Original German WWI & WWII Era Medal Bar with 1914 EKII, KvKII with Swords & Hindenburg Cross – 8 Awards Original Items

Original Item: One-of-a-kind. This is a fantastic genuine medal set, which we assume was owned by a German soldier who fought during WWI in various different areas, earning 7 different awards, some of which were awarded during the interwar period. They then later served for a time during WWII, when they awarded the KVK II with Swords.

The set of 8 medals offered in good condition is mounted on a very nice metal reinforced medal bar, which has a long brass securing pin. The bar is backed by a White / Black/ Yellow Ribbon, which as far as we can tell is for a 1864 German – Denmark campaign medal, definitely a point of interest. The colors are well retained, with some light staining and overall oxidation on the various awards.

It consists of the following medals with Ribbons:

– Imperial German WWI Iron Cross 1914 2nd Class Medal (Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse, or EKII).
– Imperial German WWI City of Hamburg Hanseatic Cross (Hanseatenkreuz).
– German WWII War Merit Cross 2nd Class (Kriegsverdienstkreuz 2. Klasse or KvKII) with Swords (For Combat).
– German WWI Honor Cross of the World War 1914/1918 Medal (Hindenburg Cross) with Swords (For Combat). Maker marked on the back
– Austrian War Commemorative Medal for Combatants (with Swords).
– Austro-Hungarian WWI Pro Deo et Patria Military Medal 1914-1918.
– WWI Hungarian/Bulgarian European War Commemorative Medal 1915-1918 for Combatants
– Order of the Crown of Romania Cross Knight’s Award.

Below is an explanation of each medal in detail:

German WWI Prussian Iron Cross 2nd Class with Ribbon:
Established by Frederick William in 1813 for gallantry in action, the Eisernes Kreuz (EK) decoration was revived several times for later conflicts. The bulk of the issues are divided into 1st and 2nd class versions, but a rare and superior ‘Grand Cross’ was also awarded for successful field commanders. During WW1 the lower decoration was freely awarded with 5½ million second class types issued. Originally, the Iron Cross was an award of the Kingdom of Prussia, however given Prussia’s pre-eminent place in the German Empire formed in 1871, it became an award for all of Germany.

The basic design of the WW1 crosses is a central Tatzenkreuz (cross pattée) struck from iron and mounted in a silver frame which has a raised crenulated decorative border. The obverse of the cross bears the date 1914 under a crowned ‘W’ monogram. Reverse bears an oak leaf cluster with the date of the decoration’s institution, 1813 underneath – the crowned initials of Frederick William are in the top arm above the oak leaf cluster. Suspension for second-class types is by means of a ring, and frequently this ring bears a maker’s stamp.

Please examine the edge seam for authentication, which is not present on reproductions. Iron crosses were commonly constructed from an iron core sandwiched in a surrounding two part silver frame, normally the seam of these two silver parts is visible around the edge of the cross as is seen on this fine example.

The Hanseatic Cross (Hanseatenkreuz) was a military decoration of the three Hanseatic city-states of Bremen, Hamburg, and Lübeck, who were members of the German Empire during World War I. Each republic established its own version of the cross, but the design and award criteria were similar for each. The Hanseatic Cross was jointly instituted by agreement of the senates of the three cities, with each senate ratifying the award on different days. The Lübeck version was established first, on 21 August 1915. The Hamburg version followed on 10 September and the Bremen version on 14 September. The cross was awarded for merit in war, and could be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel. When awarded for bravery or combat merit, it was the three cities’ equivalent of the Prussian Iron Cross.

The Hanseatic Cross came in only one class, a cross worn from a ribbon on the left chest. The cross was a red-enameled silver cross pattée which bore the arms of the relevant city-state on the center medallion. The reverse was identical for all three versions and the center medallion bore the phrase “Für Verdienst im Kriege” (“for merit in war”) and the date “1914”.

