DDR Medal for Long Service in Barracked Police

[Megan]

Medaille für treue Dienste in der Kasernierten Volkspolizei

Instituted 28 April 1954, and awarded for at least five years honest, conscientous and faithful service prior to the formation of the National People's Army.

[Picture credit: Greg Collins]

[ehrentitle]

I believe there were two versions of this medal, numbered and unnumbered. But I'm away from my references at the moment.

[Megan]

You may well be correct. There certainly seem to have been 2 batches of numbers issued, see: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medaille_f%C3%BCr_treue_Dienste_in_der_Kasernierten_Volkspolizei

[ehrentitle]

Bartel says there is a version with a number and one without it. The one without a number is much rarer. If I recall correctly the speculation is that the medals without the number were issued as replacement for lost or stolen medals.

[ehrentitle]

You may well be correct. There certainly seem to have been 2 batches of numbers issued, see: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medaille_f%C3%BCr_treue_Dienste_in_der_Kasernierten_Volkspolizei

Yes there is a 5 digit and a 6 digit version of the number, I have examples of both. The main difference is just an extra "0" at the beginning of the number.