{"product_id":"mecklenburg-military-merit-cross-2-class-gold-1914-friedrich-franz-iv-document-copy","title":"A Mecklenburg Military Merit Cross 2 Class Gold 1914 Friedrich Franz IV Document","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eOriginal Imperial \u003cem\u003eMecklenburgisches Militär-Verdienstkreuz\u003c\/em\u003e (Mecklenburg Military Merit Cross), 2nd Class in Gold class (\u003cem\u003e2. Klasse in Goldlegierung\u003c\/em\u003e), in the 1914 reissue pattern, with original ribbon and accompanied by the matching named award document (\u003cem\u003eBesitzurkunde\u003c\/em\u003e) signed personally by Grand Duke \u003cem\u003eFriedrich Franz IV. von Mecklenburg-Schwerin\u003c\/em\u003e. The medal is the standard 1914-pattern bronze cross with gilt finish in the cross-pattée form, with integral upper suspension ring, on the original Mecklenburg-Schwerin red-yellow-light-blue-yellow-red striped ribbon. Approximate cross dimensions 38 by 38 mm consistent with the regulation pattern.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe obverse of the cross carries the Mecklenburg royal crown (\u003cem\u003eGroßherzogliche Krone\u003c\/em\u003e) at the head of the upper arm and the year \u003cem\u003e1914\u003c\/em\u003e at the foot of the lower arm, the field of all four arms finely granulated. The reverse carries the inscription \u003cem\u003eFÜR AUSZEICHNUNG IM KRIEGE\u003c\/em\u003e (For Distinction in Active Service) across three of the four arms, with the upper arm carrying the standard placement device. The gilt finish retains substantial original tone with the high points showing minor wear from period contact. The ribbon is the regulation Mecklenburg state pattern in the heraldic colors of the House of Mecklenburg — red and yellow flanking a wide central light-blue field — and is original to the issue with some fraying at the upper cut edge and minor age soiling consistent with period wear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe accompanying \u003cem\u003eVerleihungsurkunde\u003c\/em\u003e is the full presentation pattern, hand-completed in period Kurrent script on the engraved Grand Ducal stationery of \u003cem\u003eFriedrich Franz IV\u003c\/em\u003e, Großherzog von Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The engraved letterhead reads \u003cem\u003eWir Friedrich Franz, von Gottes Gnaden Großherzog von Mecklenburg, Fürst zu Wenden, Schwerin und Ratzeburg, auch Graf zu Schwerin, der Lande Rostock und Stargard Herr etc.\u003c\/em\u003e — the formal regnal titulary of the last reigning Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin — followed by the body of the citation hand-entered in Kurrent. The lower left of the document carries the engraved Mecklenburg state arms within a circular border with the heraldic motto \u003cem\u003ePer aspera ad astra\u003c\/em\u003e (Through hardships to the stars) on the banner — the state motto of the Grand Duchy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe hand-completed citation identifies the recipient as a \u003cem\u003eLeutnant der Reserve\u003c\/em\u003e of the surname \u003cem\u003eKloggenburg\u003c\/em\u003e, serving in the \u003cem\u003e3. Maschinengewehr-Kompagnie\u003c\/em\u003e (3rd Machine-Gun Company) of the \u003cem\u003eLeib-Grenadier-Regiment \"König Friedrich Wilhelm III\" (1. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 8\u003c\/em\u003e — a senior Prussian Brandenburg regiment garrisoned at Frankfurt an der Oder and one of the oldest Leib-Grenadier formations of the Prussian Army, bearing the name of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia (reigned 1797–1840). The award is conferred \u003cem\u003ewegen besonderer Auszeichnung im Kriege 1914\u003c\/em\u003e (for particular distinction in active service during 1914), referencing service in the opening campaigns of the 1914–18 conflict, with the cross conferred \u003cem\u003ein Goldlegierung\u003c\/em\u003e (in the Gold class) of the 2. Klasse rank. The document is dated \u003cem\u003eSchwerin, den 21. November 1917\u003c\/em\u003e and bears the bold autograph signature of \u003cem\u003eFriedrich Franz\u003c\/em\u003e — Friedrich Franz IV (1882–1945, reigned 1897–1918), the last reigning Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin — at the lower right, with the countersignature of the cabinet official at the bottom right corner. The Grand Duke's signature is firm and clearly executed, consistent in form with his other documented signed \u003cem\u003eBesitzurkunden\u003c\/em\u003e of the late Imperial period.