RARE WW1 BRUNSWICK WAR MERIT IRON CROSS 2ND CLASS MEDAL FIRST WORLD WAR

Offered is an original German First World War War Merit Cross 2nd Class, awarded for battlefield bravery by the Duchy of Brunswick. Features a 30 mm wide dark toned bronze cross pattée with loop for ribbon suspension; the face with the letters ‘EA’ centrally for Duke Ernst August, oak leaves to either side, the Brunswick crown above, the date ‘1914’ below; the reverse inscribed ‘Für’, ‘Verdienst im’, ‘Kriege’ (For Merit in War) on the upper, central and lower arms respectively; original ribbon for combatants, being sewn directly to the cross suspension ring. The Cross was instituted by Duke Ernst August on 23 October 1914, initially in one class, for merit in action and to be awarded regardless of rank. It is often known as the ‘Ernst August Cross’. On 20 March 1918, a first class of the Cross was created in pinback form, the present Cross becoming the second class, thus mirroring the main awards of other German states, such as the Prussian Iron Cross. The Duchy had a population of less than half a million people and the Cross is not one of the more frequently encountered German decorations.