Awards of Germany - Order of the Württemberg Crown to the Grand Cross

The breast star depicted here was awarded along with the Order of the Great Cross. This is the first form of thoracic stars made of metal, which was awarded before the Foundation of Stars for ruling houses in 1864, and then to other Big Crusaders. F. Steinam and Eduard Foehr from Stuttgart are known as the manufacturer.
The differences for the members of the ruling houses were ribbon, now scarlet instead of crimson. The substrate in the medallion was painted with black enamel instead of silver hatching. Pectoral star medallions exist with rotating lions and lions facing each other from above and below. The sons of the king received the Grand Cross at 7 years old, the princes at 14. The number of Grand Crosses was not limited, but it was supposed to be guided by the number of the Civil Order of Merit. There were 6 large crosses, with the exception of carriers of the royal house.
The Order of the Württemberg Crown was established by King William I on September 23, 1818. For this, the orders of the Golden Eagle (1807) and the Civil Order of Merit (1806) were combined in the order. The order had 3 classes: Grand Cross, Komtur and Knight. It was accompanied by a gold and silver medal for merit. Bearers were required to wear the order in their own name and coat of arms. Bourgeois carriers were elevated to personal nobility. Only the king himself could determine the inclusion in the order. In 1864, the Knight's Cross was extended with a crown. During the war of 1870/71, swords were donated for all classes. Knights were divided into 1st and 2nd centuries. In 1886, for special merits, he was also awarded the Honorary Knight's Cross with a crown. Since 1892, the honorary knight's cross was the nodal cross, the silver medal for merit was abolished. The order was subject to return either upon promotion to a higher class or upon the death of the bearer. As of 1913, not a single personal nobility was attached to the award.

Eight-pointed silver star. In the center is a gold enameled medallion. Between the 8 main beams, respectively, 7 intermediate beams graduated to the center (64 steels in total). Single rays are limited by lateral decorative lines. Back side with vertical pin. In the center is a round, domed and decorated overlay with the manufacturer's designation.

Front side:

• Medallion with a wide golden burgundy and red translucent enameled ring.
• Hatching is visible below it. On the ring is a golden circular inscription:
• Above: - Fearless -, below: - and - trew - (faithful) subsequently wavy decorative line.
In
• a locked midfield on a silver, shaded background, an order cross. (reverse
)
• White enameled 8-point cross (Maltese cross) with round middle medallion.
• Between the cross sleeves are opposed golden lions with raised leprosy.
• Red ring medallion. Centered on a silver, shaded background is a gold royal crown.

Downside:

• Smooth and silver with a vertical pin.
• Dome, center, circular cover plate with manufacturer's designation:
• Curved from above - EDUARD - FOEHR -, central straight - KÖNIGL - HOFJUWELIER -.
• Curved down - STUTTGART -.

Pictures of Nagel auction house, Stuttgart