Cased Ek1

[John4022]

Hello, I have been wanting to add a nice WW1 first class to my collection for a while now so I was wondering your thoughts on this cased ek1. My main questions are if the cross matches the case and if its a WW1 era manufactured cross. I have been doing some research and I think the maker is Carl Dillenius but I could be wrong. Thanks for looking!

[Chopperman]

The cross is a good ww1 period cross but IMO it is not a CD cross.
It's hard to tell from the very small pictures but the pin is not one
that was used on CD crosses and the core details are different.

Like I said, much larger pictures of the cross would be need to help make
a ID.

I'm not real good with cases but I think it's a good one. It's impossible to tell
if the cross and case were originally together. Very seldom is a case maker marked
and even if it were marked by the case manufacturer, but that would not be the same maker
as the cross. Godet and Werner were a couple exceptions to that. Their cases had their name
on the inner lid.

[John4022]

The cross is a good ww1 period cross but IMO it is not a CD cross.
It's hard to tell from the very small pictures but the pin is not one
that was used on CD crosses and the core details are different.

Like I said, much larger pictures of the cross would be need to help make
a ID.

I'm not real good with cases but I think it's a good one. It's impossible to tell
if the cross and case were originally together. Very seldom is a case maker marked
and even if it were marked by the case manufacturer, but that would not be the same maker
as the cross. Godet and Werner were a couple exceptions to that. Their cases had their name
on the inner lid.

Thanks for the reply. I tried resizing the pics to try and magnify the cross. Im sure the collectors guild would provide more detailed pictures if I asked.

[ww1czechlegion]

First off I'd like to say that it's good to see someone young being involved in this hobby. I do hope that your college studies take first priority, and that you don't do what I did at your age with my first round of college. Back then a semester of college and room and board could be had at ISU in Ames for not much over 1K in price. I was more interested in chasing after this stuff than spending time studying, and sometimes even skipped class to go hunting at shops for a day. Those were the days when a lot of it could still be found in antique shops which I frequented, or the auctions without the internet. There will be an endless supply of what you're looking for coming to market from the vast elderly collector base that is in the process of selling off huge collections over the upcoming years. You may be unaware of that at the moment.

Secondly, I appreciate Greg's wisdom, and his thoughtful words on this cross and the case. Here's my opinion in a nutshell. I personally have nothing against Collector's Guild, or the owner, or the consignors to it. That being said, many of the Imperial German offerings on that venue are grossly overpriced. I personally wouldn't have this cross or case in my collection at their $359 asking price. You and I can easily find a far nicer WW1 Period Made Cross on eBay USA, or eBay Germany for that matter, and at a far cheaper price. You may have to be patient in finding a case on the loose in nice condition on either eBay sites, but I can assure you that a much nicer case can be had than this one. A nicer case usually sells for around 125 Euros on eBay Germany, when they are available. The cases aren't rare, you just have to be patient to acquire a nice one, and one that is more agreeably WW1 period than what the general thoughts are on this one.

I hope this helps.

Best Regards,

Alan

[Anderson]

"There will be an endless supply of what you're looking for coming to market from the vast elderly collector base that is in the process of selling off huge collections over the upcoming years."

A very good point Allan. Many of the collectors today are in that "baby boomer" generation and their children often have no interest in militaria and will likely sell collections when they get the chance. The good news is some really rare stuff that's been out of sight for decades could emerge on the market in the years to come.