WW1 Imperial Prussian Zeppelin Officers Boxed Silver Badge & Iron Cross - An impressive ornately designed presentation box is the home to the breast badge & Iron Cross 2nd Class awarded to Leutnant Wilhelm Gansler…Luftschiffer Kommando 3…1915.
This beautiful hallmarked solid silver zeppelin officers 2 piece constructed badge has the prized gilded silver zeppelin standing proud (crewmembers version is solid silver). The wreath of split laurel & oak leaves with berries & acorns interspaced between the leaves, a bow tied at the bottom, the Prussian Hohenzollern crown at the top! The badge is the rigid construction “vertical” pattern bearing the Paul Meybaur factory hallmark on the upside of the rear clasp assembly. This is also finely crafted & very sturdy with the flared, fluted pin assembly & clip neatly soldered to the rear of the badge. (Proved invaluable when badges became unclipped as the fluted, flared pin was especially designed to protect the badge from falling. Tunic material of the day was exceptionally thick & hard wearing & would encompass the clip over time)!
WW1 Imp Prussian Zeppelin Officers Boxed Silver
SKU: sku_53f90121639d1_1408827681
£1,250.00Price
- The Iron Cross is the standard unmarked silver version with the centre iron cross core & a silver frame three (3) piece construction, the seam neatly sealed around the central rim of the cross. The black painted core shows signs of age but the patina is very good for a used condition medal. The ribbon is the standard 2nd class short ribbon & also in used condition.
The box is beautifully painted on the front, the officers name & unit scrolled top & bottom of a zeppelin & an Iron Cross at the top, the year 1915 under the scroll. The box itself measuring approximately 7” long, 3 ½” wide & 1 ½” deep & made of a light sandy wood. A very smooth clasp assembly opens & closes the box which appears to be of jewelry quality, possibly made by the Meybaur factory or privately purchased. The interior of the box is luxurious with a satin covered inner top lid & suede covered cushion. You can see the badge & medal have lived in this box for a very long time & match perfectly the imprint of this very rare boxed duo. The box could do with a soft clean of the interior cushion but no attempt has been made to clean this item!
No research has been done on leutnant Wilhelm Gansler but this highly prized original W.W.1 item of the Khaisers Imperial Naval Air Service would grace any collection of W.W.1 memorabilia.
Original zeppelin badges are scarce & have been faked, bearing in mind that 90 zeppelins saw active service in W.W.1, one third were lost to accidents, one third were lost in combat leaving a lot less survivors than any other branch of service. How many real badges are actively on the market? Here you have an original officers variety, even scarcer!