Germany, Wehrmacht. A 1939 Iron Cross I Class, Dietrich Maerz Collection

(Eisernes Kreuz 1939 I. Klasse). 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 barrel hinge and banjo-style pinback meeting a flat wire catch, unmarked but with the physical characteristics of manufacture by the firm of Rudolf Souval, Wien, measuring 44.71 mm (w) x 44.69 mm (h), weighing 18.7 grams, in extremely fine condition.

Footnote: From the collection of Dietrich Maerz