Ice Cross - Medal

Hello everyone, I've finally found it.

This medal, the ice cross, has always fascinated me and I tried for a long time at an acceptable price. It is normally sold around 150 € in these conditions, if perfect 200 €, its price has risen significantly over the past two or three years.

There is a version, is said to officers, quite rare in silver prices that can reach 6-700 € in the best conditions. A variant is even more curious and rare in silver with black enamel, someone says it is wartime, someone says artisan others attribute to the black shirts of the Republic of Salò.

It is not an official medal, then those who had wanted to buy it, that's why even though in Russia they went to so many people the price is quite high. Few could afford to buy a medal when they returned from the front. The most common is made in zinc alloy and the white paint is very delicate, the silver version should be glazed.

Are considered original wartime those marked "Lorioli-MILANO-ROMA" and "A. Picozzi Milan" in two lines on the arm at the bottom, there are many unmarked, there is no clarity on these because they could have been made ​​by other companies or after the war. On the back are engraved the Dnieper Donets written on her arm at the top, DON on the right arm, left arm BUG, LUGLIO941 LUGLIO942 on the arm at the bottom and CSIR at the center. They are usually classified as produced in 60-70 years if they have the brand Lorioli-MILANO-ROMA on one line always on the arm down because in this period the company changed the name.

Unfortunately many have been repainted, but a careful eye should be able to see any burrs that are on the edge or color differences. Another dilemma is the ribbon sometimes the most recent of the cross, to recognize more recent tapes must assess the color, I've seen use UV lamps to see if the white is due to dye recently.

One Thanksgiving, as always, go to the forum "miles" from whom I learned a lot of useful information.

This is mine.