Eisernes Kreuz 1st Klasse Field Made Brass?

[tony75]

Hello
What are your thoughts on this EK1
Its one -piece construction and not 3-piece.
It appears to be brass? with no markings anywhere.
Field made or complete fantasy junk?
I am thinking junk.
Thank you for your time and help
Tony

[FPerseghetti]

Hey Tony !

Look,

I'm not a EK specialist but I can tell it's bad IMO. Despite that I don't like calling bad itens Junk, unless you paid high on this ... (hope you didn't pay much on this).

What makes me think it's bad is:

-The pin looks totally wrong.

-Not made in three pieces.

-The material is not correct because of it's color.

-Skinny fake swastika.

-Is the center magnetic ?

Thanks !

[Watchdog]

There are genuine brass one piece EKI the reason for which nobody seems to know (naval and U-Boot explanations abound and they are quite entertaining) but this is not one of them. In the first instance the quality is nowhere near EKI standard and in addition the proportions of the individual elements are wrong as is the pin construction.

I don't think you could call this a fantasy piece because brass one piece items do exist. This is just a pretty poor copy. Maybe a "pop culture" piece?

Point to note; a brass cross will never have a magnetic centre. Only a three pice cross with an iron core sandwiched between the frame halves.

Regards

Mark

[rbminis]

There are genuine brass one piece EKI the reason for which nobody seems to know (naval and U-Boot explanations abound and they are quite entertaining) but this is not one of them.
Regards

Mark

I believe even these crosses with brass cores were of three piece construction.
If I remember correctly, Deumer was one of the makers of these crosses.
Ralph.

[rbminis]

The example posted here has been made in some form of foundry, IMO.
It is definitely a cast piece.
Ralph.

[Watchdog]

I believe even these crosses with brass cores were of three piece construction.
If I remember correctly, Deumer was one of the makers of these crosses.
Ralph.

They do seem to be shrouded in mystery but the one piece brass EKI does exist and Schickle is a maker "blamed" (sorry, credited) with these by some but I believe this is unconfirmed. There are a few of the "Schickle" type which are one one piece and are none magnetic. However, this probably moot because the cross here is a total fake.

Regards

Mark

[rbminis]

but the one piece brass EKI does exist.

Regards

Mark

Mark, could you please find a reference for this, or post a photo?
I have not been able to yet. I can find one piece, and I can find brass core, but not one piece brass.
Thanks,
Ralph.

[Watchdog]

Mark, could you please find a reference for this, or post a photo?
I have not been able to yet. I can find one piece, and I can find brass core, but not one piece brass.
Thanks,
Ralph.

Hi Ralph,

I think the best thing to do is to refer to the GCA forum for these two examples;

GCA Forum | Access denied.

GCA Forum | Access denied.

I have been a member there for many years and don't recall the experts there being wrong yet.
For those who do not know of it (I expect many here do and I know some are also members) GCA is dedicated purely to Third Reich (and closely associated) badges and awards and I recommend it as a great companion to WRF.

As I say, the brass one piece seems very mysterious but is widely accepted as one of the "unknown" maker types.

Regards

Mark

[rbminis]

Thanks for the links Mark.
I too have been a member there for a number of years and I do trust the opinions of the majority of the members.
I am just not that studied up on EKs.
However, the one posted here is not in the same class as those.
Ralph.

[Watchdog]

Thanks for the links Mark.
I too have been a member there for a number of years and I do trust the opinions of the majority of the members.
I am just not that studied up on EKs.
However, the one posted here is not in the same class as those.
Ralph.

Absolutely, my point exactly

Regards

Mark