Germany, Wehrmacht. A War Merit Cross I Class with Swords, Screwback Version, by C.F. Zimmermann Auction A second war German “Nahkampfspange”

A second war German “Nahkampfspange”

5 mm x 36 mm brass frame

A Military Merit Medal “Signum Laudis”

dual wool loops are sewn to each shoulder and bear shoulder boards constructed of braided gold bullion wire

"Old Tientsin

Germany, Wehrmacht. A War Merit Cross I Class with Swords, Screwback Version, by C.F. Zimmermann Auction A second war German “Nahkampfspange”(Kriegsverdienstkreuz I. Klasse mit Schwertern). Constructed of silvered zink, consisting of a Maltese Cross with crossed swords piercing the centre, the obverse with pebbled arms and a central wreathed mobile swastika, the reverse with a central threaded screwpost retaining an original backplate, maker marked with LDO code L 52 for C. F. Zimmermann, Pforzheim, measuring 49. 38 mm (w) x 48. 75 mm (h), weighing 20. 4 grams, demonstrating near total