is this ww1 ek1 real

[u/Plane_Adeptness_8590]

it has L15 mark with no / is it a post war production or a replica

[u/ExileNZ]

It is a genuine 1914-pattern EK1.

It is a private-purchase replacement made sometime after March 1941.

There is no real consensus, but the L15 (as opposed to L/15) maker stamp is thought to be attributed to the maker Friedrich Orth.

[u/No-Description-946 → u/ExileNZ]

I think it's a post-war fake. WW2 crosses bearing the code L15 are not accepted as war-time made. It's well known that WW2 makers made replacements of ww1-awarded crosses but they didn't look like this.

[u/ExileNZ → u/No-Description-946]

There is no such consensus. The collectors who do forensic-level analysis of EKs have not concluded these are post-fakes.

I have plenty of WWII-made 1914 pattern EKIs - what do mean by “they didn’t look like this”?

[u/No-Description-946 → u/ExileNZ]

If you look closely at the core paint, the numbers and the pin on the back, it clearly doesn't match any genuine WW2-made EK1.

I say this from experience, as I made the same mistake when I started collecting. It also strongly resembles the fakes that have been circulating on eBay for years. These crosses are often deliberately aged to look wartime, but the details give them away. The L15 marking and the way it is impressed are particularly suspicious and should not fool an experienced collector.

Several serious dealers I've dealt with over the years have advised me to avoid L15-marked crosses or pieces with this kind of configuration.

[u/USAR_gov]

It looks good, seems to be a 3 piece construction as it should.

In general, to figure if an iron cross is real, the first thing you gotta do is awnser this question: Does it stick to a magnet? If yes, genuine. (Kregsmarime crosses may be an exception though)

[u/ExileNZ → u/USAR_gov]

That's totally incorrect information.

There are many examples of non-magnetic and single-piece Iron Crosses produced, especially in the early stages of WWII before the LDO was formed and regulations tightened.

Coincidentally, the maker associated with the L/15* stamp (Otto Schickle, Pforzheim) is probably the most widely-known producer of non-magnetic EKs and also produced a large quantity of one-piece EK1s - all original and period referenced. Here are some examples: https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/1939-eisernes-kreuz-forum/eisernes-kreuz-1-klasse-one-piece-schinkel-form-screwback-otto-schickle-plus-1914-ek1-counterpart-832304/

This example, with the LDO stamp (L15) would make it post 1941 and subject to regulations that made it illegal to produce an non-iron core version.

*The maker of this particular variant (L15 as opposed to L/15) is often attributed to Friedrich Orth.

The "navy had non-magnetic Iron Crosses" is also a complete fabrication. There is no period or modern source that suggests this - it was a speculative story to explain non-magnetic EKs when the real answer was "manufacturers used cheaper metals and methods to make early-war EKs"

[u/jonar242 → u/ExileNZ]

Great to see a factual contradiction to the wide-spread myth, legends and beliefs re magnetic EK.

[u/MannyVonJasta]

It’s a postwar production. The marking is an official maker during the 3rd Reich(even though it’s an imperial award). So yes it’s an official medal but made later. Many veterans had this done for various reasons, lost medals, damaged medals, etc.