Item number: M543

Year: AD 1890-1934 persumed

Material: Silver, Bronze, Brass, Iron, Metal-Gilt

Size: 155 x 71.5 mm

Weight: 158.6 g

Provenance: Teutoburger Münzauktion GmBH 2025

This is a medal set (Ordensspange) primarily comprising decorations conferred by the German Empire, with the ribbons mounted on a medal bar. Arranged from dexter to sinister (left to right), the decorations are the Iron Cross, the War Merit Cross (Lippe), the Honour Cross of the World War, the Military Long Service Cross, the China Commemorative Medal, and the Breast Badge of the Order of the Double Dragon. This group is presumed to have belonged to the same recipient as the “German Empire Miniature Medal Brooch”.

Iron Cross, III model

The medal takes the form of a cross pattée with curving, flared arms, fabricated in black cast iron with a silver border featuring a beaded inner edge, mounted onto an iron core. At the centre of the obverse, the royal cypher ‘W’ denotes ‘Wilhelm’, representing Wilhelm II, who reinstituted the decoration in AD 1914. Positioned above is the Prussian royal crown, and below is the reinstitution date for this third model, ‘1914’.

At the centre of the reverse are three oak leaves, symbolising strength and honour. Above them rests a royal crown and the initials ‘FW’ (or ‘W’ denoting Friedrich Wilhelm), representing Friedrich Wilhelm III, who originally founded the decoration in AD 1813. Inscribed below is the original institution date, ‘1813’.

The ribbon features a black field flanked on either side by a white stripe, identical to that of the paramount Order of Merit (Pour le Mérite). For non-combatants, the ribbon colours were inverted.

There is no physical distinction between the badges of the First and Second Classes of the Iron Cross, which are distinguishable solely by their reverse mounting apparatus. Whilst the Iron Cross within this mounted group is suspended from a ribbon—precluding a definitive determination of class from the presence of a breast pin alone—the associated miniature stickpin features both a larger and a smaller Iron Cross, which likely indicates that the recipient held the First Class. Although the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (Großkreuz) was physically larger, its five historical recipients possessed exceptionally illustrious arrays of honours that do not correspond to the remaining decorations in this particular group.

War Merit Cross (Principality of Lippe)

The medal takes the form of a cross pattée with flared arms. The borders of the cross are smooth, whilst the inner fields exhibit a stippled, textured surface. The centre features a five-petalled Lippe rose encircled by a laurel wreath. Above it sits an ornate royal cypher ‘L’ representing Lippe, surmounted by a princely crown. Inscribed below is the institution date, ‘1914’. The standard reverse bears the horizontal German inscription ‘AUSZEICHNUNG IM’ across the centre, flanked by ‘FÜR’ above and ‘KRIEGE’ below, translating as ‘For Merit in War’. The military ribbon is striped white-red-yellow-red-white, with a broader central yellow band.

The cross was instituted on 8 December AD 1914 by Prince Leopold IV. By AD 1922, a total of 18,375 crosses on the combatant ribbon and 1,117 crosses on the non-combatant ribbon had been conferred.

The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918

The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (Ehrenkreuz des Weltkrieges 1914/1918), commonly designated the Hindenburg Cross (Hindenburgkreuz), was instituted on 13 July AD 1934 by the Reich President of the Weimar Republic, Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg. It constituted the first and only officially recognised, nationwide commemorative service decoration established in Germany following the First World War. Prior to its creation, various commemorative badges for veterans were issued independently by former federal states or private veterans’ associations; this decoration was instituted to confer unified national recognition upon all participants in the First World War and honour their sacrifices.

The decoration takes the form of a cross pattée with flared arms. The central medallion bears the dates ‘1914 / 1918’ enclosed within a laurel wreath, with the overall design executed by Eugène Godet. The decoration was established in three classes: the Class with Swords (featuring crossed swords between the arms of the cross) awarded exclusively to frontline combat veterans; the Class without Swords awarded to non-combatant military personnel serving in rear-echelon and logistical roles; and the Black Class (without swords and featuring a blackened finish) conferred upon the widows and parents of those killed in action, deceased from war-related causes, or missing. The ribbon displays the Imperial German colour scheme of alternating black, white, and red stripes, with the colour arrangement inverted for the Next-of-Kin version. Applications for the Hindenburg Cross were subject to rigorous official vetting, being granted primarily to surviving personnel or next-of-kin who had served in the Imperial German Armed Forces and affiliated wartime institutions. By the time processing ceased in the AD 1940s, over eight million crosses had been conferred, the vast majority being the frontline combatant version with swords.

