Is this a German Iron Cross Medal?

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A client of mine showed me this medal. Her late husband had it and she thinks he got it while he was in the Navy. He served during the Korean War in Japan and Hawaii. She said he was never in Germany during that time.
The medal is a bit over an inch high and wide. It has a swastika in the center and the number (year?) 1939. Not sure what the metal is.
Anybody know anything about it?
Thanks.
Jim
 

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Actually its an Iron Cross first class because it doesn't have a ring for the ribbon at the top. If it's real, it and the case could be worth several hundred dollars. There are a lot of pretty good copies though so be careful.

Charlie
 
A man I used to work with grew up in Germany during WW2 and was 14 when the war ended. He mentioned to me once that his first job was at a factory in Berlin that made military medals. “During the war?” I asked. “No, right after the war”, he replied. “We had the original dies, we had the original raw material stock and we had a large demand in the form of American GI’s. We cranked out more of that stuff right after the war than during.”
 
Raider said:
Actually its an Iron Cross first class because it doesn't have a ring for the ribbon at the top. If it's real, it and the case could be worth several hundred dollars. There are a lot of pretty good copies though so be careful.

Charlie
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The case is in really good shape. It has a button that you push in to open it.
Are these hard to find, or pretty common?
Jim
 
It looks good but it would help if you could post a photo of the back side. Iron Cross 1st class are scarce. Most common are the second class which has a ring on the top.
 
We had the original dies, we had the original raw material stock and we had a large demand in the form of American GI’s. We cranked out more of that stuff right after the war than during
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I understand this is also true of a good many Nazi daggers.
(According to a Nazi collector I know.)
 
If its authentic, its worth between $250 - $300. A lot of real ones in the case just as pictured were found after the war and were selling for $5 each if you bought 3 or more. The same guy was selling original Iron Crosses 2nd class of .50 cents each of you bought 100 or more. I know guys who have been collecting military stuff for more than 50 years and they still talk about those days, wishing they had stocked up.
 
walnutred said:
A man I used to work with grew up in Germany during WW2 and was 14 when the war ended. He mentioned to me once that his first job was at a factory in Berlin that made military medals. “During the war?” I asked. “No, right after the war”, he replied. “We had the original dies, we had the original raw material stock and we had a large demand in the form of American GI’s. We cranked out more of that stuff right after the war than during.”
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At least they're not made in China.....
 
OFT II said:
It looks good but it would help if you could post a photo of the back side. Iron Cross 1st class are scarce. Most common are the second class which has a ring on the top.
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If I remember correctly there are no markings on the back.
Jim
 
Peter J. said:
If its authentic, its worth between $250 - $300. A lot of real ones in the case just as pictured were found after the war and were selling for $5 each if you bought 3 or more. The same guy was selling original Iron Crosses 2nd class of .50 cents each of you bought 100 or more. I know guys who have been collecting military stuff for more than 50 years and they still talk about those days, wishing they had stocked up.
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I'm just curious how all these medals came to the U.S.?

I really think there are a lot of fake ones out there...
 
P&R Fan said:
If I remember correctly there are no markings on the back.
Jim
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Would help if we could see the attachment. Also check around the border. Some of them had a number stamped that would tell who the maker was.
 
also check to see if a magnet will stick to it,it is a iron cross after all,people that repop them seem to forget that,and ditto on the mfg after the war,i have heard that too many times to mention,HOWEVER they were passing out 1st class cross's to everybody to keep up that ole fightin spirit(per my conversation with german vet of that era)
 
JJEH said:
I'm just curious how all these medals came to the U.S.?

I really think there are a lot of fake ones out there...
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As is true in most all areas of collecting, there are fakes. The difference is there are (1) outright fakes, (2) authentic items made "after the era" which are essentially the same as those made "during the era" (as another member alluded to above), (3) modern made items using original dies, molds, and materials, and (4) authentic items. The fakes, those made after the era, and well made modern items are simply sold on the market to uneducated collectors while most of the originals were brought here by returning veterans. People that are serious about collecting this type of item learn as much as possible about them the same that collectors of S&W guns do. Although they are armed with vast amounts of knowledge, they still get burned.

Example ~ I used to collect cast brass Confederate buckles from the American Civl War. When the prices went through the roof several years ago, the "fakers" came out of the closet. Some of these people make buckles by using an original to make their molds, apply patinas in one of a hundred different ways, and...... you get the picture! I've seen respected experts that couldn't tell the difference between between some of these "reproducions" and the real deal which has caused me and many others to stop collecting them. What makes it even worse is buckles that were purchased or found many years ago are virtually impossible to sell today because of buyer mistrust :mad: ! I personally got burned on a CSA two piece buckle about ten years ago that I bought from one of the most respected names in the business. About a year after purchase, I removed it from the sealed case I had made for it myself - it hadn't been touched for a year and hung on a wall. As soon as I took it out, the "faked patina" fell off one side of the buckle (authentic side) and revealed the professional repair job. The other side was then proven to be a reproduction. This was a $3.5K plate for which the seller only returned half of.

Moral of the story is ~ Be very careful out there and never, ever purchase anything like this from pictures alone.
 
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Never ever buy ANYTHING Confederate, unless you know and trust the seller. And that doesen't gaurantee it's not fake, only that the seller isn't trying to burn you. (he/she could well have been snookered)

As far as WWII nazi stuff go's I see alot at gun shows thats patently fake. But some is so good Hitler couldn't tell the differance. Why do people want to collect nazi **** anyway? Duh hey attn. nazi collector dudes, they lost!

I understand why WWII G.I.'s collected the stuff, but thats a whole differant thing.
 
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Why do people want to collect nazi **** anyway?
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I don't really mind people collecting Nazi stuff. It's when they start dressing up in it that bothers me.....:eek:

Years ago our local gun show was meeting and some of our "Nazi Collectors" showed up in full SS uniforms. Unfortunately just down the hall there was a B'nai B'rith meeting at the same time.

(For some reason our rental agreement wasn't renewed.....)
 
therevjay said:
Never ever buy ANYTHING Confederate, unless you know and trust the seller. And that doesen't gaurantee it's not fake, only that the seller isn't trying to burn you. (he/she could well have been snookered)

As far as WWII nazi stuff go's I see alot at gun shows thats patently fake. But some is so good Hitler couldn't tell the differance. Why do people want to collect nazi **** anyway? Duh hey attn. nazi collector dudes, they lost!

I understand why WWII G.I.'s collected the stuff, but thats a whole differant thing.
Click to expand...

Historical militaria. Remember all of the eastern bloc stuff being sold at pennies on the dollar after the reds fell?
 
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