Posted 13 years ago
Dr_Rambow
(88 items)
German War Merit Crosses 2nd class, Kriegsverdienstkreuz 2. klasse, or KVK2 for short.
Got these from the local flea market over the summer, the guy selling them had a War Merit Medal too, in retrospect I don't know why I didn't buy it. First piece of WWII militeria I ever bought actually. Lots of other things had been given to me, but I'm so scared of fakes I've stayed away from it, especially German militeria, for so long.
Simple, honest awards awarded en mass during WWII. These are tombac, which means they are likely of an early war production, especially in conjunction with the early orange ribbon. They are actually quite beautiful for being "common" awards. That's one of the tragedies of Nazi stuff, some of it is so well made it's hard not to admire the craftsmanship.
These ranked below the Iron Cross. With most German Nazi era awards the higher the quality the better the chances it is genuine. In most cases if the manufacturing quality is poor or cast it is probably a fake. There are some exceptions to this rule so study up before spending the big money.
Oh I know. I'm moderately active on the wehrmacht-awards.com forums, which is a exceptional place for authenticating TR era stuff. Unfortunately, quality does not guarantee authenticity these days. There are some REALLY scary fakes out there. See Floch fakes, they appear genuine to the uninitiated. I almost bought some a few years ago, but saner minds prevailed.
In short, I stick to things I know! That and militeria is generally too expensive for me. The things I like cost as much as half my other collections combined!!!
Thanks, by the way. I appreciate the love.