2nd Class Spange Mayer

Product Description: This Iron Cross 2nd Class Spange Mayer has outstanding eye appeal. It’s struck from fine zinc. The original finish on this piece is gorgeous, with attractive bright white frosting in the recesses that contrasts sharply with polished highlights. The high points show only very slight wear from handling, and all of the original detail is evident in the design. The reverse of this Spange is flat, and unmarked, though this variant can be attributed to the firm of B. H. Mayer in Pforzheim. The finish on the reverse is intact, with some slight toning. All four of the original prongs for attaching this to an Iron Cross ribbon are present, still held in place with the original solder. This is a great example of an Iron Cross 2nd Class Spange Mayer, that looks really nice on display.

Historical Description: When Adolf Hitler reinstituted the historical Iron Cross war decoration on September 1, 1939, he also instituted a special new award, the “Wiederholungsspange,” to recognize people who had earned the 1914 Iron Cross during WWI and whose actions in this new war merited being awarded the Iron Cross again. There were two different patterns of this Spange, for the First and Second Classes of the Iron Cross. Both of them took the form of a German national eagle and swastika emblem, with outstretched wings, over a bar with the date “1939.” The First-Class award had a pin attachment or screw back, to enable it to be worn on the uniform pocket over the 1914 Iron Cross. Some combo-type awards are also known, with the Spange fastened to the top arm of the 1914 cross. The Second Class Spange had two or four prongs on the reverse and was affixed to a length of 1914 pattern Iron Cross ribbon. Most of the Spange awards were made of a brass alloy (Buntmetall) with a silver finish, while late war examples were produced from zinc. As with most German combat awards, there were many variations of the Spange produced, including miniature awards for the ribbon bar.

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