Jim,
Sorry it took me so long to respond. I've been away from the forum too long.
I don't know if you can still see the photos from that auction, but the eagles on Rothe pieces are very tall and narrow, with legs that are bent so that the long lower part of the leg follows parrallel to the eagle's body, bending out only slightly where the feet meet the frame of the cross. There were a couple of variations of originals, but none of them had this style of eagle.
There is a good photo essay of original types of the Pour le Merite on the web site
www.medalnet.net. While the types shown may not be completely inclusive, you will notice there are none that have that particular style of eagle.
Tim