Germany, Wehrmacht. A War Merit Cross I Class With Swords, By Julius Bauer & Söhne Auction Archive which functioned under the aegis

which functioned under the aegis of the Civil Aviation Branch of the Department of National Defence in Ottawa

in bronze gilt (with Second award laurel leaves attached to ribbon)

slightly dirty/salty from storage

Both his Southwest Campaign medal as well as teh Order of Vasa are confirmed in the Bavarian 1914 military handbook

The handle grip is composed of a single piece of black painted wood

Germany, Wehrmacht. A War Merit Cross I Class With Swords, By Julius Bauer & Söhne Auction Archive which functioned under the aegis(Kriegsverdienstkreuz I. Klasse mit Schwertern). Constructed of silvered tombak, consisting of a Maltese Cross with crossed swords piercing the centrepiece, the obverse with pebbled arms and bearing a central wreathed mobile swastika, the reverse with a raised barrel hinge and flattened vertical pinback meeting a flat wire catch, the pinback maker marked with Prsidialkanzlei code 43 for Julius Bauer & Shne, Zella Mehlis, measuring 48. 18 mm (w) x 47.