War memorial for 1864
The war memorial for 1864 was jointly donated on November 10, 1864 by King Wilhelm I of Prussia and Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria and was intended to reward all those who did their military or civil service in the war against Denmark in 1864.
The round medal (diameter 29 mm) for combatants was made from the bronze of captured guns and shows the crowned initials of the donors W and FJ from left to right . In the case of the Austrian commemorative coin, the order of the initials and ribbon colors is reversed.
The four-line inscription UNSERN TAPFERN KRIEGERN 1864 is surrounded by a laurel wreath tied together at the bottom . In the edge there is the engraving AUS CONQUERED ARCHIVE .
Prussia also gave the award to non-combatants in blackened steel without engraving on the edge. The year 1864 was enclosed on the reverse by a wreath of oak leaves tied at the bottom .
The original medals also differ in the eyelets; the Prussian one has a wide grooved eyelet - the second pieces purchased for the medal clasp only have a narrow one without grooves [as in the illustration] - while the Austrian one has a ball eyelet.
The Prussian ribbon (33 mm wide) of the medal (for combatants and non-combatants) is black with a white and yellow (each 7 mm wide) side stripe. The award was worn on the ribbon, the Austrian award on the triangular ribbon, on the left side of the chest.
literature
- André Hüsken : Catalog of orders, decorations and awards of the Electorate of Brandenburg, the Margraviate of Brandenburg-Ansbach and Brandenburg-Bayreuth, the Kingdom of Prussia, the Republic of Prussia, taking into account the German Empire. Volume 2: Badges of Honor, Awards and Gifts of Honor 1701–1888. Hauschild, Bremen 2001, ISBN 3-89757-137-4 .
- Jörg Nimmergut : German medals and decorations. 1800-1945. 18th, completely revised and updated edition, with current market prices. Battenberg, Regenstauf 2010, ISBN 978-3-86646-059-1 .
- Johann Stolzer, Christian Steeb (Ed.): Austria's Order. From the Middle Ages to the present. Academic Printing and Publishing Company, Graz 1996, ISBN 3-201-01649-7 .
- Statute concerning the creation of a war memorial for the campaign in 1864. In: Friedrich W. Hoeftmann: Der Preußische Ordens-Herold. Compilation of all documents, statutes and ordinances on the Prussian medals and decorations. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1868, p. 168 ff.
