Germany, Wehrmacht. A Mixed Lot of Awards Retrieved from the C.F. Zimmermann Factory Bombsite

(Auszeichnungen). A mixed lot of awards retrieved from the ruins of the C.F. Zimmerman factory in Pforzheim, which was destroyed in an Allied bombing raid on 23 February 1945, including:

1. A 1939 Iron Cross II Class core, constructed of blackened magnetic iron, unmarked, measuring 40 mm (w) x 40 mm (h), in relic condition.

2. A factory-unfinished 1939 Clasp to the Iron Cross II Class, constructed of tombak, unmarked, measuring 35 mm (w) x 38 mm (h), in relic condition.

3. A factory-unfinished German Cross centrepiece, constructed of tombak with enamels, unmarked, measuring 40 mm in diameter, in relic condition.

4. A Baltic Cross, constructed of silvered and gilded brass, consisting of a narrow and vaulted Geneva Cross, the obverse overlaid by a gilded Lily Cross, the reverse with two visible rivets securing the Lily Cross in place, with a block hinge and tapering pinback meeting a round wire catch, unmarked, measuring 44 mm (w) x 44 mm (h), weighing 14.5 grams, demonstrating loss of finish consistent with heat damage and storage conditions under the ruins of the factory, a quintessential example of a Freikorps veteran’s replacement piece produced c. 1944 in relic condition