Mega rare WWI "Duke Ernst Medal 1st cl. with Swords"

[Klaus O.]

Fellow collectors,

I just wanted to share one of my rarest medals in my collection.



The correct name in German is "Sachsen-Altenburg, Herzog-Ernst-Medaille 1.Kl. mit Schwertern". This medal was created late in the war, on June 29, 1918, by Duke Ernst II. It was meant for military personnel without regard to rank and became one of the least frequently bestowed Imperial German Awards of the war.

The main reason for the small numbers were the requirements that a recipient had to meet in order to earn it. The awardee had to be either a native of Altenburg or be serving in the 8th Thuringian Infantry Regiment no. 153. In addition, he had to possess the Iron Cross 1st Class.

The total numbers of awards of this medal came to only 86 (which it makes it 10 times rare than the WWII Knight Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves, just as comparison).

Enjoy...

mit freundlichem Gruss,

Claudio

[Rick Research]

I sold one of these a few years back for a German friend. It was too "rich" for my collection and went into one of the top American Imperial collectors' collections after travelling up and down the East Coast being vetted by the Guys Who Know.

There are many fakes of this plain looking award out there folks (no, I do NOT know how to tell--only hand inspection and experience beyond mine will tell) so beware of the constant offerings of them in The Usual Places.