Post-war Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes L/58 Rudolf Souval

[Martin3]

Hi all,

On request of Adrian: here is my Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, marked L/58 for Rudolf Souval.
I can't say too much about it. I am far from a KC expert because I've always considered them out of reach for my budget, so I was happy enough with this one to fill the gap. It is centered in my EK1 Rikers, and it shows off nicely.
The ribbon is also post-war, but as you can see, someone did his best to convert it into a wearable piece. The wear on the back of the cross also suggests that the cross has been worn. When I got the cross, it had a disaster of a Sprungring. That made me think that this KC was once accompanied by a set of Oak Leafs and after separation, the original Souval Sprungring was lost, and someone bent a piece of wire in the shape of a Sprungring. So I bought a reproduction Sprungring that was offered on Ebay.de and replaced it.
Maybe the cross was worn by a vet who lost his precious cross, or was it used in the movies? I don't know. It ended up in the US, where my mate bought it. He was aware of it not being original, and the seller was also honest about it. My mate died far too young of pancreatic cancer, leaving me this cross. So whatever anyone thinks of Souval reproductions, to me this is a very special item, and it deserves its place in the center of my EK1 case.
I am curious if anyone has more information about Souval's timeline. Is this an early reproduction or a late one? Is it a 'real' fake Souval or is the L/58 mark fake, and am I looking at a fake fake Souval. Sounds funny, but I guess you know what I mean... The overall condition and the somewhat sloppily cut frame make me think of a late copy, but again: I have not yet dug deep into Souval reproductions.

Enjoy the photos, everyone who can appreciate a post-war Souval!

Enjoy your evening and best regards,
Martin

[Martin3]

Few additionals: