Austria Austrian Iron Cross needs confirmation, please

[MansfieldTerrier]

Hi

Newbie here, so please go easy on me!

I returned from a week in Salzburg yesterday, and although I'm not a medal collector per se, I came across the one shown in images below in an antique shop. The lady told me that it was awarded for 25 years as an Austrian Officer and showed me the back of the medal with the number '25'

.

I have no reason whatsoever to doubt her; I was just hoping that someone on here might be able to shed a little light on more details regarding this medal, such as a date of issue or any other interesting facts (perhaps value?)

Cheers in advance.

MT

[paja]

Greetings and welcome to GMIC,

Not my field but this link could perhaps be of some use to you:

http://www.bmlv.gv.at/abzeichen/orden/galerie.php?id=122

Original name: Wehrdienstzeichen 1. Klasse für Dienstleistungen im Ausmaß von 25 Jahren, I think it was introduced in 1963.

Best regards.

[Gordon Craig]

MansfieldTerrier

Nice award. I don't have anything like this one as record of my trip to Salzburg. Great city. I would like to see a picture of the top and bottom of the case please.

Regards,

Gordon

[MansfieldTerrier]

BRILLIANT! Thanks!

That website has EXACTLY the medal that I have.

I was hoping that it was going to be much older though.

And, Gordon - it's just a simple red box with nothing on the top and a 'papered' base.

If you REALLY want photos I'll try to get some organised.

MT

[Gordon Craig]

MansfieldTerrier,

Thanks for the offer but pictures are not necessary. I don't own any cased 2nd Republic medals and I was surprised to see this one in an older style case as used in the Austro-Hungarian empire and in the 1st Republic. Cases I have seen previously, or at least those I have paid attention to, were with either rectangular or square. I guess this is something that I missed when looking at pictures of current Austrian awards.

Regards,

Gordon

[MansfieldTerrier]

Well, Gordon, I am no expert at all where medals are concerned; in fact this is the ONLY one I own!

The case is horse-shoe shaped as you can see and has no other markings at all. I have tried to pull the 'inner' velvet out to see if there was any information under it, but it won't budge.

The case looks authentic as the medal fits perfectly into the indentation on the red velvet, so I guess that it is a kosher case for this particular medal.

Anyone have any ideas as to the value of the medal, please?

MT

[Gordon Craig]

No doubt that the medal is correct for the case. As for value, there are two similar medals on ebay.at at the moment. You can find them at

http://www.ebay.at/itm/Wehrdienstzeichen-2-Klasse-fur-15-Jahre-/351133219591?pt=Militaria&hash=item51c12bbb07

Regards,

Gordon

[MansfieldTerrier]

Jings!

I know that's a second class 15 year medal, but it's a hell of a lot cheaper than I paid.

Oh dear - I think I was stung!

MT

[Gordon Craig]

MansfieldTerrier,

The auction hasn't ended yet. Those who post on ebay.de and .at usually start their listing at 1 euro regardless of the value of the item so don't despair because the value is low during the auction. They often end up higher. Keep watching the auctions I posted links to until they end.

Regards,

Gordon