Germany, Wehrmacht. A 1939 Iron Cross I Class, By B.h. Mayer, Maerz Published Example

(Eisernes Kreuz 1939 I. Klasse mit Etui). Reinstituted 1 September 1939. (1939-1945 issue). Constructed of iron and silver, consisting of a Cross Pattée with a blackened magnetic iron core within a ribbed silver frame, the obverse with a central mobile swastika, the six o’clock arm with a reinstitution date of “1939”, the reverse with a screw and backplate, marked with code “L/18” for maker B.H. Mayer, Pforzheim, measuring 44.28 mm (w) x 44.29 mm (h), weighing 19.9 grams, in near extremely fine condition.

Footnote: From the collection of Dietrich Maerz, this cross is a published example used as a model for the B.H. Mayer Iron Cross I Class screwback variant. It is found on page 206 of “The Iron Cross 1. Class” by Dietrich Maerz and George Stimson (2010).