Germany, Third Reich. A Rare Order of the German Eagle, I Class Merit Cross with Case, by Deschler & Sohn Auction Archive on original striped ribbon with

on original striped ribbon with bow

formerly retaining a rhomboid moisture guard on the crown

Floyd with a strength of 21 officers and 495 other ranks

both items mounted to a silvered bronze base

and is stamped with an SS proof mark

Germany, Third Reich. A Rare Order of the German Eagle, I Class Merit Cross with Case, by Deschler & Sohn Auction Archive on original striped ribbon with(Orden vom Deutschen Adler Verdienstkreuz I. Stufe mit Etui). Instituted 1 May 1937. (1937 1943 issue). Constructed of gilded silver with enamels, consisting of a Maltese Cross with white enameled arms, joined through the quadrants by NSDAP style German national eagles clutching wreathed mobile swastikas on white enameled discs, the twelve oclock arm topped by an eyelet and loop retaining a period original length of neck ribbon, the six oclock arm