Original stamping die of war crosses (France, WW2)

Original stamping die for the manufacture of war crosses for France, period 1939/45.

Absolutely exceptional historical piece. Treat yourself to a truly original piece of French military history from the Second World War.
This die was used to strike many of the WW2 war crosses we collect today!

this copy, the 2nd known on the market to date, has the advantage of being signed "CH. LEBRAY" and "L.P"

We talk about dies for making medals, the 'coins' are for making coins but it's the same thing.

The engraver made the model in large format, most often in plaster. He could thus produce very fine details. Then this plaster model passed through a 'reduction lathe'. It is a machine that feels the plaster on one side to engrave in reduced format the metal matrix on the other side. The matrix then received some manual touch-ups from the engraver. Finally, the metal block received a treatment to make it very hard and resistant, allowing softer metals to be struck.

Object measuring 7.2 cm side by 4.2 cm high. Very heavy block of steel: 1,760kg. Provenance: auction room, authenticated by an expert.