Cased German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold). The German Cross was introduced by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941 in two classes, Gold and Silver. The gold class cross was awarded to military personnel for exceptional acts of bravery or achievement in combat, the Silver class was awarded for distinguished acts of service in the war effort. The German Cross was to be worn on the lower right breast of the service tunic or field blouse. This is the light weight version, maker marked with number '20' on the pin, indicating production by the company 'C.F.Zimmermann' in Pforzheim. All enamel of the cross is intact and still in stunning condition. The cross is in overall very good condition. The cross comes in its matching black coloured case, the case is showing some minimal traces of usage. The name 'Frank L. Dutton' is stamped inside the lid. On top of the box a piece of tape is pasted with the script: "Goering - Gold Star Flying Award. Highest honor Recieved. Taken from Goering's Office., Fred Dutton", he clearly didn't know exactly what award this was. Unfortunately I can't make out the unit he was in, I could only find one match for his name for a member within the 63rd Infantry Division: Dutton, Frank L. Pvt. 39119549, I'm however not 100% positive that this is a match so further investigition can be done to this interesting original souvernir of war. Desirable original cased German Cross in Gold in very good condition!