Description
Product Description: A very nice Zimmermann German Cross in Silver in overall excellent condition. These silver German Crosses are much harder to find than their gold counterparts due to the fact that significantly less were awarded during the Second World War. The central black enamel swastika remains intact with no chips or major damage. Only light superficial marks can be seen on the back enamel upon very close inspection, likely a result of being worn. The central white disc behind the swastika retains nearly all of its original silver finish with a pleasant light patina throughout. The outer wreath, bearing the institution date of the award “1941”, retains nearly all of its original silver plating. The outer starburst retains most of its original darkening in the recesses, with some light wear to the high relief areas. The classic 11 o’clock die-flaw can be seen on the starburst. The reverse of this Zimmermann German Cross in Silver retains nearly all of its silver plating over the CupAl back plate. Four hollow rivets securely hold all the pieces of this complex award together tightly. The hinge and catch are securely, and originally, affixed to the backplate with larger tombak solder plates. These larger tombak solder plates were necessary on awards produced of CupAl to give a secure area to affix the hinge and pin. The underside of the tapered pin is marked with “20” for the firm of Zimmermann. Overall a very nice, and rare, example of a Zimmermann German Cross in Silver.
Historical Description: The German Cross in Silver was instituted on September 28th, 1941. The German High Command saw it necessary to create an award which would bridge the gap between the War Merit Cross First Class and the Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross. Once instituted, the German Cross became one of Germany’s highest military decorations. 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 2,500 recipients of the German Cross in Silver. 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-point 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.
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Zimmermann German Cross in Silver
