Baden Volunteer Fireman's Medals from Tauberbischofsheim

[Guest Rick Research]

These came by to visit today and I thought Saschaw could tell us more about such ? unofficial medals.

[Guest Rick Research]

I say "? unofficial" because the HUGE (42mm) MASSIVE silver, ultra-3-dimensional Friedrich 1 Medal seems in everything except the inscribed city name on the reverse to BE an "official" Merit Medal design:

"C. SCHNITZPAHN, F." The suspension ring on this has been carefully applied to "grip" the rim, but it NEVER had the Italian style loop wearable Merit Medals had.

[Guest Rick Research]

Baden loved to engrave recipients names on the reverse of medals. But what we have here is not a PERSON, but the CITY--

Tauber,,

bischofs,,

heim.

Now why would a PLACE be engraved on a medal like this?.....

[Guest Rick Research]

The other in this pair states on its inscription that it was for 15 years as a volunteer fireman in the city of Tauberbischofshausen.

Since the huge Friedrich medal predates 1907, I suppose this 15 years medal from the city was also from the Imperial era, given the matching ribbon supension.

Obtained by an involuntary American tourist in 1945.

[Schießplatzmeister]

Hello Rick:

The large medal IS an official Baden Merit medal (late 1800's coinage) that had the reverse-center raised inscription removed and was engraved. The original suspension was also removed and this variation added. The FW medal is a Weimar-era town piece.

It looks as though someone took an old Grand Duchy medal that was laying around and modified it to their needs. We look at such things today and cringe, but at the time, they probably had no other use for it!

Best regards,

"SPM"

[saschaw]

Pity those aren't yours, Rick.

Lorin is right about the 1920s medal and said actually all. He isn't with the older medal, but I can add some infomation: it's not an changed merit medal, it had never a "B?gel" suspension and never a "F?r Verdienst" on it's back. Those medals without are called "Ged?chtnismedaille", were instituted in the 1840s by Grand Duke Leopold and were coined by any of the following Grand Dukes and the Grand Duchesses in different sized and metals. Most common are the silver medals in this size. Those medals were not real awards but presents by the Royal Highniesses, especially given to service jubilees, golden weddings etc. The version with this ring suspension and the city's name on the back is a "Amtszeichen f?r B?rgermeister" - a medal for a major! Very rare, very hard to get - congratulations, whoseever it is.

[Guest Rick Research]

Our uniformed tourist also picked up a hand-made Third Reich version from Nassig-- down in that section:

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=26523

[Chris Boonzaier]

Car numberplates from here start with "TBB ..." apparently stands for "Tausend bl?de Bauern..."