Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse Conversion Unknown Maker

[Chrish124]

Hello All,

I typically do not purchase conversions as it is hard to say if they are actual wartime conversions or post war, and often militaria website charge way to much for what is essentially a modified item. In this case however, the price was very reasonable.

The Iron Cross itself had the jump ring removed, and based on the complete lack of solder residue and method of polishing/blending of the area, the person who did this seems to have had some experience with such work. It is not perfect by any means, but far superior to amateur polishing work I have seen on various antiques and firearms and other EK conversions. The Pin/Catch setup functions surprisingly well, with the pin having just the right amount of tension against the catch. Most of the solder is applied in a functional matter and there doesn't seem to be alot of solder applied unintentionally. The catch, is interesting, as it appears very similar to a type used on some S&L EKIs, down to the shear marks.

In terms of the actual Iron Cross, I have not been able to identify the maker positively. The most obvious feature is a very thick, but shallow Swastika with very rounded edges. The date is of a rather generic looking type, unfortunately the reverse 3 is obscured by corrosion. Where the jump ring used to be there is a slight elevation on one frame half, as if the Iron Cross may have had a lug that was filed down.

As mentioned above, the swastika is very recognizable, so I am hopeful that someone may recognize the maker.

Weight: 19.68g
Height: 43.98mm
Width: 44.07
Core: Ferrous Metal
Pin/Catch: Non-Ferrous

[Chrish124]

[rolandsfpr]

This is very interesting piece indeed!

[Nick Hessens]

A W&H cross imo.

Regards,
Nick

[Chrish124]

Thank you for your imput on this, and the other two unknown crosses I posted. The two iron Crosses second class in the other posts look very similar to each other and it makes sense they are the same type of cross, with different levels of wear and aging, from being stored differently.

I am a little confused by the fact that this conversion is also a W&H. The dates and frames do seem to match with the 2 EKIIs, but the swastika is entirely different. It is thick and rounded, and there is no confusing the swastika from the conversion on this post, with the swastika on the other two EKIIS. Additionally, the reverse date on the Converted Iron Cross sits at the bottom of the frame, where the reverse date on the other EKIIs sit higher up.

Did Walther & Henlein have more than one type of core, explaining these differences?