Sweden Unknown Swedish medal

[jeffskea]

Has anyone seen this medal before? It says Stribergs Skytteforening on the front, I tried to translate it using iGoogle and I can only gather that it is some kind of shooting medal, any info would be apprecieated.

Jeff

Edited April 29, 2011 by jeffskea

[GRA]

Has anyone seen this medal before? It says Stribergs Skytteforening on the front, I tried to translate it using iGoogle and I can only gather that it is some kind of shooting medal, any info would be apprecieated.

Jeff

Hello Jeff!

I haven't seen this particular medal before, but it is a medal from a shooting association, and the likes of it aren't uncommon. A lot of these associations were founded in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century, and I think they were supported one way or the other by the Swedish Army (weapons, instructors, ammunition etc), in any case they were a significant part of the Volunteer movement in Sweden. Striberg is a (former) mining town in Sweden, and you can see the iron symbol on the medal. I don't know whether the medal was awarded for shooting excellence / shooting competition victory / "association work" (being an association board member) or long-lasting membership, but most probably one of the first options. Is there any engraving on the reverse? Is there a maker's mark (Sporrong, perhaps)?

/Jonas

[jeffskea]

Hello Jonas,

Thank you very much for the reply and the information! Yes there is engraving on the reverse: 3. lag Korps M (and makers mark in the lower left bottom: Westins Stockholm)

On the obverse surrounding the crossed rifles are the words: For Hem Och Hard. I was able to roughly translate that as "went home and hard".

Skytteforening translated "shooting former assesion" so I'm not sure exactly what it means but hope this info helps a little more in determining what it is. Thanks again!

Jeff

[GRA]

Hello Jeff!

3. lag Korps M

3rd place in association championships (probably, "Korps" indicates an older, more military-oriented name for "förening", Korps M - föreningsmästerskap - association championships), whether the championships were open or members only I wouldn't know.

For Hem Och Hard

"For home and hearth", and old-style motto indicating patriotic origin, these shooting associations were, as I mentioned before, connected with the defence of the country. The members were certainly skilled riflemen, but soldiers they were not (the occasional ex-soldier could probably be found among the members, but this was above all a civilian, patriotic and democratic organisation). In the early 20th Century, just before The Great War, the military skills entered the Volunteer movement agenda too, but that is another story and to a part performed by different organisations...

Skytteforening

Shooting association/club

/Jonas

[jeffskea]

I appreciate the proper translations! Thanks for helping me shed light on this unknown medal and giving an insight into swedish history a bit.

Jeff

[Peter J]

I can appreciate the difficulties in translating this motto, I assume even Swedes will find it hard. "För" is "for" and "hem" is "home". The Swedish word "härd" has several meanings i.g. open fire-place, home, quiet corner, point of origin etc. In this context I would suggest "native place" or "home district".

Edited May 1, 2011 by Peter J

[GRA]

I can appreciate the difficulties in translating this motto, I assume even Swedes will find it hard. "För" is "for" and "hem" is "home". The Swedish word "härd" has several meanings i.g. open fire-place, home, quiet corner, point of origin etc. In this context I would suggest "native place" or "home district".

Yes, I guess we could come up with a dozen plausible translations to that particular word between the two of us, and to top it off, we face a motto from a century ago, with another linguistic take on things. Good points, Peter!

/Jonas

Edited May 1, 2011 by GRA

[Mopsi]

That must bee a very rare medal since STIBERG is a very small comunity. It is situated 10 km NW NORA town in ÖREBRO COUNTY. In 1949 STIBERG had 518 inhabitants and in 2005 only 331. The mine was closed in 1967 and the railway disconnected in 1979.

So the Rifle Association in STIBERG was probably a very small organization wich means that a limited quantity of medals were issued.

STIBERG is a part of NORA. There is an association for local history in NORA. You can mail them and ask what they know about the STIBERG Rifle Association, Nowadays allmost swedes understand English. Their mail: mailto:information@hembygdnora.se

Edited September 16, 2011 by Mopsi

[jeffskea]

sorry for the late reply Mopsi but thank you very much for the info I will email them and see what they can find. Much appreciated.

Jeff