Original German WWII Medal & Insignia Grouping with Panzer Officer Eagle and 1939 EKII – 5 Items Original Items

Original Items: Only One Set Available. This is a very nice collection of German WWII Insignia & Awards, which was brought back from the European theater by a USGI after the war was concluded. Many solders traded these on the way back, and would end up with a pocket full of various different collectible items, and this set represents the typical “haul” one might have come back with. It includes a good variety of medals and insignia, including a 1939 EKII, a desirable Panzer Officer Bullion Breast eagle, and more!

This lovely set includes:

– One German WWII Iron Cross 2nd Class 1939 (Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse 1939) with Ribbon. This fine example is in very good condition, with a very good condition rayon tri-color ribbon showing some great age toning and wear. There is light oxidation on the silver components, giving it a lovely tarnished patina. There is also a maker mark on the ring, however due to wear we cannot make out the numbers.

– One German WWII Eastern Front Medal (Ostmedaille). The medal has the loop at the top broken off and the hanger ring is missing, as is the ribbon. It shows a good amount of wear on both sides, probably from being cleaned repeatedly, or from being in a USGI pocket with other medals for a long time.

– One German WWII Early Panzer Officer Bullion Embroidered Breast Eagle (Wehrmachtadler). This is a fantastic and very desirable bullion hand embroidered eagle, as used during the early war period. It is in great shape, with just a bit of damage to the black felt backing, and it does not appear to have been installed on a uniform. It still retains much of the cloth backing that keeps the stitching in place.

– One Late War German Heer Army BeVo Embroidered Cap Insignia Trapezoid. This combined Eagle and Cockade insignia was used on Heer caps during the later war period, and this example has never been attached to a cap, and still retains the excess fabric on the edges.

– One Mid War German Heer Army BeVo Embroidered Cap Eagle. This example has never been attached to a cap, and still retains the excess fabric on the edges.

A wonderful totally genuine grouping perfect for the German Medal and Insignia collector. Ready to research and display!

More Details on some of the Items in this set:

There is no more iconic German military award than the Iron Cross. The long history of this order began during the Napoleonic Wars. King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia instituted the “Eisernes Kreuz” (Iron Cross) in March of 1813. The award criteria changed somewhat with time, but generally speaking, Iron Crosses could be awarded for individual acts of bravery, or for leadership achievements on the battlefield. The design was created by a Karl Friedrich Schinkel, his choice of the black cross with silver outline was derived from the heraldic emblem of the Teutonic Knights.

There were a number of different type and grades of Iron Cross awards throughout its long history, but the basic details of the most widely awarded grades: The Iron Cross 1st Class and Iron Cross 2nd Class- remained the same. The first class award was a breast badge, with fittings on the reverse to allow it to be worn on the uniform. These fittings varied widely over time and from maker to maker, and could be a simple in and catch, a screw post and retaining disc, or more elaborate setups. The second class award was suspended from a ribbon, originally in the Prussian colors of black and white, later in the Reich colors of black, red and white.

On the original versions of these crosses, in 1813, the front of the iron core of each grade was bare, and only the second class award had ornamentation: a crown over the initials “FW” representing the King, a sprig of oak leaves, and the date 1813. The core was redesigned in 1870, when the cross was re-instituted during the Franco-Prussian War. The reverse ornamentation on the Iron Cross 2nd Class remained the same, but the front of the core on both grades now bore another crown, a “W” representing Kaiser Wilhelm, and the date 1870. This pattern repeated again when the cross was reinstituted for WWI- everything stayed the same, only the date 1870 was replaced with 1914.

The final reinstitution of the cross came in 1939. For this version, the front of the core for both grades bore a swas and the date 1939. The oak leaves, crown and royal initials were removed from the reverse, with only the date 1813 remaining as a reminder of the legacy of this award. In WWII, hundreds of thousands of Iron Cross First Class awards were bestowed, and four and a half million Iron Cross Second Class awards. Iron Crosses were made by a large number of authorized manufacturers. Some variants of these awards were mass produced in huge numbers. Others were made in very limited quantities.

The Eastern Medal (Ostmedaille), officially the Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal (Medaille Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42), was a military award of the Wehrmacht which was created by ordinance of Adolf H on 26 May 1942.

The Eastern Medal was awarded to any member of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS “in recognition of experience in the struggle against the Bolshevik enemy and the Russian winter within the period from 15 November 1941 to 15 April 1942.” It was also awarded posthumously to any service member who died in the line of duty within the Soviet Union. It was wryly called the Frozen Meat Medal or the “Order of the Frozen Flesh” (Gefrierfleischorden).