BACKGROUND: On March 10^TH 1813, Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III established the Iron Cross as a temporary award for bestowal during times of war. Originally the Iron Cross was introduced in three grades with a Grand Cross intended for award to Senior Commanders for successfully leading troops in combat and the First and Second classes for award to all ranks for bravery or merit in action. The Iron Cross’s were reinstituted by King Wilhelm I on July 19^TH 1870 for award during the Franco-Prussian War and again on August 5^TH 1914, by King Wilhelm II for award during WWI. On September 1^ST 1939 Hitler once more reinstituted the Iron Cross series of awards in the First and Second Classes and established the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross. The second class medal was for award to personnel who performed a single act of bravery in combat.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1939 pattern, die struck, three piece, iron and alloy construction Pattée style cross with a single piece iron core and a two piece, nickel/silver plated, alloy frame. The obverse of the award features an embossed, central, canted, swastika with the re-institution date, "1939", to the bottom arm. The reverse bottom arm has the embossed, original institution date, "1813". The swastika is in nice high relief while the dates are somewhat lower. The black wash to the magnetic center is retained about 80% with a few small scrapes and scuffs to the base iron. The nickel/silver plated frame shows moderate to heavy age tarnish. The medal loop and ribbon suspension ring are both intact. The cross has no visible manufacturer’s markings. The cross comes complete with a roughly, 1 1/16" wide, 3 1/2" long, piece of original ribbed rayon ribbon. The ribbon is in overall good condition with light age toning and a couple of pinhead sized holes. Of Note: The narrow width of this ribbon would indicate it was intended for use on a medal or ribbon bar as opposed to use with the actual medal. The cross comes housed in an original, roughly, 5 1/8" tall, 4 1/8" wide, blue/grey, mid-weight, cardstock issue envelope, with black printed Gothic script to the front center in three lines, "Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse 1939". The envelope has a triangular, fold over, top flap with a corresponding horizontal slash to the reverse. The tip of the triangular top flap inserts into the horizontal slash on the reverse to close the envelope. The reverse of the envelope has the black printed, Gothic script, manufacture’s name and location within a rectangular cartouche, "Carl Forster & Graf Schwäb, Gmünd". The envelope is in overall very good condition with minor age and usage toning, some color fading and some minor wrinkling.

GRADE ***                             PRICE $298.00