Prussian Gold Merit Cross of 1912

[Rick Research]

I'm posting this for N Latimer. It is a cased, officer style mounted Verdienstkreuz in Gold, created 1912. There was also a higher grade with Crown and lower grades in Silver with and without Crown.

Statutes say merely that it could be awarded to military or civilian personnel regardless of nationality. No mention at all of what sort of RANKS could get it--or even the broadest of hints WHY they would get these, rather than something else!

This one has a mounter's tag on back for E Steilberg of Münster in Westfalen, and has had the plush lower inside pad removed to store the mounted cross inside.

Price guide "values" on these are laughable-- I think I've seen a combined total of 6 of any of the four grades in the last 30 years.

Anyone have any more information on who got these, why, and how many were actually awarded?

[stogieman]

Sorry, wrong case

Hi, this case would have been used strictly for the Prussian Order of the Crown, Third or Fourth Class. The honor crosses came in plain black, or red cases, with no title/etc. on the lids.

[Daniel Krause]

Hi Rick,

the Verdienstkreuz was the high-level decoration for most senior NCO´s and that kind of beamten who were not in the rank to get an order and who were to high to get a simple Allgemeines Ehrenzeichen. So only a small group of people could get the Verdienstkreuz.
You are right, the prices in the catalogue are ridiculous.

Somewhere I have the numbers how many were awarded, but I have to look for it.

Best regards

Daniel

[Daniel Krause]

So, here it is,

to whom it was given:
(sorry, but I cannot translate the civil ranks properly, thats why I write it in the original German words.

Beamte der Assistenzklasse after 30 years of service the Gold cross,
Kanzleisekretäre after 30 years the silver one, after 40 years the golden one,
Kanzleiinspektoren after 25 years the silver one, after 35 years the golden one,
Unterbeamte, if they have the General Honor Decoration or the cross of the General Honor decoration, after 40 years the silver cross.
I cases of very special merits the years in service are not interesting"

how often it was given:

both classes around 9000 times
BUT with crown only 7 in Silver and 11 in Gold

Best regards

Daniel

[Rick Research]

Thanks for the numbers Daniel!

Now this is where it gets interesting:

in the handful of mounted medal GROUPS I have seen this in, there were NEVER (as I recall) any of the "routine" earlier years-of-service awards like the General Decoration Medal in Silver!

Simply from the number of years service, there would seem to have been no reason to have awarded any of THESE crosses, rather than the Cross of the General Decoration.

So:

1) why did the sort of people who got these Merit Crosses NOT get earlier/lower "routine" length of service awards?

2) why THESE crosses, and not something else?

The cross above is a single--no previous award at all!

[Daniel Krause]

Hi Rick,

it is NORMAL, because all of the prussian decorations, beginning from the General Honor dec. in Bronze to the Verdienstkreuz in gold were given after minimal 25 years of service and the grade of decoration the guys get depends from the rank they have.
I have seen groups with the General Honor dec. and the Cross of the Honor dec. and i have seen groups with the Verdienstkreuz and the crown order 4th class. But mostly the Verdienstkreuz is a single award, not combined with another prussian dec. because the group of people who could get that cross is very small.
There was also an interesting group of a NCO in germany. He got the Honor dec, cross of honor dec. and after 50 years the cross of the Inhaber of the Hohenzollern order, but no Verdienstkreuz, it was not his level of award.
The verdienstkreuz is a very rarely given award, available only to a small circle of people. Most were in lower ranks and got the General Honor dec. the other had officers rank and got the orders.

Best regards

Daniel