Overstock Deal Original German Wwi - Wwii Award And Insignia Grouping With 1914 Ekii, Kvk Ii, Eastern Medal, And More - 10 Items Tool [P2YJzqvR]

Original Items: Only One Set Available. This is a very nice collection of German WWI & WWII Awards and Insignia, which was brought back from the European theater by a USGI after the war was concluded. Many solders traded these on the way back, and would end up with a pocket full of various different collectible items, and this set represents the typical "haul" one might have come back with. It includes a nice WWI Iron Cross 1914 Second class, as well as awards and insignia from the WWII period.

This lovely set includes:

- One Imperial German WWI Iron Cross 1914 2nd Class Medal (Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse 1918), missing ribbon. We checked the hanger ring, and it is marked with 800 with no other markings, meaning it is .800 pure silver. There is some age to the paint and oxidation on the iron core, but the silver is still present, still partly bright. The central core is just a bit loose inside the frame.

- One German WWII War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords (Kriegsverdienstkreuz II Klasse mit Schwertern) without ribbon. We checked the hanger ring, and it does not have a maker marking present. The metal still retains much of the original bronze wash, with some overall light wear and patination.

- One German WWII Eastern Front Medal (Ostmedaille) with ribbon. The medal still retains the top hanger ring, though the ribbon is not installed. It shows a lovely oxidized patina on the helmet and edge trim, while the finish on the darker areas is well retained. The hanger ring is marked with Präsidialkanzlei des Führers Lieferant (Presidential Chancellery Supplier) number 88, which represents Werner Redo of Saarlautern.

- One embroidered German WWII Gendarmerie NCO Ärmelhoheitsabzeichen (Rural Police Arm Eagle Insignia). The badge features the correct police blue gray (Faded) background with Police Orange-gelb (Orange-yellow) embroidery, the correct Truppenfarbe (troop color) for the rural police. In November 1941, all Police Sleeve Eagles could cease to have district markings, so this was made afterwards. This example is made from wool felt with a black fabric backing, and does not look to have been attached to a uniform, however it does show staining and fading to the obverse.

- NSKK 2nd Pattern Kraftfahrraute Motor Vehicle Drivers Sleeve Diamond: The patch is definitely uniform cutoff, and shows quite a bit of wear, with tearing and some portion of the insignia work off the backing material. There is still a bit of the original paper RZM tag present on the back.

- One German WWII Kriegsmarine Navy Matrosengefreite Deck Hand Embroidered Enlisted Ratings Badge, white uniform version. This was for a general enlisted sailor, who was on the Bootsmann (Boatswain) career path. This features a white backing with navy blue embroidered insignia. The design shows a single five pointed star in the center.

- One German WWII Kriegsmarine Navy Sanitätsgefreite Medic Embroidered Enlisted Ratings Badge, field gray uniform version. This features a dark bottle green backing with yellow gold embroidered insignia. This is the type that would have been used by coastal artillery personnel.

- One German WWII Heer Army Jäger Ärmelabzeichen Sleeve Badge. This shows oak leaves on a green background with a white border. 

- One German WWII NSDAP Uniform Gold Reichsadler Button. It is marked on the back with (RZM) M5/71 along with OLC in a diamond, indicating manufacture by Overhoff & Cie.

- One German Pre-WWII 1937 Dated 2 Reichsmark Coin turned into a cuff link.

A wonderful totally genuine grouping perfect for the German Medal and Insignia collector. Ready to research and display!

More information on some of the awards in this set:

German WWI Prussian Iron Cross 2nd Class:
Established by Frederick William in 1813 for gallantry in action, the decoration was revived several times for later conflicts. The bulk of the issues are divided into 1st and 2nd class versions, but a rare and superior 'Grand Cross' was also awarded for successful field commanders. During WW1 the lower decoration was freely awarded with 5½ million second class types issued. Originally, the Iron Cross was an award of the Kingdom of Prussia, however given Prussia's pre-eminent place in the German Empire formed in 1871, it became an award for all of Germany.

The basic design of the WW1 crosses is a central Tatzenkreuz (cross pattée) struck from iron and mounted in a silver frame which has a raised crenulated decorative border. The obverse of the cross bears the date 1914 under a crowned 'W' monogram. Reverse bears an oak leaf cluster with the date of the decoration’s institution, 1813 underneath - the crowned initials of Frederick William are in the top arm above the oak leaf cluster. Suspension for second-class types is by means of a ring, and frequently this ring bears a maker's stamp.

Please examine the edge seam for authentication, which is not present on reproductions. Iron crosses were commonly constructed from an iron core sandwiched in a surrounding two part silver frame, normally the seam of these two silver parts is visible around the edge of the cross as is seen on this fine example.

War Merit Cross 2nd Class (Kriegsverdienstkreuz) with Swords (for Combat)
This was a decoration of NSDAP Germany during the Second World War, which could be awarded to military personnel and civilians alike. By the end of the war it was issued in four degrees, and had a related civil decoration. It was created by Adolf AH in October 1939 as a successor to the non-combatant Iron Cross which was used in earlier wars. The award was graded the same as the Iron Cross: War Merit Cross Second Class, War Merit Cross First Class, and Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross. The award had two variants: with swords given to soldiers for exceptional service "not in direct connection with combat", and without swords for meritorious service to civilians in "furtherance of the war effort". As with the Iron Cross, Recipients had to have the lower grade of the award before getting the next level.

The Eastern Medal (Ostmedaille), officially the Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal (Medaille Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42), was a military award of the Wehrmacht which was created by ordinance of Adolf H on 26 May 1942.

The Eastern Medal was awarded to any member of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS "in recognition of experience in the struggle against the Bolshevik enemy and the Russian winter within the period from 15 November 1941 to 15 April 1942." It was also awarded posthumously to any service member who died in the line of duty within the Soviet Union. It was wryly called the Frozen Meat Medal or the "Order of the Frozen Flesh" (Gefrierfleischorden).