German Awards - 4th Class Military Order of Merit

The Order of Military Merit was established by King Ludwig II. July 19, 1866. The order was awarded for valiant feats of arms, which, however, did not meet the conditions for awarding the military order of Max Joseph. Civilians could also be awarded if they particularly deserved an army. The Grand Chancellor of the Order was the acting Minister of War. The order first had 5 classes: Grand Cross, Komtur, Knights of the 1st and 2nd classes. class and cavaliers of the Military Merit Cross. In 1891, swords were donated for the wars of 1866 and 1870/71. Swords had to be looked for and purchases were paid. In 1900, the officer's cross was presented to the Military Order of Merit, between the knight of the 1st class and the commander. Until 1905 without fire. In 1905, the enameled cross "For Military Merit" as the lower class of the order was replaced by a silver cross "For Military Merit" in 2 classes. Classes were converted. Now the classes were the Grand Cross, 1st class with a breast star, 2nd class with and without a breast star, Officer's Cross, 3rd class (formerly Knight of the 1st degree. class), 4th class with and without crown, and with and without swords (Knight 2. the class of 1866 fell away) and the Military Merit Cross (silver) of the 1st and 2nd classes. The 4th class was made of silver. The middle shields are gold or silver gilded.
Notable manufacturers were the Hemmerle brothers, Munich and Jacob Leser of Straubing.

Eight-pointed cross made of silver. The cruciform arms are bordered with silver and enameled with blue glass. Through the enamel, a herringbone-like hatching is visible. Front and rear with a gilded central shield. There is a silver flame between the cross sleeves. Between the vertices of the upper cruciform shoulder is a carrier decanter with an ear and a belt ring.

Front side:

• Round medallion, centre enamelled in black with gold cord - L - under Bavarian royal crown
• This is surrounded by a wide white enameled belt hoop at the bottom with a buckle.
• It has a curved gold font at the top: - MERENTI - at the bottom of the antennae and points (belt holes
)

Downside:

In
• a black enameled middle part of the medallion, a golden Bavarian lion walking to the left.
• This is surrounded by a wide white enameled belt hoop at the bottom with a buckle.
• The golden number is arched from above: - 1866 - at the bottom of the antennae and points (ribbon holes
)
• On Agraf is stamped on the left - G.-H.- on the right - 980 -. On the tape ring - 900 -.
• G.H. stands for Hemmerle Brothers, Munich.

Tape:

.

Front side: Military Order of Merit 4th class

Reverse: 4th Class Military Order of Merit

Established:

July 19, 1866 by King Ludwig II.
4. Class 24 November 1905 Prince Regent Luitpold

Awarded:

1905 – 1918

Data:

• Material: silver, enamel
• Size: 49mm x 41mm
• Weight: 21.7g

estimated collector price:

480 – 500 €

OEK Number:

409