Condition: Excellent
Maker: Zimmerman “20”
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Product Description: This German Cross in Gold Zimmerman is a textbook original, in excellent condition, and with a very appealing and desirable “combat worn” look. Both the obverse and reverse show even, honest wear, almost certainly from having been worn on a uniform during wartime. On the front, the enamel on the swastika emblem is complete, with no chips, and only very light surface scratches. The wreath retains original gilding. The starburst shows some wear, with golden tones of the Tombak base metal showing through the original finish at the high points. The silver field behind the swastika shows attractive, uncleaned age toning. The reverse of this German Cross in Gold Zimmerman also has a nice uncleaned look. The broad pin is marked “20” on the underside, indicating manufacture by the firm of C. F. Zimmermann. The hardware is textbook for this maker, is functional, and shows no signs of repair. The rivets are tight and correct; everything is complete and sound, as it should be. This is really attractive, worn example of this extremely desirable Wehrmacht award.
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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