Cased Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross w/o Swords

Cased Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross w/o SwordsCased Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross w o Swords Just wait until you see this museum quality example! This is absolutely stunning. This award is made out of 900 silver with additional silver frosting and burnished highlights added to enhance its appearance. This cross retains the majority of its original silver finish. This is a textbook example of a Deschler medal. The bottom of the cross is marked with the makers PKZ number. You can see a

Cased Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross w/o Swords-Just wait until you see this museum quality example! This is absolutely stunning. This award is made out of “900” silver with additional silver frosting and burnished highlights added to enhance its appearance. This cross retains the majority of its original silver finish. This is a textbook example of a Deschler medal. The bottom of the cross is marked with the maker’s PKZ number. You can see a number “1”, indicating the maker of Deschler & Sohn, München. Next to this is the number “900” for silver content. The dark blue leatherette case is in excellent condition with slight scuffing to the edges, and a few scattered marks on the top. The hinge works perfectly. The interior of the case is very clean. The upper lid is lined with a white silk like flocking with a black velvet lined lower half. This has a recess for the original red and black ribbon and award. This award comes complete with a “Document of Expertise” from Dietrich Maerz, author of The Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. This is a very special offering.  

History:  The Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross was considered to be ranked higher than the German Cross in silver, but below the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. A total of 118 awards of the Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross with swords, and 137 awards without swords were awarded. This award was designed to reward military, civilian, or paramilitary personnel (like Luftschutz or Reichsbahn) for achievements that did not qualify for the higher Knights Cross of the Iron Cross but were too significant for the standard War Merit Cross 1st Class. The addition of swords signified that the merit or bravery involved exposure to physical danger or direct connection to enemy action.