EK1 Iron Cross / Eisernes Kreuz Fritz Zimmermann with marked mark 24

Fritz Zimmermann with marked mark 24
F. Zimmermann was a Stuttgart manufacturer with PKZ number “6” and had an official LDO contract, his number was “L/24” (but he never used it in this form on the first class crosses he made (at least no such examples have been found so far)
However, these pieces marked with the number “24” can be linked to him.
These crosses with this marking form are very rare, and can be completely proven to be linked to Zimmerman, since this marking only occurred on crosses made with such a late core version, presumably through private sales, referring to the L/24 LDO number.

What is also very interesting about this piece is that it has a dark coating on it, which was probably applied to eliminate the shine of the cross.
This is also clearly visible in the attached pictures, that it was not someone else who painted it, but the manufacturer himself did this consciously, presumably on request, on the front side of the frame , the hook and the outer side of the needle.
As we know and have seen similar cases with other badges, since the shine attracted the “sniper”
It is also interesting that the number 24 on the marking is black, while the deeper part giving the outline is light in tone.
The cross is in very good condition, as can be seen in the pictures, unfortunately, the defects that cause the inner iron core to corrode intensively are very common on Zimmermann crosses, regardless of where and under what conditions it was kept, here is a good example of this, the cross is in a shiny condition, but the core has started to rust from the inside out over the past 80 years, probably due to the use of inappropriate primer or lack thereof.

The number 24 in this case is not intended to indicate an ADHP manufacturer,
(this rare piece can also be found on the site)

since they did not make and did not have an official contract for First Class crosses, /pieces made with a 2e frame and a specific back hook and pin solution were found, but as we know, this was made by a jeweler, a certain Robert Koch, from purchased parts from ADHP pattern pieces
F, Zimmermann used the “FZS” marking on the badges he made, more precisely on the marked pieces.