Cross of Valour (Krzyz Walecznych) - Exile Types

[Ade73]

Thankyou tomek

[Ade73]

Hello is this a postwar example please? Regards Ade

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Hi Ade, not much is known for certain about these crosses. All available evidence suggests that this cross with non-standard proportion / design is a post war product intended for the veteran market as a “replacement” cross. My collection contains two groupings obtained directly from the families containing both the official government issue Spink made crosses and also one of these crosses, which does support the prevailing consensus among collectors about them. It is also felt that these were manufactured in the UK and distributed through POSK and also veterans organizations. Your cross appears to be on it issue ribbon, which have the distinctive dark red bands and are of a light and flexible fine natural fiber with the safety pin fastening sewn on.

Regards,
Tony

[Ade73]

Thankyou tony I am learning about the many different types of this cross it’s a bit of a minefield many copies around I would like to purchase a wartime spink example,what price are they in the market today,and do you know of any for sale please?

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Hi Ade, welcome to the wonderful world of the Krzyz Walecznych. This thread along with the parallel thread on the pre-war Polish 2nd Republic section of the forum is a very good source of information for you and will help avoid the ever present risk of copies and fakes. If you can read Polish I’d also recommend obtaining a copy of the Grzegorz Krogulec book if you don’t already own one. This is the primary collector reference on the topic. I’m aware of three books in progress on this cross which hopefully will see publishing in the near future. As far as the Spink cross, I do not know of any for sale at the moment. You’ll need to keep your eyes peeled on ebay, allegro, the retailer sites (Historicon, Sarmatia, Odessa) and the periodic auctions on DESA and elsewhere. As far as pricing prepare yourself to drop somewhere around $150 -$250 for one.

Regards,
Tony

[Ade73]

Thankyou Tony who is the manufacturer of the cross of valour with a small dot above the sword one came up for auction in a general sale 3 years ago I placed a bid but it fetched a considerable amount More due to my lack of knowledge on the subject at that time I did however win a separate lot in the same auction that contained the citation for the medal, regards Adrian.

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Hi Adrian,

The cross is catalogued by G. Krogulec as number 19. Maker remains unknown, although the cross was quite certainly manufactured in the UK. It is very closely patterned on the French made cross by Arthus Bertrand, which is number 11 in the Krogulec listing.

Regards,
Tony

[Krakow1]

KW given for exceptionally brave deeds during September 1939 Campaign.
Officer was taken POW, and He listed all the POW Camps that he was in.

[Krakow1]

I got really lucky and found this Hero's Picture with a short bio.

[OZ1981]

Hello everyone,

I am trying to find information about my grandfather's medals. For most of them I did, but this one seems to have many variations, so I hoped you could help me learn about it, as many here seem to be experts on the subject..