Original Item: Only One Available. Established by Frederick William in 1813 for gallantry in action, the decoration was revived several times for later conflicts. The bulk of the issues are divided into 1st and 2nd class versions, but a rare and superior 'Grand Cross' was also awarded for successful field commanders. During WW1 the lower decoration was freely awarded with 5½ million second class types issued. Originally, the Iron Cross was an award of the Kingdom of Prussia, however given Prussia's pre-eminent place in the German Empire formed in 1871, it became an award for all of Germany.

The basic design of the WWI crosses is a central black cross with a decorated raised silver border. The obverse of the cross bears the date 1914 under a crowned W monogram. This cast iron wall plaque example has the markings on the front a bit of out scale and design from the original, but this also looks to be a home made or possibly even field made example. It looks to be sand cast, a popular method of making cast metal during the WWI period. It measures 9 3/4" x 9 3/4", with a small iron hanger ring cast into the cross at the top.

The paint is well-retained, with a lovely rough look from the cast iron surface. This would make a great part of any WWII display, or just a great wall-hanger on its own. Ready to display!