Military Long Service Cross Decoration for 15 Years, Officer, Type II

This decoration was originally instituted in AD 1825. The cross takes the form of a cross pattée with flared arms, each arm bordered by three raised fillet lines along its edges. The central medallion features a royal crown, enclosed by a raised double-ring border. The reverse of the original decoration would typically be inscribed with the recipient’s qualifying years of service, ‘XXV’ or ‘XV’, and was suspended from a blue ribbon closely resembling that of the Order of the Crown.

The China Campaign Commemorative Medal

Instituted on 10 May AD 1901 by Emperor Wilhelm II, this medal was established to honour the valour and endurance displayed by participants in military operations in East Asia. Qualifying service was strictly defined between 30 May AD 1900 and 29 June AD 1901, and the medal was divided according to recipient status into a bronze version for combatants and a steel version for non-combatants. Eligible recipients encompassed all officers, enlisted ranks, medical officers, naval engineers, and ordnance and quartermaster personnel who had directly participated in military actions or had been stationed in the region prior to hostilities. Eligibility likewise extended to volunteer nursing personnel serving in the field, in field hospitals, and on hospital ships, alongside detachment guards stationed in Peking and Tientsin, as well as non-Chinese individuals sheltering within the German Legation, with total awards exceeding forty thousand.

The medal is circular in form. The centre of the obverse depicts a crowned Imperial Eagle flying towards the sinister (viewer’s right), its talons firmly clutching a vanquished Chinese dragon beneath it. The dragon’s body conforms in a semicircle along the lower rim, whilst its tail winds upwards in an S-shape across the eagle’s wing, the entire device enclosed by a laurel wreath. The reverse is likewise bordered by an outer laurel wreath enclosing the German inscription ‘DEN SIEGREICHEN STREITERN’ (‘To the Victorious Warriors’). At the centre rests the German Imperial Crown with pendilia flanked on either side, directly beneath which is the ornate royal cypher ‘W’ of Emperor Wilhelm II, with the campaign dates and theatre ‘1900 CHINA 1901’ inscribed at the base. The original ribbon is bordered on either side by a narrow white stripe, followed inwards by 3 mm stripes of black, white, and red representing the German Imperial colours, flanking a broader central yellow stripe with narrow white piping.

The Badge of the Order of the Double Dragon, Second Class Third Grade

This breast badge (fu baoxing) is fashioned in the form of a five-petalled lotus blossom. The interstices between the petals are filled with five five-petalled blossoms in blue enamel, evidently depicting lotus flowers in profile. The central medallion housing the principal device features an outer border chased with two dragons contending for a pearl, depicted as two scaleless dragons whose heads face upwards towards a plain cabochon red coral. In this specimen, the standard red coral prescribed by regulation has been replaced with the two Chinese characters ‘Gongpai’ (Merit Plaque) rendered in blue enamel. It was possibly a Merit Plaque originally manufactured in the alternative physical form of the Order of the Double Dragon. The present ribbon of this decoration is light blue, differing from the purple prescribed by official Qing Dynasty regulations.

As early as the 2nd year of the Tongzhi reign (AD 1863), officials including Li Hongzhang, whilst formulating pensions and honours for foreign commanders assisting imperial campaigns, recognised the necessity of introducing a Western honours system to appropriately reward deserving foreign personnel without altering the existing administrative framework. Consequently, several high-ranking officials successively proposed commendation systems based on Gongpai (Merit Plaques) and Baoxing (Precious Stars). These initiatives were subsequently harmonised, with Gongpai corresponding to Western medals and decorations, and Baoxing corresponding to Western orders and breast stars, culminating in AD 1908 in a unified system designated as the Order of the Double Dragon.

Assuming that this medal group belonged to a single recipient, the individual was evidently already serving as a junior officer at the outbreak of the Boxer Movement in AD 1900, deploying to China with the East Asian Expeditionary Corps or naval marine detachments and thereby earning the China Commemorative Medal. Subsequently, he witnessed the transition of the Prussian military long service awards system, receiving decorations under both the pre-AD 1913 regulations (AD 1825–1913) and the revised Officer Long Service Cross introduced in AD 1913. This indicates that on the eve of the First World War, he had accumulated at least fifteen to twenty-five years of active service, establishing him as a seasoned officer within the Imperial Army.