War Merit Cross 2nd Class (Kriegsverdienstkreuz) with Swords (for Combat)
This was a decoration of NSDAP Germany during the Second World War, which could be awarded to military personnel and civilians alike. By the end of the war it was issued in four degrees, and had a related civil decoration. It was created by Adolf AH in October 1939 as a successor to the non-combatant Iron Cross which was used in earlier wars. The award was graded the same as the Iron Cross: War Merit Cross Second Class, War Merit Cross First Class, and Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross. The award had two variants: with swords given to soldiers for exceptional service “not in direct connection with combat”, and without swords for meritorious service to civilians in “furtherance of the war effort”. As with the Iron Cross, Recipients had to have the lower grade of the award before getting the next level.

Hindenburg Cross with Crossed Swords (for combat):
The Honor Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (German: Das Ehrenkreuz des Weltkriegs 1914/1918), commonly, but incorrectly, known as the Hindenburg Cross was established by Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, President of the German Republic, by an order dated 13 July 1934, to commemorate the distinguished deeds of the German people during the First World War. This was Germany’s first official service medal for soldiers of Imperial Germany who had taken part in the war, and where they had since died it was also awarded to their surviving next-of-kin. Shortly after its issuance, the government of NSDAP Germany declared the award as the only official service decoration of the First World War and further forbid the continued wearing of German Free Corps awards on any military or paramilitary uniform of a state or NSDAP Party organization.

Austrian War Commemorative Medal
The War Commemorative Medal (German: Kriegserinnerungsmedaille) was a commemorative medal established in 1933 by the First Republic of Austria. The medal was awarded to Austria’s participants in World War I. The medallion of the medal is round, 33 mm (1.3 in) wide, and made of Tombac. The front face of the medal depicts a right facing eagle surmounting the escutcheon with fess depicting the simplified arms of Austria. Below the eagle is the inscription FÜR ÖSTERREICH (For Austria). The reverse of the medal bears the inscription 1914-1918 surrounded by a wreath of oak leaves around the edge.

The medal is suspended from the correct white with two central red stripes and thin red stripes at the edges as well. Combatants could wear crossed gilt swords on the ribbon, such as on this example.

Austro- Hungarian WWI Pro Deo et Patria Military Medal 1914-1918
Hungary (Austro-hungarian Empire): Hungarian WWI Commemorative Combatant’s military medal PRO DEO ET PATRIA (for God and Country). Award for the participation in the Great War. The medal was instituted in 1929. It is mounted on the correct red white and green ribbon, though the green has faded almost completely to yellow. It has the crossed swords on the ribbon, indicating it was awarded to a Combatant in the war.

Hungarian/Bulgarian European War Commemorative Medal 1915-1918:
The Bulgarian European War Commemorative Medal was instituted in 1933, and was available to all WWI veterans including military personnel, non-combatants like medical personnel and civilian officials and next-of-kin. Allied veterans were eligible. The ribbon on this example indicates it was awarded to a combatant. Non-combatant ribbons were the same except with a white stripe down the middle, and next-of-kin medal ribbons had a black mourning stripe in the center.

The medal was awarded until December 31, 1939. About 249,000 medals were issued (about 50,000 to Bulgarians and about 199,000 to allied forces) in three classes.

The Order of the Crown of Romania is a chivalric order set up on 14 March 1881 by King Carol I of Romania to commemorate the establishment of the Kingdom of Romania. It was awarded as a state order until the end of the Romanian monarchy in 1947. It was revived on 30 December 2011 as a dynastic order.

The order had five classes, most of them with limited numbers:
– Grand Cross (limited to 25)
– Grand Officer (limited to 80)
– Commander (limited to 150)
– Officer (limited to 300)
– Knight (unlimited numbers)

The religious character of the model of 1881 is a red-enameled, eight-pointed Maltese Cross with wider margin of gold and white. In the angles of the cross were “C”s, the initials of the founder. The medallion in the middle of the cross shows a royal crown on dark red background. The medallion is surrounded by a white-frost edge surrounded the inscription PRIN NOI INSINE (by ourselves) and the order’s foundation date of 14. MARTIE 1881. On the back of the medallion is 10 MAI U (May 10), the National Day as well as the years 1866 (enthronement of Carol and the foundation of the Romanian dynasty), 1877 (proclamation of Romanian fully independence), 1881 (proclamation of the Kingdom and of Carol as King of Romania).