This is another “Ordensspange” with a nice combination, which landed once in my collection.
It has the following decorations:
– Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse (Königreich Preußen).
– Hanseatenkreuz (Hansestadt Lübeck).
– Militär-Verdienstkreuz 2. Klasse (Großherzogtum Mecklenburg-Schwerin)
– Ehrenkreuz des Weltkrieges.
Obviously, with the red enamel, the “Hanseatenkreuz” is the first to catch the attention. During the World War 1, there were three Hanseatic Cities, which awarded very similar crosses: Lübeck (here shown), Hamburg and Bremen. Please see attached a picture from an Auction House showing the 3 of them.
Something, that I have noticed during my years collecting is, that many WW2 Collectors also try to get their Medal Bars with this one, being these medals quite desired by them.
I started saying, that this person may have been a Marine (in the S.M.S Lübeck?). If we also have a look at the map attached, we see clearly, where the German States of Lübeck and Mecklenburg-Schwerin were located. So the marine Option could be the most probable one, but of course, not the only one. I really do not know it, so I am just playing with suppositions.
I believe, this person may have been from Lübeck itself. Still he may have served in any regiment from other States without having to belong to the specific Regiment from Lübeck: the 3.Hanseatisches-Lübeck-Nr.162. These were the conditions for the Hanseatenkreuz to be awarded. It could also be, that the person didn’t have any relation at all with Lübeck, but fought hard besides the troops from that Regiment, for example, in the Somme area from mid-end July 1918 (Line Bazentin-Pozieres, north part of the offensive) to October 1916 as part of the 17th Reserve Division.
There is another option, that this person may have been from the Great Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Be if he was from Mecklenburg, I suppose, that the Verdienstkreuz would have been placed before the Hanseatic one.
In other words, it is so complicated to track, where this person came from and where he served. This is the frustrating part of collecting German Medal Bars. But also, it makes fun trying to find some possibilities, as per above.
Sources:
Picture from Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co. KG – Fall Auction Sales 2019.
Foto from diercke.westermann.de