Very early Bundesverdienstkreuz with flat back

[Uffz. Rohleder]

Hello all,

 

here a nice early Bundesverdienstkreuz with the flat reverse - this reverse were only used till mid 1950s

 

Greetings

Stefan

[Gordon Craig]

Uffz. Rolder,

Interesting comment.  Since this post I've been going through my BVK collection and doing some research and the one thing that is almost always missing is pictures of the back of the award.  I have a few questions for you;

1-If I understand you correctly, you are saying that the back of the Verdienstkreuz am Bande was flat until the mid 50s and then was not?

2-If so, what did the back of the Verdienstkreuz am Bande look like when it was no longer flat?

The reason I ask is that I have a Verdienstkreuz am Bande for a woman with a flat back that is 47 mm in size and according to "Die Orden und Ehrenzeichen unserer Republik" by Alezander v. Sallach until 1979 women received the men's 55 mm cross and only from 1979 on were they awarded the 47 mm cross.  From your comment above I would not have expected the women's 47 mm cross to have a flat back.

Here are pictures of cased women's one that I have that has a flat back.  The case is marked to S&L.

Regards,

Gordon

 

 

[speedytop]

Gordon,

you must here differentiate between the decorations for men and for women, it is not always the same.

Please have a look here:

http://ordensmuseum.de/bundesverdienstorden/stufen/stufe-verdienstkreuz-am-bande/

Uwe

Edited June 12, 2015 by speedytop

[Gordon Craig]

Uwe,

 

Thanks very much.  That is exactly what I was looking for.  It should have occurred to me to go to the Ordensmuseum.de to look for pictures of the back.  The information on this site really expands collecting in the BVK field.

Regards,

Gordon

 

 

 

[Paul R]

Another beautiful award.  How possible is it for enlisted or NCOs to receive this?  What sort of deeds are required for this award?

[speedytop]

Hi Paul,

it is a civilian award, nearly impossible for EM and very seldom for NCOs.

The lower award, the "Verdienstmedaille"

http://ordensmuseum.de/bundesverdienstorden/stufen/stufe-verdienstmedaille/

is more accessible, but really not often.

I could honor one of my NCOs with the medal, but it was difficult. Normal and very good soldierly service is not enough for such an award, you need some more extraordinary civilian engagement.

Uwe

[Paul R]

Thank you Uwe.  How about the higher military equivalent?  Same sort of deal?

I am I correct in that the bronze, silver, and gold merit medals also double as long service awards?

[speedytop]

Please, don't confuse it.

There is the "Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland", absolutely civilian.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundesverdienstkreuz

And there is the "Ehrenzeichen der Bundeswehr", absolutely military.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehrenzeichen_der_Bundeswehr

You can change to the English versions.

The topic here is the civilian award.

Uwe

[Paul R]

This is sad... there are more (and more attractive) medals for civilians and government officials than members of the military.