Loyalty service medal of the Deutsche Post
The Loyalty Service Medal of Deutsche Post was a state award of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), which was donated on October 13, 1960 in three stages, bronze , silver , and gold , and was supplemented on November 19, 1971 with a gold medal of honor.
Award terms
The award took place after a certain number of years of service, which were subject to a total of three changes. In detail this meant:
- 1960 to 1970
- 1971 to 1972
- for 50 years of service (men): honor bar for the gold medal
- for 45 years of service (women): honor bar for the gold medal
- for 40 years of service: in gold
- for 25 years of service: in silver
- for 10 years of service: in bronze
- from 1973
- for 40 years of service (men): honor bar for the gold medal
- for 35 years of service (women): honor bar for the gold medal
- for 30 years of service: in gold
- for 20 years of service: in silver
- for 10 years of service: in bronze
They were awarded to members of the Deutsche Post of the GDR for many years of uninterrupted service in this state institution.
Appearance and wearing style
First version 1960 to 1964
The bronze, silver-plated or gold-plated medal with a diameter of 30 mm shows a post horn in the center of its obverse with lightning bolts behind it, which shoot out in pairs on the left and right. The post symbol is encircled by inscription: FÜR TREUE DIENSTE AT THE GERMAN POST , which is about 3/4 of the diameter of the circle and the last 1/4 at the bottom by two crossed laurel branches bent upwards. The reverse of the medal, on the other hand, shows the 22 mm large national coat of arms of the GDR in the middle. The medal was worn on a 24 × 14 mm blue covered clasp on the upper left side of the chest. Unusual here was the woven vertical and 3 mm wide yellow central stripe, which remained the same for all awarded levels. Since no miniature could be used to draw any conclusions about the level awarded, the interim clasp of all levels was also the same.
Second execution
The second execution of the medal remained almost the same on its obverse, except for tiny differences in the size of the postal symbol. Only the diameter of the medal increased by 1.5 mm to 31.5 mm. The reverse of the medal also showed the GDR's national coat of arms, but now with a diameter of 25 mm. The unsatisfactory solution of the same ribbon for all awarded levels led to a redesign of the ribbon, the clasp of which, however, was somewhat narrower, 24 × 11 mm. The ribbon color remained with blue. However, the awarded level of the medal had now also been visually emphasized. The bronze step had a vertical yellow 3 mm wide central stripe, the silver stage had two yellow stripes that were 6 mm apart and the gold stage had three yellow central stripes that were 4 mm apart. The special level for the medal in gold did not differ in the medal design from the standard gold medal , but was only recognizable by the changed ribbon clasp, which, also 24 × 11 mm in size, also had three gold-woven vertical median strips that were 2 mm wide and 1.5 mm apart. In addition, the 3 mm wide hem of the tape was lined with black, red and gold, with the color black on the outside. From 1973 onwards, a miniature of two golden 23.5 mm wide oak leaves were also placed, each of which was joined together in the middle and whose tips pointed outwards. The interim braces were of the same quality.