L15 Kriegsverdienstkreuz mit Schwertern I kl

[Bonecollector]

Hi

Is this a good zinc kvkl? It is marked on the pin L15? Was L15 Otto Schickle or is it Orth? I've heard that there is some controversy with these, why is that? Many thanks

[MAP]

L/15 is Otto Schickle.

As far as I know, Schickle only produced these in Tombak.

[Bonecollector]

Many thanks. Good looking fake, that's a shame.

[Bonecollector]

Are there any other ways to identify this as a fake please? I've read about these L15 crosses, some are said to be good, others fake?

[Adrian]

I believe this to be an original zinc KVK1 by Friedrich Orth.
There is always some confusion regarding these L15 marked crosses.
Orth used the 15 PKZ number and was designated L/14 as it's LDO number.
For whatever reason their PKZ number was often prefixed with an L, not an L/ which has been the cause of debate among collectors since it became noticed.
Added to the confusion, the infamous faker Johannes Floch used parts leftover from Orth to make his wares post war.
However, the cross above does not look like Floch hardware and does match known and accepted pieces by Orth.

[Bonecollector]

Many thanks Adrian, that's a confusing situation. It's quite a nice looking cross. A time machine would be useful at times.

[Bonecollector]

Have they found evidence to support the L15 Orth identity? Apparently there was a book suggesting that these were post war assemblies, was this disproven? Thanks

[Adrian]

There were post war assemblies by Floch.
Floch fakes are widely known but I don't believe this is one.
The reverse set up looks compatible with accepted wartime examples. The oval base plates are good indicators.

[Bonecollector]

Many thanks Adrian they are quite substantial and I was thinking that it's a lot of extra effort to go to to copy something when you could just attach the fittings directly to the back.