'Kriegsverdienstkreuz 1. Kl. ohne Schwn.' being a clearly maker- (ie. '4'-) marked and/or: 'Buntmetall'-based specimen by: 'Steinhauer & Lück' in its (luxurious) etui as issued

The truly attractive - and I deem quite early- (ie. mid-) war-period - 'Kriegsverdienstkreuz 1. Klass ohne Schwertern' (or: war-merits'-cross first class without swords) is executed in typical (bright albeit minimally tarnished) silver-coloured metal (ie. 'Buntmetall') and comes in an overall very nice- (albeit moderately worn- ie. most certainly used-), condition. The naturally non-magnetic- (and typically non-vaulted) cross shows some blackened- (ie. minimally tarnished) age-patina (mainly on its back) but was most certainly never cleaned nor polished: it retains, moreover, a fair bit (ie. all!) of its typical (frosted) silverish-coloured finish that has just minimally darkened over the years as more often (as can be seen on the pictures). The cross comes naturally mounted onto its functional (flute-shaped) pin- and/or: period catch (ie. catch-set-up) which are both present and fully unaltered (as can be seen on the pictures). The piece - which shows a clear makers'-designation '4' stamped into the back of its pin (as can be noticed on the pictures) - comes as found and/or stored for decades: it was truly never cleaned and is still a bit stained ie. dirty (as can be seen on the pictures). The etui comes in an equally nicely preserved condition: it is fully functional (and shows the printed and/or silver-grey coloured 'KvK'-symbol on its top). The etui has a fully preserved, black-coloured- (ie. velvet-like-) interior-section (as can be seen on the pictures). I deem that the KvK 1st class award is a bit underestimated by the collectors' community: they can almost be graded equally as the IC 1st class. Simply an attractive 'boxed' example by the: 'Steinhauer & Lück'-company and that is I deem accordingly priced!