✚11649✚ German WW1 Saxony Friedrich August Medal Silver FA Medaille Silber

Original WW1 German / Saxony Friedrich August Medal in Silver, IN VERY NICE CONDITION WITH ATTRACTIVE PATINA / TARNISH, ON GENUINE RIBBON, A VERY NICE PIECE, THE AWARD IS NOT OFTEN SEEN

HISTORY OF THE AWARD:

Saxony Friedrich August Medal - circular medal with laterally pierced loop for ribbon suspension; the face with crowned cipher of King Friedrich August III within a laurel wreath; the reverse inscribed ‘Friedrich August Medaille’, the Saxon rue wreath above and below. The Medal was instituted by King Friedrich August III on 23 April 1905 to be awarded in recognition of meritorious service by servicemen from sergeant downwards and civil persons of similar rank in war and peace (‘zur Anerkennung verdienstlicher Leistungen bei Mannschaften vom Feldwebel abwärts und diesen im Range gleichstehenden Zivilpersonen im Kriege und Frieden’). The bronze medal could be awarded to all ranks up to private and silver from non-commissioned officers. Higher ranks received the Military St. Heinrich Medal and / or the Military St. Heinrich Order. The award is a round silver medal made of bronze or bronzed iron with a diameter of approx. 28 mm. The bronze medal weighed 11.4 g, the silver medal weighed 12.5 g. It shows the intertwined letters FAR (Friedrich August Rex) surmounted by a crown . The ciphers are enclosed by a laurel wreath that is open at the top and tied together at the bottom . In the reverse the two-line inscription Friedrich August-Medaille. Ornaments can be seen above and below the inscription. The Friedrich August medals, awarded in peace (from 1905 to 1914), were worn on a yellow ribbon with a black side stripe and a narrower black central stripe on the left side of the chest. The war medal (awarded from 1914 to 1918) was worn on a yellow ribbon with a light blue stripe on the left side of the chest. Female persons wore the award on a women's bow. The bronze medals were minted by Scharffenberg in Dresden from 1905 to 1907. From 1908 the royal Saxon mint minted the medals in Muldenhütten . Up until 1918 240,750 bronze medals and 11,500 medals in (bronzed) iron were minted there. The silver medals were also minted by Scharffenberg in Dresden from 1905 to 1907. From 1908, the Muldenhütten mint also minted the silver medals. 90,400 silver medals had been minted there by 1918. There are also silver-plated bronze medals. The stamps were made by Max Barduleck, medalist for the Saxon State Mint in Dresden and, after it was relocated, in Muldenhütten.