Finland : Help identify a medal

[j-sk]

Good evening Gentlemen,

Can anyone of you help me identify this Finnish (… or is it Finnish…) medal?

Reverse: blank / Diameter: 33mm

Thank you in advance.

Cheers,

Jean-Sam. Karlen

[BalkanCollector]

I might be wrong but I think this medal relates to both Sweden and Finland. Finland because of the rose and the lion in the bottom left and Sweden because of the crown and two Nordic cross flags.

[Bayern]

And the Swedish national colours in the middle of the ribbon

[GRA]

Hello Jean-Samuel!

It is most probably a Finnish medal. You might find some clues here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Finland

As to Swedish connections, well, there was... A long time ago... 200+ years...

/Jonas

[j-sk]

Thank you all for your invaluable comments.

[j-sk]

Hi again,

Does anybody know if the  cross issued in 1958 for the Finnish SS volunteers was ONLY made of iron? Any variation as regards the metal used (bronze, brass, etc.)?

 

[JohanH]

On ‎26‎/‎02‎/‎2019 at 11:37, j-sk said:

Hi again,

Does anybody know if the  cross issued in 1958 for the Finnish SS volunteers was ONLY made of iron? Any variation as regards the metal used (bronze, brass, etc.)?

 

Hello!

 

According to Jani Tiainens book about Finnish orders and medals the SS crosses are made of tombac. '

I have never seen any other variations. But on the otherhand I´m not an expert on these crosses. 

[j-sk]

Thank you JohanH for your message and information.

I have heard that the first batch of crosses (up to circa n°400) were made of iron. One such medal was sold by the Canadian seller Emedals.

But I know that Jani Tiainen is THE reference on this topic. I have read extremely positive feedbacks about his book and I have always tried to get one copy, but I do not know where I can get it (and my knowledge of the Finnish language is about… well almost ZERO...)

[JohanH]

Interesting about the first 400 crosses. Unfortunately I cannot say either it´s right or wrong. 

Tiainens book shows four variations of the SS crosses. 
Type 1 numbered from 1 to about 300. The first 200 crosses have SS runes on the ribbon
Type 2 numbered 300-700
Type 3 numbered 1000-1059 and made for collectors and museums
Type 4 or recruiters cross numbered in roman numbers and awarded about 35-40 times. Tiainen say it´s awarded 20 times but thats incorrect from what I´ve been told. 

So the most collectible cross have a number below 200 and with runes on the ribbon. 

 

The book is very good for references but there are some mistakes in the chapters with badges about the liberty war. As I have been told. I don´t collect Liberty war badges myself. Probably the only way to get one is to buy it from Finland. That´s what I did. 

If you want I can make a scan/photo of the pages with the SS crosses and PM you?

[j-sk]

How interesting!

Thank you very much for your offering to scan the pages with the SS cross. I am quite interested! 

You can Indeed PM the scans to my address (kfamily@hispeed.ch) or share them here on GMIC.

All the best.

[JohanH]

Here are the pages about the SS cross. 

The medal from Rauma military hospital have no connection to Finnish SS as i know of. So why it´s on the same page I don´t know. 

[j-sk]

Splendid ! Thanks a lot ! This is an invaluable information.

Regarding "R3" for museums and collectors, is there any reason why 60 (1000 - 1059) were numbered when the others were not ? That sounds weird, doesn't it ? Is there a specific significance ? What is so special about the numbered ones ?  

[j-sk]

By the way, what does "R3" stands for? Is it some kind of "rarity class" used by Tiainen?

Regarding "variation 3", does it mean that numbers 1000-1059 + unnumbered crosses were ONLY manufactured for museum and collectors… OR were they ALSO manufactured for museum and collectors? 

If only variations 1 and 2 were issued to SS veterans, I make out that only circa 720 of them received the cross, although about 1140 could have received it out of the 1408 who voluntered in the Finnish SS battalion (circa 270 were killed or missing) = 420 suitable beneficiaries did not receive the cross… Unless they got one of the variation 3 type…(?)… It is slightly puzzling, I must say... 

[JohanH]

No problem. 

Like I said, I´m far from being an expert on these crosses. But here are my thoughts and ideas. 

One guess could be that the crosses numbered 1000-1059 were made for museums and therefore numbered while the crosses made for collectors was unnumbered? As I understand it, the variation 3 was made only for museums and collectors. Not to be awarded to veterans. 

If I remember right the cross was issued in late 50s, possibly 1958, by the SS-veteran union. Maybe not all SS-volunteers joined the veteran union and therefore didn´t get a cross? I believe that when it comes to atleast other Finnish memory crosses the veteran himself had to apply for a cross/medal. Maybe not everyone wanted to show that they were former SS men?

Don´t take any of this as fact. It´s only my personal guesses. 

 

Yes, the "R3" and "RR" is Tiainens rarity scale. R3 equals to "rarely for sale" and RR is "extremely rare". 

 

 

[j-sk]

Well, yes, Indeed, your arguments do sound quite logical.

Maybe I should try to get in touch with Mr. Tiainen who could give us more specific details to actually be able to get it all cleared… and by the same token I could also ask him to send me one of his books...  

[JohanH]

I hope you have better luck than me with contacting Tiainen. I have sent him several emails a while ago but he doesn´t reply. 

If you do find any more information about the SS crosses, please let me know. 

[JohanH]

Another idea is to contact the veteran union directly. Since it´s them who issue the cross they should have all the details about them. Number of awarded, material, etcetera. 

http://www.veljesapu.fi/pages/Palaute/3224

[j-sk]

Splendid! That's a great idea! I hope they speak English, since I have noticed that the front page is in Finnish only… and I hope I'll be able to get through...