Upon the outbreak of the First World War, he led troops at the front and was awarded the Iron Cross (1914 pattern). The concurrent award of the War Merit Cross of the Principality of Lippe narrowly identifies his regimental affiliation. Because the defence of the Principality of Lippe was administered entirely by the Prussian VII Army Corps, this decoration points with high probability to the 6th Westphalian Infantry Regiment ‘Count Bülow von Dennewitz’ No. 55 (Infanterie-Regiment „Graf Bülow von Dennewitz“ (6. Westfälisches) Nr. 55), whose 3rd Battalion was permanently garrisoned in Detmold, the capital of Lippe, indicating that he served as an officer within this regiment or the broader VII Army Corps structure. Following the conclusion of the war, he retired upon the demobilisation and dissolution of the Imperial Army, successfully navigating the Weimar Republic era. When President von Hindenburg instituted the Honour Cross of the World War (with Swords for combatants) on 13 July AD 1934, he was still living and duly submitted his application to receive the decoration.

物件編號: M543

年代: 推測約公元 1890-1934 年

材質: 銀、青銅、黃銅、鐵、鍍金金屬

尺寸: 155 x 71.5 mm

重量: 158.6 g

來源: Teutoburger Münzauktion GmBH 2025

這是一套主要來自德意志帝國所頒獎章的獎章組，綬帶固定於橫桿上。由左至右為「鐵十字勳章」、「戰爭功績十字(利珀)」、「世界大戰榮譽十字」、「軍事長期服役飾章」、「中國戰役紀念章」、「雙龍寶星副寶星」。應與「德意志帝國 迷你獎章組胸針」為一人所有。

鐵十字勳章 第三型(Iron Cross, III model)

該章呈十字型，各臂呈弧形漸寬，為黑色鑄鐵，邊緣嵌銀，銀邊有細齒紋，再貼於鐵片上。正面中央「W」為「Wilheim」縮寫，即公元1914年版的設立者威廉二世。上方為普魯士王冠，下方為第三型鐵十字勳章的設立年｢1914｣。

背面中央為三片橡葉，象徵力量與榮譽。上方為王冠與「W」，其為「Wilheim」縮寫，即公元1813年版的設立者腓特烈·威廉三世。下方為最初的設立年「1813」。

綬帶為黑底，兩側各有一道白色色帶，與最高等級的「功勳勳章」(Pour le Mérite)相同。非前線戰鬥人員的綬帶為反色。

第一以及第二級的鐵十字勳章章體沒有任何區別，僅從章背依配戴方式而能辨認。此章組鐵十字勳章為綬章，未能從襟章的有無來判斷等級，但此獎章組與獎章胸針同為一人所出，該胸針具有一大一小的鐵十字勳章的，可能表示該鐵十字勳章為一級。大十字鐵十字勳章雖然實際尺寸更大，但是獲頒的五人均一身榮勳，不大符合此章組的其餘獲頒獎章組合。

戰爭功績十字，利珀親王國

該章呈十字型，各臂漸寬。章緣較光滑，內部有粗面紋路。中央為一朵五瓣的利珀玫瑰，環繞月桂葉冠。上方花體的「L」為「利珀」(Lippe)的縮寫，「L」上方有王冠。下方為設立年「1914」。原章背面為中央橫列德文「AUSZEICHNUNG IM」，上下方橫列「FÜR / KRIEGE」，直譯為「戰時功勳」。軍事綬帶為白-紅-黃-紅-白，黃色色帶較寬。

該章由利奧波德四世親王於公園1914年12月8日設立。截至公元1922年，共頒發了18,375枚佩戴戰鬥人員綬帶的十字章和1,117枚佩戴非戰鬥人員綬帶的十字章。

世界大戰榮譽十字佩劍勳章1914/1918

1914/1918年世界大戰榮譽十字勳章（Ehrenkreuz des Weltkrieges 1914/1918），通稱興登堡十字勳章（Hindenburgkreuz），由威瑪共和國帝國總統保羅·馮·興登堡於公元1934年7月13日設立，是一戰結束後德國官方設立的第一個也是唯一一個全德統一的一戰服役紀念章。在此之前，各類一戰老兵紀念章多由各舊邦國或私人退伍軍人協會自行頒發，該章的設立旨在以國家名義統一表彰所有一戰參與者及其犧牲奉獻。

該章呈十字型，各臂漸寬。中央圓盤內標註年份「1914 / 1918」並環繞月桂葉冠，整體設計由尤金·戈德施密特（Eugene Godet）完成。勳章共分為三個版本：佩劍版(十字四臂的角隅帶雙劍交錯於專門授予前線作戰老兵；無劍版授予在後方或後勤服役的非戰鬥軍事人員；黑色版(無劍且表面經發黑處理)則授予一戰陣亡者、傷亡失蹤者的遺孀與父母。佩戴綬帶為黑、白、紅三色相間的帝國配色，遺屬版綬帶顏色配置則相反。興登堡十字勳章的申請須經官方嚴格審查，主要向曾服役於德意志帝國武裝部隊及相關戰時機構的在世人員或遺屬發放。截至公元1940年代停止受理為止，該勳章合計頒發超過八百萬枚，其中絕大多數為佩劍的前線作戰版。

