{"product_id":"wwi-imperial-german-patriotic-stickpin-1914-iron-cross-and-pickelhaube-in-wreath","title":"WWI Imperial German Patriotic Stickpin 1914 Iron Cross and Pickelhaube in Wreath","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eThis is a First World War German patriotic lapel stickpin combining a miniature Iron Cross of 1914 with a blackened wreath device enclosing a spiked helmet, a small home-front loyalty pin of the kind worn during the Great War. The pin is of silvered and blackened base metal on a long steel stickpin stem, and the reverse of the head carries a German registered-design stamp confirming period commercial manufacture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eThe head of the pin sets two devices side by side. To one side is a miniature Iron Cross in the 1914 pattern, with a silver frame enclosing a blackened center that bears the crowned \"W\" cypher of Kaiser Wilhelm II above and the date 1914 on the lower arm, a faithful reduction of the newly renewed Iron Cross of the war. Beside it is a circular blackened medallion in the form of an oak and laurel wreath enclosing a \u003cem\u003ePickelhaube\u003c\/em\u003e (the spiked helmet of the German army) modeled in relief at its center. The two emblems together, the Iron Cross of valor and the helmet within the victor's wreath, form a compact patriotic composition. The reverse of the head is stamped with a German design-registration mark (\u003cem\u003eGes. Gesch.\u003c\/em\u003e, for \u003cem\u003egesetzlich geschützt\u003c\/em\u003e, \"legally protected,\" the equivalent of a registered design), the commercial marking used on mass-produced German novelties of the period, and the long pin stem is intact for wear in the lapel or tie.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eSmall patriotic pins of this kind belonged to the vast material culture of loyalty that flourished on the German home front during the First World War. From August 1914 onward, as the nation mobilized and the Iron Cross was renewed as the universal decoration of the war, a flood of inexpensive patriotic jewelry, stickpins, brooches, badges, and charms, was produced and sold to civilians and soldiers alike as tokens of support for the army and the cause. The imagery drew on the most potent national symbols: the Iron Cross, the imperial cypher, the oak and laurel wreath of victory, and the \u003cem\u003ePickelhaube\u003c\/em\u003e, which through the first years of the war remained the emblematic headdress of the German soldier. Worn in the lapel or on the coat, such a pin advertised the wearer's patriotism and solidarity with the men at the front, and pieces combining the Iron Cross with the spiked helmet are among the most characteristic of the type. This example most likely dates from the earlier part of the war, when the \u003cem\u003ePickelhaube\u003c\/em\u003e was still the dominant image of the German soldier, before the steel helmet of 1916 began to replace it in popular iconography.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eCondition is good for a small worn pin of the period. The head is complete with both devices intact, the miniature Iron Cross retaining its silvered frame and black center with the cypher and date legible, and the wreath-and-helmet medallion sharp in its relief beneath an aged black finish. There is honest wear and toning to the metal consistent with age and period wear, and the registered-design stamp remains readable on the reverse. The stickpin stem is present and straight. There is no significant damage or loss.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eFor the collector, First World War German patriotic jewelry is a broad, affordable, and appealing field, valued for the direct connection these small objects give to the sentiment of the home front, and stickpins combining the Iron Cross with the \u003cem\u003ePickelhaube\u003c\/em\u003e are among the most desirable of the genre for their concentration of national symbolism. This example is a sound and characterful piece, well suited to the collector of Imperial German patriotic jewelry, of Iron Cross related material, or of Great War home-front ephemera, and it displays well as a small original artifact of wartime loyalty.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Derrittmeister Militaria Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50149366759663,"sku":"28-80","price":38.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/9169\/5855\/files\/28-80_1.jpg?v=1783545597","url":"https:\/\/derrittmeister.com\/products\/wwi-imperial-german-patriotic-stickpin-1914-iron-cross-and-pickelhaube-in-wreath","provider":"Derrittmeister Militaria Group","version":"1.0","type":"link"}