two finnis winter war medals, originals?

[kltrond]

Hello. I have two finnish winter war medals. They almost look the same, but one is slightly bigger than the other and has a different backside. As far as Ive been able to tell both of them should be originals. The first one (with "Kunnia isanmaa" on the back) is 3 cm in diameter and looks like most winter war medals Ive seen on this page and others. The other one is 3,3 cm in diameter and the back is different (see pictures). Im pretty sure its original since it came with a lot from a norwegian officer whose family i know. My theory is that the first one (the 3 cm one) is a regular winter war medal given to those that actually were in Finland during the war, while the other one was given to people supporting the finns in one way or another. The recipient of this medal never fought in Finland, but was a great support for them during the winter war when he was in charge of guarding the norwegian frontier to Finland.
Does anyone know if my theory is correct or not? Thanks in advance.

[NikiT]

Hi,

Yep the first one is the regular one given to the Finnish soldiers who participated in the winter war. The second one should be made of iron and was awarded to foreign volunteers. 10000 of those were awarded. Nice medals.

N

[Hans N]

Yes both are originals. First one is the regular one and the second one for foreginers like Niki states. The regular ones are actually made in Germany by B.H.Mayer and was awarded around 700 000 pieces

The regular one also has some add ons (swords for combatants and a wide variaty of metal clasps with names of battle areas and military branches that are fastened on the ribbon) if one want to collect the them all.

The one for foreginers came in 4 variations (black, bronze, silver and gold)