15年長期服役軍事飾章 第二型

該章初設於公元1825年。章體呈十字型，各臂漸寬，各臂邊緣有三道凸起的邊線。中央圓蓋中央為王冠，圓蓋邊緣有凸起的雙環。原章背面應鐫有獲頒者服役年限「XXV」或「XV」，綬帶為藍色，設計類似王冠勳章。

中國戰役紀念章

該章由德皇威廉二世於1901年5月10日頒布設立，旨在表彰在東亞軍事行動中表現英勇與堅韌的參戰人員。該章嚴格界定了1900年5月30日至1901年6月29日期間的服役資格，並依據對象身分區分為授予戰鬥人員的青銅版本與授予非戰鬥人員的鋼質版本。其頒發對象涵蓋直接參與軍事行動或在戰事爆發前已駐紮當地的全體官兵、軍醫、海軍工程師及軍械軍需人員，同時包含在戰場、野戰醫院與醫院船上服務的志願護理人員，以及駐守北京與天津的警衛隊員和避難於德國使館內的非華籍人員，總頒發量超過四萬枚。

章體呈圓形。正面中央為一隻向右展翅飛翔且頭戴皇冠的帝國鷹，其利爪牢牢攫住一條屈服於下方的中國龍；龍身呈半圓形貼於底緣，龍尾如S形向上蜿蜒掠過鷹翼，周圍飾有月桂葉花環。原章的背面外緣同樣飾有月桂葉花環，內圈環繞德文銘文「DEN SIEGREICHEN STREITERN」(致勝利的戰士)，中央為兩側垂有飾帶的德意志帝國皇冠，其下方正對著德皇威廉二世的花體「W」字母花押字，最底端則鐫刻戰役年份與地點「1900 CHINA 1901」。綬帶以兩側的細白邊為框，向內依序為較細的黑、白、紅三色德意志帝國國旗條紋。正中央黃色主條帶較寬，黃色兩側並帶有白色細邊。

二等第三級 第二版雙龍副寶星

該副寶星呈五瓣蓮花瓣形。花瓣間隙填充五朵五瓣藍色琺瑯彩花，應為蓮花之側面。承載主圖的上蓋部分，外圈呈雙龍搶珠圖，為兩隻無鱗龍之龍首朝上，龍首間為一光面紅珊瑚。原章規制的紅珊瑚以藍色琺瑯的「功牌」二字取代。可能為原「功牌」獎章另行製作成雙龍寶星的外型。該章現綬帶為淺藍色，與清代官方制度的紫色相異。

早在同治二年（公元1863年），李鴻章等官員於撫卹外國助戰將領時，便已注意到，應當引入外國獎勳制度，才能適當的酬謝外國有功官兵，而且並不會涉及既有制度。於是，數位官員先後提出「功牌」、「寶星」等獎勳制度，後經整合，以「功牌」對應西方獎章，以「寶星」對應西方勳章及星章。直到公元1908年整合為單一的「雙龍寶星」體系。

若假設該獎章組受勳者為同一人，則該受勳者顯然於公元1900年義和團運動爆發時，已作為基層軍官，隨東亞遠征軍或海軍陸戰部隊開赴中國參戰，因而獲頒中國戰役紀念章。此後，他經歷了普魯士軍事服役獎勵制度的變更，先後獲頒公元1825年至1913年舊制的長期服役飾章，以及公元1913年改制後的軍官長期服役十字章，顯示其在第一次世界大戰爆發前夕，已在現役部隊中累積了至少十五年乃至二十五年的經歷，是一戰前夕帝國陸軍中的骨幹。

一戰爆發後，其人率部投入前線戰局並獲授一九一四年型鐵十字勳章；同時獲頒的利珀戰爭功績十字章，則高度限定了其服役部隊的編制。由於利珀親王國防務全權交由普魯士第七軍團代管，該勳章極大機率指向常駐利珀首府德特摩爾德的西發利亞第55步兵團「比洛·馮·丹尼維茨伯爵」，並可能於該團或第七軍團編制內擔任軍官。大戰結束後，他隨帝國軍隊解體而退役，並平安渡過威瑪共和時期。公元1934年7月興登堡總統設立世界大戰榮譽十字勳章(佩劍前線老兵版)時，他仍健在，並申請獲頒。