sign in sign up
<<
Home , Principality of Lippe

suspended from a 30mm white ribbon with two 8ram red stripes 2mm from the edge.

Figure 9: Reverse of a full-size Hessen traditional modified medal bar trio with tailor’s label

Figure 7: Full-size traditional modified medal Hohenzollern bar trio. The had been a state since 1576 and it became Hesse-Darmstadt part of in 1849. The Silver Honor Medal with Swords of the Princely House Order of Hohenzollern was The Grand of Hesse-Darmstadt had existed since originally instituted in 1842 and was always minted in 1567 and by 1914 had 1,333,000 inhabitants. There were silver. The obverse has two concentric circles surrounding about 150,000 Hessen Honor Medals issued during World a central medallion with the Hohenzollern shield crowned War I, and it was issued regardless of rank to enlisted men by a three-arched crown (Figure 10). The inner circle has as well as officers. FOR TREUE UND VERDIENST, ("for faithfulness and merit"). There is a very small Star of David below the crown in the second circle between the words F~R and VERDIENST. The outer circle has an oak wreath within it.

Figure 8: Obverse of a full-size Hessen traditional modified medal bar trio.

The Honor Medal shown is a later war issue made of silvered zinc (Figures 8 and 9). It is a circular 30mm with the left profile of Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig on the obverse surrounded by the inscription ERNST L UD WIG GROSSHERZOG VON HESSEN. The reverse has F~)R/ Figure 10: Full-size Hohenzollern Bavarian-style medal bar. TAPFERKEIT in the center and surrounded by an oak and laurel wreath. The medal is suspended from a 28ram The reverse, like the obverse, has two concentric circles pale blue ribbon that has two 4mm red stripes inset 2mm that surround the central medallion that bears the from the edge. crowned, intertwined initials FC. The first circle has DEN ltJANUAR 1842, while the outer circle has an oak wreath. It could be awarded with swords, and when that was the

8 JOMSA case the medal was suspended from the intersection of trading cities in the 13th century. Its population by 1914 the swords like the Waldeck War Merit Medal, 4th Class. was 122,000. Fewer crosses from Liibeck were awarded The 30mm ribbon is white with a central 2mm black stripe and therefore it is more difficult to find on a medal bar flanked by two 3mm black stripes inset lmm from the than those of its sister cities. The Ltibeck Hanseatic edge. It’s a fairly difficult medal to find on a medal bar. cross was instituted on September 10, 1914 and like the and Hamburg Cross is a 40mm St. George - Cross with ends that curve slightly inward (Figure 12). The reverse is made of an alloy of copper-bronze that is The had existed since the 12th silvered, while the obverse is cherry-red enamel with a Century and in 1914 its population was 154,000. There narrow silver edge. On the obverse, the center consists were around 18,000 War Merit Crosses awarded in of a 17mm gilt medallion with a black-double eagle World War I. The cross was instituted on December 8, with a white-over-red horizontally divided shield on its 1914. It is similar to an Iron Cross as it is a cross patee, breast. The silvered reverse has in Gothic letters FOR but with a ball for holding the suspension ring (Figure VERDIENST/IM/KRIEGE/Igl4 ("For Merit in the War 11). It has a laurel wreath sunounding the central medal 1914"). It is suspended from a 30mm equally divided and the angles of the cross are open. The Lippe rose is white and red ribbon. centered in the middle of the arms. The cross is 41mm across and the wreath is 3.5mm wide and 23ram in diameter. The obverse has a crowned L is in the center of the top arm with the date 1914 on the bottom arm. The reverse has written in serifed capitals FOR in the top arm, A USZEICHNUNG IM across the center of both arms and KRIEG in the bottom arm, which translates as "For Distinction in War." The combatant’s ribbon consists of a 34mm ribbon with 3mm white and red edges and a central band of yellow. The non-combatant’s ribbon has a central band of white. It’s interesting that on the bar in Figure 14 the Cross of Honor is for non-combatant troops, while the Iron Cross 2nd class and War Merit Cross 2nd class are both suspended from combatant ribbons.

Figure 12: Full-size Liibeck traditional modified medal bar.

Mecklenburg-Schwerin

The of Mecklenburg-Schwerin had 648,000 people in 1914. The Freidrich Franz Order, more commonly known as the Cross for Military Merit, had been a standard since 1848 and was revived at different times with corresponding dates in the center of the bottom ann. In this case, for World War I, it was revived on March 28, 1915 and backdated to August 2, 1914. It too resembles the Iron Cross 2nd class as it is a cross patee, but it has thinner arms despite being 42mm across (Figure 13). It was made of"canon bronze" and gilded. The obverse has a crown in the center of the top Figure 11: Full-size Lippe-Detmold traditional modified arm and the date 1914 in the center of the bottom arm. medal bar. The initials FF are in the center of the intersection of the four arms. They stand for Grand Duke Friedrich Liibeck Franz IV. The inscription FOR/AUSZEICHNUNG IM/ KRIEGE ("For Distinction in War") is on the reverse, The Hanseatic City of Liibeck is the third city along with FOR and KRIEGE respectively centered in the top with Bremen and Hamburg that made up the league of and bottom arms. The ribbon is the same as that for the

Vol. 62, No. 6 (November-December 2011) 9 Mecklenburg-Strelitz Cross for Distinction in War as of medallion in the center of the cross. There is a raised mentioned below and consists of a 36mm pale-blue ribbon beaded rim on each arm and the bottom arm has the date with 3mm yellow and red side-stripes to the edges. For 1914 incised in the widest section. It is suspended from a non-combatants, the red and pale-blue were switched. similar but thinner ribbon to the Mecklenburg-Schwerin Cross for Military Merit as above. The ribbon is a 29mm pale blue wide ribbon with 3mm red and yellow stripes on each edge for combatants and a carmine red colored ribbon with 3mm pale blue and yellow stripes for non- combatants.

Oldenburg

The Grand Duchy had a population of 516,000 in 1914. Approximately 60,000 Friedrich August Crosses were issued after its institution by Grand Duke Friedrich August on September 24, 1914. It is a 39mm black iron cross patee, with parts of a laurel wreath between each of the arms (Figure 15). The 19ram central medallion has the initials FA of its founder in the center and the top arm Figure 13: Full-size Mecklenburg-Schwerin trapezoidal has a crown in the center, while the bottom arm bears medal bar. the date 1914. The reverse is plain, although the raised edging to the arms and central medallion are present. The combatant ribbon is a dark blue 35mm wide ribbon with Mecklenburg-Strelitz two 5.5mm red stripes, 1.5 mm from the edge. The Grand Duchy of Mecklinburg-Strelitz had a population of 108,000 in 1914. Its Iron Cross equivalent is the Cross for Distinction in War, "Brave & Loyal" of which there were only 8,131 crosses awarded in World War I, making it a rare cross to find mounted on a medal bar. It was originally instituted for the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and the Grand Duke Adolf Friedrich VI revived it on the August 11, 1914. When a first class of the medal was instituted on January 1, 1915, it officially became the 2nd class of the decoration.

Figure 15: Full-size Oldenburg traditional modified medal bar.

Figure 14: Full-size Mecklenburg-Strelitz traditional medal bar.

It is a 40mm cross patee (Figure 14). The obverse has the Figure 16: Bar for the Friedrich August Cross mounted on Grand Duke’s initials AF enter-twined under a five-arch a traditional medal bar. crown and surrounded by a laurel wreath making a type

10 JOMSA