ? private purchase ? or just plain junk. any thoughts ? regards pavel

[oradour]

With the attached spange it is indeed a 57er piece...however I suspect a late piece that has been aged, the pin, hinge and catch (large later type) are all late looking, is the hinge block open or solid ? is the EK three piece, the core looks to be magnetic, unless of course fake rust has been added ! These crosses with attached spange's are heavily "faked" ...my gut feeling on this piece is that it is a St u L made award post 1968, notice the "o" mark on the 12'o clock arm, that is there on latter crosses from the early 1970's on, and is an indication mark for the attachment of the suspension ring, as the frame was used for both first & second class ...I have not seen this known mark on fakes. I am coming across more and more late produced 57er awards that have been artificially aged, so as to enhance the desirability and confuse collectors as to manufacture date....it only spoils them in my view, as they are collectable in there own right, with original finish ! See if anyone slse has any views/thoughts on it.
Prost ! Steve.

[oradour]

Pavel....Here is a cross (1970'ish ) from my collection that shows similar hardware, pin, hinge (open style) large catch, but has magnetic core, three piece construction and the "o" mark on 12'o clock arm...although this is a 1939 EK I. It is not known precisely when St u L started to use non magnetic cores, but it was sometime in the early to mid 70's.
This cross is IMO the same as yours but differently designed cores.......see how the finish is compared to yours...as it should be.
Prost ! Steve.