57er Deutsche Kreuz in gold

[HARRY THE MOLE]

Another of my 'finds' while enjoying the delights of enforced isolation from the outside world... a very nice and early 'Deutsche Kreuz in gold', christened by Colonel Hans von Luck as... 'Hitler's fried egg'. This award was introduced in 1941 to bridge the gap between the EK1 and the Knights Cross, see my previous post here... 57er Eisernes Kreuz 1st klass

The DKiG was awarded for repeated acts of bravery and/or achievement in combat, the 57er version following very closely the design and construction of the WW2 counterpart. The most obvious difference is the swastika being replaced by an iron Cross with three oak leaves. This is an early ST&L piece, the hinge block being solid and the red ring is enamelled - unlike the later pieces which were painted. My photographs of this piece give the appearance that the wreath is painted gold, but in hand it actually looks like a slightly tarnished gilding. The backing behind the cross appears to be a chrome silver, and the wear to the edges of the cross are not apparent in hand. The dark star burst has a dark copper tint to it. All in all it is a very fine example of a desirable award. Click on images to enlarge.

Cheers,
Steve.

[Nick Hessens]

Really nice acquisitions Steve. Can't wait to see your RKs.

Regards,
Nick

[HARRY THE MOLE]

Really nice acquisitions Steve. Can't wait to see your RKs.

Regards,
Nick

There is only the one, Nick!

[Nick Hessens]

There is only the one, Nick!

There will be more.

[HoundsTooth]

Nice way to get A Deutsches Kreuz without spending serious cash.
Arguably the most beautiful TR award.
I've long though about collecting these '57 myself - due to prices.
nick

[HARRY THE MOLE]

The bargains are still out there Nick. This little beauty, which was sourced in Germany, cost me less than half than what some are going for! These days I am collecting on a limited budget - and sometimes I have to fund it by selling something from my collection. So I rely very mutch on finding bargains. It is time consuming rooting them out, but worth it in the long run.

Cheers,
Steve

[Watchdog]

A very nice piece Steve

I like the '57 awards because of the principle behind them of acknowledging a soldiers previous military experience regardless of the political regime at the time as a distinction between the veteran and the new recruit!

To me these are every bit a part of my collection of German militaria as are WWI, WWII, and DDR items It's all one timeline from The army of the Kaiser to the modern Bundeswehr!

Of course the early pieces are the ones to have because of the quality against the later pieces but also because they are much more likely to have belonged to the men whose experience warranted them rather than the later pieces that have been aimed at the collector market and were never in the same room even as a WWII veteran!

For the sake of comparison and for the benefit of reference here is my almost identical piece. The inner "star" on this one is a lustrous "eggshell" black and unlike the late pieces the red inner ring is enamel, as is yours rather than paint seen on the late pieces.

Again for reference I show it accompanied by it's handsome older brother which is a Gebruder Godet (heavy) marked 21. The two are very close in weight with the Godet at 69g and the '57 at 67g.

If you enlarge the side by side image you will see a hideous "bloom" on the swastika. That is a trick of the light due to tiny wear marks in the enamel reflecting the daylight. It is not visible in hand and I didn't bother to re-photograph as that cross is not the subject of this thread

Good luck with the RK thing, I didn't progess that far but there's still time (I hope)

Regards

Mark

[HARRY THE MOLE]

Very nice Mark... I have taken a shine to the 57er's, but my 'Ritterkreuz' is the one which has caused me the greatest amount of problems! You will understand what I mean when I post it. It's very much a case of: 'Is it a late one? Or is it not as late as some might think?'

Cheers,
Steve

[Nick Hessens]

Also very nice crosses Mark. Your Godet compares well to my Deumers.

[TWS]

Very nice examples gentlemen.
Here's my early cased Steinhauer & Lück made with partial war time parts. It also came with the EK stickpin that the veteran wore to reunions.