Author Topic: Student medal - War of Liberation 1913  (Read 3823 times)

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  • (Walter Liebenthal).  1913. 

    ・ZVR ERINNERVNG / AN・DIE・ERHEBVNG・ ——  DER・NATION / / AM ・ 10 ・MÄRZ∙ /           ・1813 ∙ (in remembrance of the rising of the nation on 10 March 1813).  Cast iron, blackened, 88.5 mm, 140.35 g.  Vorzüglich (extremely fine), few minor corrosion spots, cleaned and stabilized.

    Obverse: naked drummer, legs spread wide, vigorously beats a drum; in background flames and smoke rise from fortified town; title double-legend upper edge, divided by image; two-line inscription AM ・ 10 ・MÄRZ∙ / ・1813 ∙  below drummer's feet.  Reverse: legend VNTERRICHTSANSTALT・D・K・KVNSTGEWERBEMVSEVMS・ZV・BERLIN・ (School of the Royal Applied Arts Museum, Berlin) surrounding edge; four-line inscription GEGEBEN・AM・TAGE / DES・XXV・JÄHRIGEN / REGIERVNGSJVBILÄVMS / KAISER・WILHELMSII. (presented on the the 25-year jubilee reign of Emperor Wilhelm II) ; two crossed palm fronds below inscription.

    Cf: Steguweit, Wolfgang.  2009.  Ars Juventuti: Berliner Schülermedaillen von der Unterrichtsanstalt des Kunstgewerbemuseums zur Hochschule für bildende Künste.  Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Münzkabinett, p. 113: 77.


    The date 10 March 1813 may refer to the official inaugural date of the Iron Cross by the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III, the first military order to be awarded to merited individuals regardless of rank.  There was much Prussian activity in March 1813, as the nation broke its alliance with Napoleon and initiated military action against him, but the establishment of the Iron Cross is the only historical event I have thus far found recorded for the 10th day of the month.  Perhaps the open eligibility of that order is indicative of the "rising of the nation" as a whole - as opposed to the aristocracy alone - referred to on the medal's legend.

    I would appreciate comments or clarification about the memorial date of this medal from any reader more knowledgeable of the War of Liberation period in Prussian history.
Student medal - War of Liberation 1913
« on: February 29, 2020, 03:42:17 AM »

(Walter Liebenthal).  1913. 

・ZVR ERINNERVNG / AN・DIE・ERHEBVNG・ ——  DER・NATION / / AM ・ 10 ・MÄRZ∙ /           ・1813 ∙ (in remembrance of the rising of the nation on 10 March 1813).  Cast iron, blackened, 88.5 mm, 140.35 g.  Vorzüglich (extremely fine), few minor corrosion spots, cleaned and stabilized.

Obverse: naked drummer, legs spread wide, vigorously beats a drum; in background flames and smoke rise from fortified town; title double-legend upper edge, divided by image; two-line inscription AM ・ 10 ・MÄRZ∙ / ・1813 ∙  below drummer's feet.  Reverse: legend VNTERRICHTSANSTALT・D・K・KVNSTGEWERBEMVSEVMS・ZV・BERLIN・ (School of the Royal Applied Arts Museum, Berlin) surrounding edge; four-line inscription GEGEBEN・AM・TAGE / DES・XXV・JÄHRIGEN / REGIERVNGSJVBILÄVMS / KAISER・WILHELMSII. (presented on the the 25-year jubilee reign of Emperor Wilhelm II) ; two crossed palm fronds below inscription.

Cf: Steguweit, Wolfgang.  2009.  Ars Juventuti: Berliner Schülermedaillen von der Unterrichtsanstalt des Kunstgewerbemuseums zur Hochschule für bildende Künste.  Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Münzkabinett, p. 113: 77.


The date 10 March 1813 may refer to the official inaugural date of the Iron Cross by the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III, the first military order to be awarded to merited individuals regardless of rank.  There was much Prussian activity in March 1813, as the nation broke its alliance with Napoleon and initiated military action against him, but the establishment of the Iron Cross is the only historical event I have thus far found recorded for the 10th day of the month.  Perhaps the open eligibility of that order is indicative of the "rising of the nation" as a whole - as opposed to the aristocracy alone - referred to on the medal's legend.

I would appreciate comments or clarification about the memorial date of this medal from any reader more knowledgeable of the War of Liberation period in Prussian history.
« Last Edit: March 01, 2020, 11:37:04 AM by Haarmann »