Original Item: One-of-a-kind. This is a very nice genuine medal bar, owned by a German soldier who fought during WWI, and also may have served post war under the Weimar republic. They may have also served in WWII, but there are no medals from that era. The colors on the ribbons are a bit faded, and they do show staining, so this is a medal bar that was worn with pride during the post war era. One of the medals is specific to the Kingdom of Württemberg, so it is very likely that the soldier was from that area.

The set of 3 medals offered in good condition is mounted on a metal backing board with pin and lined in gray felt material and consists of the following medals:

- Imperial German WWI Iron Cross 1914 2nd Class Medal
- Hanseatic Cross for City of Bremen 
- Friedrich-August Cross

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 cross patee 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.

Hanseatic Cross for City of Bremen

The Hanseatic Cross (German: 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.

There were approximately 50,000 awards of the Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg, the largest Hanseatic city. The Bremen Hanseatic Cross was awarded approximately 20,000 times. Lübeck was the smallest of the Hanseatic cities, and its Hanseatic Cross was awarded approximately 8-10,000 times. The roll for the Lübeck Hanseatic Cross have been transcribed by an international team of phaleristic researchers from Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Friedrich-August Cross

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.

This is a great medal bar, ready for further research and display.