Germany, Wehrmacht. A War Merit Cross I Class with Swords and Case, by Kerbach & Oesterhelt Province of China with gilded hour and minute

with gilded hour and minute hands

the former marked marked “SILKA

measuring 54 mm (w) x 8

the obverse bearing a raised and rightward-facing profile of King Friedrich II (“the Great”)

the text and illustrations remain unaffected

Germany, Wehrmacht. A War Merit Cross I Class with Swords and Case, by Kerbach & Oesterhelt Province of China with gilded hour and minute(Kriegsverdienstkreuz I. Klasse mit Schwertern und Etui). Constructed of silvered tombak, the obverse consisting of a Maltese Cross with pebbled arms and with crossed swords piercing the centrepiece, the latter consisting of a wreathed mobile swastika, the reverse with a raised barrel hinge and early issue flattened vertical pinback meeting a flat wire catch, unmarked but demonstrating the characteristics of manufacture by Kerbach & Oesterhelt,