Germany, Wehrmacht. A War Merit Cross I Class with Swords, by Friedrich Orth Republic of scuffing evident in the red

scuffing evident in the red enamels on the flag

the hook remaining intact at one end

overlaid by a central black enameled Iron Cross

Corporal G

Germany, Wehrmacht. A War Merit Cross I Class with Swords, by Friedrich Orth Republic of scuffing evident in the red(Kriegsverdienstkreuz I. Klasse mit Schwertern). Constructed of silvered tombak, consisting of a Maltese Cross with crossed swords piercing the centrepiece, the obverse with pebbled arms and a central wreathed mobile swastika, the reverse with a block hinge emanating from an oval plate and a banjo style pinback meeting a flat wire catch similarly emanating from an oval plate, the pinback maker marked with LDO code L15 for a controversial variation now