Anhalt Honey Bear

[gregM]

I have a mini Order of Albert the Bear gold merit medal without swords.

I am wondering under what circumstances this would be awarded.

Is this just a "I was there" type of award?

Thanks.

[Riley1965]

Greg,

Would you PLEASE post a pic for those of us just getting their feet wet in all things Imperial?

Doc

[gregM]

Here is a picture.

This is a 15mm mini hanging from a 12.7mm ribbon.

Is this a just a non-combat war effort medal?--Anyone?????

[attachmentid=63437]

[Riley1965]

Here is a picture.

This is a 15mm mini hanging from a 12.7mm ribbon.

Is this a just a non-combat war effort medal?--Anyone?????

[attachmentid=63437]

Greg,

Thank You for posting the medal. Very Nice mini!!!

Doc

[Gerd Becker]

Nice mini, Greg I don?t know, under what circumstances the Golden Medal was awarded, but it is listed (without swords or crown) in my Nimmergut-catalogue. So it was awarded like this.

best,

Gerd

[David M]

Would the Anhalt Staatshandb?cher have list of recipients? Maybe from that list, you would be able to make an assumption of the reason and/or circumstances it was awarded. Maybe the Statuten of the order would say something about this aswell

[gregM]

Nice mini, Greg

Thanks, This came from the famous "Becker Hoard"

Dave Danner lists these medals in gold and silver and with and without swords.

I have sent Dave a PM to see if he might have some more info on them.

Edited December 3, 2006 by gregM

[Guest Brian von Etzel]

Here is mine on a bar. Not so often found mounted. Sadly, Rick tells me the award lists are not yet in his possession.

[Guest Brian von Etzel]

And not dripping with honey, but I find this non-enameled order to be so attractive.

From Dave Danner's great site, "Anhalt had among the fewest decorations of any state of the German Empire. There were only two decorations for military merit and bravery - the Order of Albert the Bear and the Friedrich Cross. ...

All grades could be awarded with swords, but actual awards of the order with swords appear to have been relatively uncommon. Few awards were made during the Wars of Unification and various colonial campaigns and, while there are no known existing World War One award rolls, research by the late aviation awards expert Neal O'Connor points to even fewer numbers awarded, relatively, in this war than in the earlier campaigns."

From Dave: http://home.att.net/~david.danner/militaria/anhalt.htm

Whoever my awardee was, I have to imagine he got this for some amazing event in Afrika.

And to add a little more history to the awards,

"Ritterkreuztr?ger Werner Rudolph Anton

Generalleutnant, Flak-Artillerie

Werner Anton wurde am 03.03.1895 in Dresden geboren und trat am 22.08.1914 als Fahnenjunker in das K?niglich-S?chsische 4. Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 103 in Bautzen ein und kam am 10.10.1914 mit diesem Regiment ins Feld.Am 19.05.1915 wird Anton Adjutant des II. Bataillons und am 04.09.1916 verwundet.Zur?ckgekehrt zu seiner Einheit wird er am 30.05.1917 Ordonnanz-Offizier beim Regimentsstab und F?hrer der 1. Kompanie. Sp?ter wird er Kompanie- und Zugf?hrer.

Neben seinen zahlreichen Auszeichnungen befanden sich unter anderem der Anhalt?nische Hausorden Albrecht des B?ren (Ritterkreuz 2.Klasse mit Schwertern), der am 19.02.1916 verliehen wurde. "

Puts into perspective where future RK winner Anton was when he won his swords.

I tend to disagree with Andreas' assessment of the order. Just from a purely "for sale" perspective, the order with crown and civilian pieces show up often. Plus I'm not sure just how rare the crowned order could be when it's given to a tax collector. But that's just my thoughts to spur discussion. I've seen very few pieces 'crowned' with swords.

Edited December 3, 2006 by Brian von Etzel

[Guest Brian von Etzel]

A nice looking '70 bar belonging to Wilhelm Sieber:

Edited December 3, 2006 by Brian von Etzel

[gregM]

Nice bars Brian. Thanks for posting them

[Riley1965]

Brian,

AWESOME bars!!! Thanks for sharing them!!!

Doc

[Ralph A]

Here is my miniature:

[Guest Brian von Etzel]

Here is my miniature:

What a perfectly cut out mini. Right shape and design. A real marvel.

[gregM]

Fantastic mini

The only thing that would make it better is if it were to relocate

to Wisconsin

[Dave Danner]

Here is a picture.

This is a 15mm mini hanging from a 12.7mm ribbon.

Is this a just a non-combat war effort medal?--Anyone?????

Thanks, This came from the famous "Becker Hoard"

Dave Danner lists these medals in gold and silver and with and without swords.

I have sent Dave a PM to see if he might have some more info on them.

Y'know, the Empire didn't begin in 1914.

For most German orders, at least before 1914, swords didn't distinguish a military award from a civilian award. They distinguished a peacetime award from a wartime award. Thus military officers received orders without swords and NCOs received the associated medals without swords, usually for long and distinguished service, and occasionally for exceptional merit (and occasionally for being in the right place at the right time). Civilians received the same orders and medals for merit, long service (typically in the civil service), etc.

A gold merit medal of the Order of Albert the Bear would, for a soldier, be a senior NCO-type award. Without swords, it would indicate long service or peacetime merit. A civilian award would be to someone whose station in Anhalt society was equivalent to an NCO; perhaps a middle or lower level bureaucrat, police officer or the like whose station wouldn't justify a grade of the Order.

I'm not sure if there were wartime awards of the gold merit medal. Actually, I'm not sure anyone is sure, since the wartime records of Anhalt were destroyed courtesy of our USAAF in the second war. Anhalt generally awarded its Friedrich Cross as its main wartime decoration, on the combatant (green with red edges) and non-combatant (green with white edges) ribbons.

As for Brian's, if the Knight 2nd Class with Swords is a colonial award, it ought to be, if not traceable, "narrow down-able". There were only 10 awards of that grade in the colonial campaigns and Boxer Rebellion combined. And I know of at least two that can be ruled out: Captain von Mar?es of the Schutztruppen, who also had a Red Eagle 4th with Crown and Swords and a Crown Order 4th with Swords, and Captain Hedicke of FAR 9, who had a DA cross and a Crown Order 4th with Swords and who made Lt. Col., so probably had other WW1 awards. Gerd Scharfenberg's studies of Anhalt decorations ought to have the names of the pre-WW1 awards.

[Guest Brian von Etzel]

As for Brian's, if the Knight 2nd Class with Swords is a colonial award, it ought to be, if not traceable, "narrow down-able". There were only 10 awards of that grade in the colonial campaigns and Boxer Rebellion combined. And I know of at least two that can be ruled out: Captain von Mar?es of the Schutztruppen, who also had a Red Eagle 4th with Crown and Swords and a Crown Order 4th with Swords, and Captain Hedicke of FAR 9, who had a DA cross and a Crown Order 4th with Swords and who made Lt. Col., so probably had other WW1 awards. Gerd Scharfenberg's studies of Anhalt decorations ought to have the names of the pre-WW1 awards.

Thanks Dave. And we know it's Afrika and which bars he had. Now if I could only find Gerd's book at the local book store...

[gregM]

Dave,

Thank you very much

[Guest Brian von Etzel]

Anyone have Gerd Scharfenberg's book?