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe cross-state character of this award — a Reserve officer in a Prussian Brandenburg regiment receiving a Mecklenburg-Schwerin Grand Ducal decoration — reflects the standing practice within the Imperial federal honors system, by which officers from any contingent of the Imperial Army could be recommended for and receive state decorations from any of the constituent German states. Such recommendations frequently followed on personal connection (Mecklenburg origin, family ties, prior service association) or through formal cross-recommendation channels between state contingents. Cross-state awards account for a meaningful portion of the smaller states' wartime decoration distributions and are particularly sought by specialist collectors of the lesser-issued Imperial German states.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe \u003cem\u003eMecklenburgisches Militär-Verdienstkreuz\u003c\/em\u003e was instituted by Grand Duke \u003cem\u003eFriedrich Franz II\u003c\/em\u003e on 12 May 1848 as the senior military distinction for officers and senior non-commissioned officers of the Mecklenburg-Schwerin contingent of the Prussian and later Imperial German Army. The original 1848 statute was revised on multiple occasions over the following seventy years, including the 1914 reissue under Friedrich Franz IV that added the \u003cem\u003e1914\u003c\/em\u003e date device to the lower arm for awards conferred during the 1914–18 conflict. The decoration was issued in two principal classes — 1st Class as a larger pinback cross worn on the chest, and 2nd Class as a smaller ribbon-suspended cross — with the 2nd Class further divided into a Gold class (\u003cem\u003eGoldlegierung\u003c\/em\u003e) and a Silver class (\u003cem\u003eSilberlegierung\u003c\/em\u003e). The Gold class was reserved for the more significant awards and generally conferred on officer recipients. The Gold-class 2nd Class as documented in this grouping was the standard officer-grade Mecklenburg-Schwerin military distinction for officers in active operations during the period of 1914–18, and the published award totals show that comparatively few thousand were conferred across the entire conflict — a small population set against the parallel Prussian Iron Cross 2nd Class.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eCondition of the cross is good: the gilt finish is substantially preserved with even age-tone, the relief of the crown, the date, and the reverse inscription read crisply, the integral suspension ring is intact and properly oriented, and there are no breaks, repairs, or replacement parts. The ribbon shows honest period wear with some fraying at the upper cut edge and light age-soiling, but the weave structure is sound and the colors remain bright and clearly distinguishable. Condition of the document is good for a hand-completed and signed presentation \u003cem\u003eUrkunde\u003c\/em\u003e of the period: the paper is intact with original fold lines from period storage, with light yellowing and creasing consistent with a century of preservation, the engraved letterhead and the state arms cartouche remain sharp, the Kurrent-script citation is fully legible with the exception of the recipient's first name as noted above, and the Grand Duke's signature is clear, dark, and unfaded.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe combination of cross and named, dated, Grand-Ducally-signed award document for a Prussian Leib-Grenadier officer is the foundational presentation of any Mecklenburg-Schwerin First-World-War grouping. Documents personally signed by Friedrich Franz IV — the last reigning Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who abdicated on 14 November 1918 in the closing days of the monarchy and lived until 1945 — are themselves collectible as autograph material, independent of the militaria value of the accompanying decoration. The complete grouping serves the Mecklenburg-state collector, the Prussian Leib-Grenadier-Regiment 8 collector, the cross-state-award specialist, the Imperial autograph collector, and the named-document collector simultaneously, and represents a complete and researchable original-issue award package of the type that becomes increasingly difficult to assemble in matched-and-named condition as time passes.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Derrittmeister Militaria","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49566619730159,"sku":"06-221","price":249.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/9169\/5855\/files\/06-221_1.jpg?v=1779224165","url":"https:\/\/derrittmeister.com\/products\/mecklenburg-military-merit-cross-2-class-gold-1914-friedrich-franz-iv-document-copy","provider":"Derrittmeister Militaria Group","version":"1.0","type":"link"}