German Crosses
Authenticity is in the details
The Order of the German Cross (Deutches Kreuz or “DK”) was founded on September 28, 194,1 as the second highest military order of the Third Reich. It was only surpassed by the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grades.
An approximate total of 26,000 of the Gold Grade of the DK were awarded while only 2,500 of the Silver Grade were awarded. A version of the Gold Grade with Diamonds was never instituted nor awarded, though 20 examples were made.
In addition to the two official metal versions, a cloth version for both grades was available with different cloth backgrounds, depending on the service branch of the bearer. The several versions and manufacturers, coupled with the high award number for the Gold Grade, make this order a very nice collector subject.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of fake DKs on the market. This can cause the average collector to shy away from the higher monetary investment necessary to purchase these awards. In addition, much false information, collected and repeated over the years in verbal and written form, adds to possible confusion before a sound and correct decision to buy can be made.
MANUFACTURERS
It is absolutely possible that more than the verified manufacturers which are verified through actual awards to real recipients produced the German Cross in Gold and Silver. For the average collector, and for the framework of this article, however, it is suf-ficient to look at only these five
