Condition: Excellent
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Product Description: This Three Place Imperial Medal Bar is an impressive-looking set of awards for service in World War One. The first award is a very nice 1914 pattern Iron Cross Second Class. It has a nicely detailed core, that retains nearly all of the original, slightly glossy black painted finish. The frame of this cross has crisp beading, and a handsome patina, with blue shades in the toning. The next award is a Medal for Merit in War, issued to enlisted soldiers by the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen in 1915. This medal is made of a brass alloy, and has light age toning; the ribbon features a crossed swords device, with original gold finish. The final medal is a Hindenburg Cross with Swords, the first award instituted in the Third Reich, for WWI veterans. This medal has crisp detail and full original finish. It’s maker marked “39, R. V. Pforzheim.” All of the medals are affixed to their correct original ribbons. The reverse of this Three Place Imperial Medal Bar has its original red felt backing. The round wire pin and brass catch are intact and functional. This medal bar has a great look, and is in a strong excellent condition.
Historical Description: The German Military had a long tradition of issuing awards for achievements ranging from long service and participation in specific campaigns, to battlefield valor. Some types of awards were to be pinned on the uniform, while others were medals that were suspended from ribbons. On the field uniform, only the ribbons for these medals were to be worn. But for dress uniforms used for parade and walking-out purposes, soldiers wore all of their medals in the form of medal bars that would be pinned to the uniform, on the soldier’s chest. Each medal bar was individually custom made by a tailor or a manufacturer of insignia. They were not issue items, they had to be purchased. These ranged from single mounted awards, to long racks of medals indicating a distinguished career of many years, sometimes with medals from both World Wars or even earlier awards of Imperial Germany. German medal bars were also worn on dress uniforms of civil, political, and paramilitary organizations.
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