Rothe Kreuz Ehrenzeichen Medaille 1.Klasse 1898 (Red Cross Medal 1st Class) (Private Purchase – 1917-1921) (CONSIGNMENT)

Maker: Godet
Diameter: 46.9 mm
Weight: 14.25g
Type: Red Cross
Material: Bronze or Brass

Rothe Kreuz Ehrenzeichen Medaille 1.Klasse 1898 (Red Cross Medal 1st Class)

The 1st Class Medal was awarded to high-ranking individuals either for their highly meritorious work or the financial support of the Red Cross.
All officially awarded crosses were produced by the Berlin Mint. However, there are also crosses made by Godet Berlin, but in this case, they were privately acquired by the recipients after World War I, for example, to replace a lost or damaged original award.

Data on the total number of specimens awarded vary in different sources: Elke Bannincke, in his article in Numismatisches Heft 3/1996, states that between 1898 and 1921, 260 first-class decorations were produced and subsequently awarded at the Berlin mint. In the magazine of the veterans’ organization Kyffhäuser No. 12/1937, the total number of decorations awarded was 161. According to an article by Peter Sauerwald in Orden und Ehrenzeichen 26/2003, a study of contemporary sources revealed 114 cases of the awarding of first-class decorations.

It is assumed that the difference between the number of pieces produced and the number awarded (officially recorded) is due to the spontaneous awarding of crosses by Kaiser Wilhelm II during the First World War, which were often not listed in official records. The numbers of decorations produced and awarded up to 1914 coincide. We find a difference in the war years, when official records speak of only 40 pieces awarded, although the Berlin mint produced about 190 of them between 1914-21 in batches of 10 to 50 pieces.

The decoration consisted of a silver or gold-plated Geneva Cross, with the inner surface enameled in red and all arms surmounted by royal crowns. The back plain side was provided with a vertical pin. The crosses produced by the Berlin mint were not marked with the maker’s mark; those produced by Godet were marked Godet on the reverse.
The decoration was awarded in a red-coated wooden case together with the award decree and worn on the left side of the chest.

Front:

• Red glass-enamelled cross, the border with the royal crowns at the ends of the cross.

• Hatching shines through the glass enamel.

Back:

• Die-stamped full Bronze or Brass Construction with a smooth pin, with the manufacturer’s name.(Godet) In excellent Condition.

Donated:

October 1, 1898 by Kaiser and King Wilhelm II.

Awarded:

1898-1918 (Private Purchase option up until 1921)

Data:

• Material: gold-plated silver or bronze

• Size: 46.6-48.8mm

• Weight: approx. 14g

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