Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse for review

[Artifact]

My birthday was this week and my family surprised me with this EKII. As it is the first one I have ever owned, I checked out everything I know about them. It has the three piece construction with magnetic core, the ribbon is negative under UV, and to my untrained eyes it seems consistent to the 65 Klein und Quenzer maker mark. My question is for confirmation on its authenticity, as well as a question about the pin on the ribbon. In searching for reference online I didn't see any others with a pin through the ribbon, is it acceptable for this pin to be there, and is it period? My only idea is that it may be from wearing the medal such as in these photos posted by Adrian.

Photos of the EK2 in wear.

If I am off base please let me know, and if the pin is not supposed to be there but the award is still authentic, I will remove it. Thanks in advance for any and all help, you guys really are the best in the business and I'm honored to be a part of this forum.

[rbminis]

It is an original 65.
The pin is period and was likely used to wear this cross.
Ralph.

[Artifact]

Thank you for the reply Ralph. My bad on the title of this thread, I had seen others labeled with the abbreviation and I followed suit, I'll use the full names from now on.

[bsiwula1]

Hello Artifact. Happy belated birthday! I think you are lucky to have such a wonderful family. And also lucky to have a nice original EK2. Yes the LDO #65 means K&Q would be the manufacturer. The pin is hard to say but it looks of period but impossible to determine if it was always with the cross. IMO the cross at some point seen some force applied to the suspension ring as the upper frame looks bent, but it gives it character! Compare yours to MD helmets 65. Best regards.

Brian

[rbminis]

Here are good photos of mine to compare.
Eisernes Kreuz 2nd Klasse, Marked "65" K&Q
Ralph.

[Artifact]

Thank you both for all of the help. Brian, your input is always helpful and your knack for finding comparative photos is unmatched! Ralph, your 65 is actually the kreuz I spent most of my time studying and comparing mine to! It's a lovely piece that I'm so glad you posted.