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Original price was: $6,995.00.$6,285.00Current price is: $6,285.00.
Condition: EXC +
Maker: Zimmermann
Base Material: Tombak
Pattern: Heavy
In stock
Product Description: This early cased heavy Zimmermann German Cross in Gold is an outstanding gem, that could be the centerpiece of an advanced collection of awards. This cross is a top-quality piece. It’s the version known to collectors as the “heavy” type, with a back plate made of brass alloy (Tombak), and is an extremely hard award to find. It shows only minimal wear, with some light patina to the central white disk. The swastika is virtually pristine with no damage to the original jeweler-quality enamel. The gold wreath with “1941” date still shows a good amount of the original gilding, with great shine. On the reverse of this cross, the hinge, pin and catch are textbook Zimmermann construction. The PKZ number “20” indicating the maker is stamped in the typical spot under the pin. The catch is soldered directly to the backplate, which is only seen on these heavy types with Tombak backplates. The Tombak rivets are also consistent with Zimmermann construction, and have never been messed with. This cross is choice, with no damage or repairs. It is housed in its original matching textbook early and very desirable German Cross case. This variant of case has the very hard to find “mushroom” style push button, and has the expected gold embossed outline on the lid, indicating the grade of the award. On the outside, the case shows only light wear, with nearly all of the original surface intact. The interior of the case is complete and sound with normal slight age toning to the white silk. The case functions as it should, and displays the cross beautifully.This cased heavy Zimmermann German Cross in Gold is a super rare and desirable early matched set that would be extremely difficult to upgrade. The overall condition rates as excellent plus.
Historical Description: The German Cross in Gold was instituted on September 28th, 1941. The German High Command saw it necessary to create an award which would bridge the gap between the Iron Cross First Class and the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. Once instituted, the German Cross became Germany’s second highest military decoration, second only to the Knights Cross and its subsequent grades. The German Cross was similar to the Knights Cross in regards that the award was not based off of any previous awards in German history. It was a unique creation which also ended with the war. There were approximately 26,000 recipients of the German Cross in Gold. This number, however, does not reflect the total amount of German Crosses produced.
The German Cross was actually not a cross at all. It took on the form of an eight-pointed star, resembling some of the former breast awards of the Imperial era. The award came in two forms, a metal version and a cloth version. The metal version being the most complex of the two, it consisted of five separate pieces being fitted and held together using four to twelve rivets depending on who the manufacturer was. The cloth version follows the exact same design as the metal produced version except the entire cross is cloth with the exception of the laurel wreath still being metal.
Known Manufacturers: Deschler & Sohn, Munchen,;C.E. Juncker, Berlin; C.F. Zimmermann, Pforzheim; Gebruder Godet, Berlin; Otto Klein, Hanau
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