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, and possibly served during the interwar years. They definitely served into the WWII era, identified by the 40 Year Civil Service award. They also seem to have a lot of awards from the Kingdom of Bavaria, so they may have been from that area, or at least served there.

The set of 6 medals offered in good condition is mounted on a very nice metal supported medal bar, which has a long securing pin. 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.
- Imperial German WWI City of Hamburg Hanseatic Cross (Hanseatenkreuz).
- Friedrich-August Cross
- Bavarian Merenti Cross of Military Merit with Crown, 3rd Class, 1913 version with Military Ribbon
- Bavarian Prince Regent Luitpold 1905 Jubilee 70 Anniversary Military Medal
- WWII German 1st Class 40 Year Civil Service Faithful Service Medal

A gorgeous ribbon bar spanning two World Wars. Comes ready for further research and display!

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 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".

The Friedrich-August Cross was a German decoration of the First World War. It was set up on 24 September 1914 by Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg, with two classes, for (to quote its citation) "all persons of military or civilian status, who have shown outstanding service during the war itself". The Friedrich-August-Kreuz is a black iron cross pattée with a laurel wreath between the arms. The obverse of the cross bears a circular central medallion with the initials FA. The crown of Oldenburg appears on the upper arm of the cross, with the lower arm bearing the date 1914. The reverse is plain.

Bavarian Merenti Cross of Military Merit with Swords, 3rd Class 1913.
Order of Military Merit was instituted in 1866 in 5 Classes. In 1905 the Cross of Military Merit was revised initially to 2 Classes and in 1913 to 3 classes. Each class was awarded according to the rank of the recipient and could be issued with or without swords (for peace or war time period) and crown (for a 2nd award). The old non-enameled 2nd Class became the 3rd Class and was changed from silver to bronze. The old 1st Class became the 2nd Class. The new 1st Class was identical to the 2nd Class except that it was gilt rather than silver.

This is the third class award, indicating it was received by a low rank soldier, and the swords indicate it was awarded during wartime.

Bavarian Prince Regent Luitpold Jubilee Medal 1905
dated 12. März 1905, Luitpold, Prinz von Bayern, regent of Bavaria, announced the creation of the Jubilee Medal (Jubiläumsmedaille) for the Bavarian Army. The event was the 70th anniversary of Luitpold's entering the army. This medal is a bronze medal, oval in form. It is worn on a watered ribbon in the colors of the House and Knighly Order of St. Hubertus (cinnabar red with light green edges/zinnoberrot mit hellgrünen Randstreifen). The obverse has a bust of Luitpold and the inscription "LUITPOLD PRINZ-REGENT VON BAYERN". The reverse has the inscription: "AM 70. JAHRESTAG MEINES DIENST-ANTRITTES DER BAYER. ARMEE GEWIDMET XII. III. MCMV"

WWII German 1st Class 40 Year Civil Service Faithful Service Medal: The Civil Service Faithful Service Medal (Treudienst-Ehrenzeichen für Beamte Angestellte und Arbeiter im öffentlichen Dienst) was a NSDAP Germany medal of honor that was founded on 30 January 1938, in two grades, to reward civilians and military in the employ of the German public services for long and faithful service.

All officials, employees, and laborers at any level of the public service (local, regional or national) who complete 25 or 40 years service were eligible. The second class award was for 25 years of service was a silver cross, with a silver wreath and a black enameled swas in the center of the cross. The first class award was for 40 years of service was a gold cross, with a gold wreath and a black enameled swas in the center of the cross.

The reverse of both classes was stamped with Für treue Dienste (For faithful Services). in German black letter typeface. The ribbon for the medal is cornflower blue.