Ludwig Cross

[FireMedals]

Help!

Can someone tell me the requirements for this award? I've been offered a three medal bar with the Ludwig Cross, 1914/18 Honor Cross, and the ever-present 1920-36 Fire Brigade 25-year Honor Medal. Since I don't know the secret handshake (and I don't have a good Imperial library) I can find nothing of significance on the web. Thanks for any help.

FireMedals

[Guest Rick Research]

Yours is the first of three types, darkened bronze from 1916. A very nice hard enamel green painted version came along in 1917, followed by the usual lost-war icky zink.

This was Bavaria's all purpose war effort award, created by King Ludwig III on 7 January 1916 "als Zeichen ehrender und dankbarer Anerkennung f?r solche Personen, die sich w?hrend dieses Krieges durch dienstliche oder freiwillige T?tigkeit in der Heimat besondere Verdienste um das Heer oder um die allgemeine Wohlfahrt des Landes erworben haben."

It was awarded without regard to rank or status on military and civil recipients who had NOT already received any Bavarian decoration for the ongoing war. If any other Bavarian WW1 award was subsequently awarded, according to the statutes this was supposed to be returned, but it is often found in groups from after 1918 with other WW1 Bavarian awards.

Over 70,000 were awarded, and probably closer to 90,000 ultimately.

Here is the obverse and reverse of a green finished one, with the underlying zink showing through, and

[attachmentid=3659]

[attachmentid=3660]

two typical military combinations with the Ludwig Cross in second position on both-- the upper ribbon bar and matching lapel bow to a Bavarian army Beamter with the "white-black" noncombatant Prussian Iron Cross, and the three ribbon bar at lower left with the "black-white" combatant Iron Cross and the ribbon for W?rttemberg's war effort award for military personnel, the Wilhelms Cross with swords.

[attachmentid=3661]

BTW, you passed "handshake" here. Welcome to the Club!

[Stogieman]

A good place to mention that there was also a "silver" cross issued cased to members of Bavaria's court. Very rare. Here's a picture of the packaging that these were issued in:

[Guest John Harman]

I had never heard of the silver court version of the cross. Very interesting.

BTW, that above cross and packet are now in my collection. :food-smiley-004: Small world!

Best regards,

John Harman

[FireMedals]

Thanks Rick and Stogieman.

More information than I ever thought I would know. I think I'm going to like this site.

FireMedals

[Jason]

Here's my contribution, one mounted in a colonial group.

cheers Jason

[Stogieman]

Hi John! Welcome!!!!!!!!! Good to see you here! I'm glad John remembers what is his. I have archived photos of everything I've ever handled but keeping track of what went where??! It could probably be researched through my annual spreadsheets, but yikes, what a monster that would be!

[Guest John Harman]

Thanks Rick - it is very good to be here. I like the way this forum is heading. I also keep spreadsheets of what I have, when I got it, from whom I got it, price paid, and pics and details about the piece. Obsessive? Maaaaaaybe :speechless-smiley-004:

Best regards,

John Harman

[notned]

Heres a funny bar that was sold here in NZ recently, i was advised to stay away as it has some disrepancies!

But at least for this thread it has the Ludwig cross.

Cheers

Paul

[Guest John Harman]

Here's a neat little button ribbon set of the Ludwig Kreuz with a Verdienstorden vom heiligen Michael:

[Nick]

Heres a funny bar that was sold here in NZ recently, i was advised to stay away as it has some disrepancies!

Paul

That bar looks suspiciously like a set of some very dangerous fake medal bars that were being sold out of California a couple of years back. Not only are the bars fake, but the medals are all fake too.

I will post a seperate thread on them.

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=1070

You did well to steer clear !

[Bob Hunter]

My only Ludwig Cross is on a bar belonging to a Bavarian policeman.

[Stogieman]

..... mmmmmm! Anybody care to venture a guess as to what makes this seemingly simple Polizei bar so very, very unique and special?

[notned]

Is it the fourth medal on the bar?? as i have no idea what that ones for...and it looks like it might not be German too....

C'mon Stogieman, tell us all!

Regards

Paul

[Gerd Becker]

..... mmmmmm! Anybody care to venture a guess as to what makes this seemingly simple Polizei bar so very, very unique and special?

←

The Merit Medal of the Order of the Bavarian Crown. Its incredibly rare, maybe even rare like the silver Bravery Medal. The first real one, i have seen.

Fantastic bar. Thanks for sharing.

Gerd

[Guest Rick Research]

And...

[Gerd Becker]

Do you mean, there is more?

The Silver Medal of the Holy Michael? Or the 20 years Long Service cross?

[Bob Hunter]

There is also something else unique about this bar...

Edited June 8, 2005 by Bob Hunter

[Gerd Becker]

Come on, Bob. The suspense is killing me

I guess, its the combination, but what?

[Ulsterman]

Is it a 'secret"? Pardon the pun.

[Gerd Becker]

This thread will not disappear, until i got an answer jumping

[Bob Hunter]

St. Michael doesn't make the cut. The rare bird here and an ultra rare bird at that is the Bavarian Politzei 20 Year Long Service Cross.

This is the bar that got me started on the slippery slope thanks to Stogieman...

Edited June 13, 2005 by Bob Hunter

[Bob Hunter]

Here is a close-up of the medal.

[Bob Hunter]

reverse

[Gerd Becker]

Oh, ok, but it isn?t rarer than the mentioned medals. Thats probably, what confused me. Thats a great bar, Bob. Never give it away

best,

Gerd