Ehrenkreuz des Weltkrieges makers mark identification

[Hastriq]

Hi all,

Can anyone identify the makers mark on this Ehrenkreuz des Weltkrieges? I've been poking around but haven't been able to find one like it.



It seems to be a "B" rather than an "8", with the faded remains of a circle around it on the right. Possibly an extremely faint "L" down and to the left of the B, but could be grasping at straws there. Here's a wider shot of the front and back if those help:




All help and expertise appreciated!

[Adrian]

Is there a tiny M in there as well at the bottom of the faint circle?

Assuming there are three letters within the circle it could be Funke & Brüninghaus, Lüdenscheid?

F. B.
L.

[Hastriq]

Possibly? It does look like there were at least three letters in roughly that configuration, each with a period after, so that could fit. It's so faded though that it's virtually impossible to make out what the letter(s) beside the B. would have been. Did Funke & Brüninghaus have their mark in a central circle like that?

[Hastriq]

Looking back at the pictures I see what you mean about the tiny M at the bottom, but that seems to be just a trick of the light in that picture and doesn't really show up when looking at the medal itself. I'm almost certain of the L. though, as well as a third letter with a period to the left of the B. I'll try to take some better pictures with the lighting on a different angle to get them to show up.

[Hastriq]

Ok, got some closer ones that will hopefully help:




Under magnification the L. becomes much clearer, as well as the period and part of a line to the left of the B. Still very very faint, but I've drawn in on this one roughly what I'm seeing.



Does that configuration and lettering line up with other Funke & Brüninghaus examples or any other maker that people have seen?

[Hastriq]

So I've been doing some more digging and I've come across more pictures that seem to line up well with what I'm seeing...




These are both examples from Wilhelm Deumer, Lüdenscheid. The placement and format of the letters looks really similar to what I can see of mine. The only odd thing is that these marks are obviously W.D.L., while the one clear letter on mine seems to very clearly be a B. But I wonder if the same wear/mis-strike that could cause the partial circle could have had that effect on the "D" letter as well. The size and shape of the D in the W.D.L. marks looks really similar to the "B" on mine, so maybe it's possible? Eager to hear everyone's thoughts.

[Adrian]

Yours is definitely a B surely?

[rbminis]

Yours is definitely a B surely?

I agree.
Ralph.

[Hastriq]

Yeah, that’s certainly what I thought as well. And given it’s the one complete letter it’s pretty hard to argue with. The W.D.L. mark just lines up the best I’ve seen from examples so far in terms of font and letter placement, almost too much to be a coincidence. There seem to be a lot of makers from Lüdenscheid, though, so I’d be eager to see any examples people have with similar letter placement that do contain that B.