Württemberg Friedrich Order Knight's Cross 2nd Class Swords Military WWI

This is a Knight's Cross 2nd Class with Swords of the Friedrich Order of the Kingdom of Württemberg (Friedrichs-Orden, Ritterkreuz 2. Klasse mit Schwertern), the military-division grade of one of Württemberg's principal orders of merit. It is a cross pattée of oxidized silver suspended from crossed swords, mounted on a black-and-gold ribbon. The center bears a white enamel medallion with the crowned, stylized gilt cypher F for King Friedrich I, the first king of Württemberg, in whose memory the order was founded. The crossed swords fixed above the cross mark this as the military award, conferred for service in the face of the enemy as distinct from the civil version, which was worn without swords.

In construction the cross is solid silver with finely grained, pebbled arms and plain, unenameled fields. This is the distinguishing feature of the 2nd Class: where the higher grades of the order carried white enamel across the arms, the Knight's Cross 2nd Class was made in plain silver, so the pebbled silver arms seen here are correct to the grade rather than a loss of enamel. The obverse center medallion is white enamel bearing the crowned gilt F; the reverse medallion of the type carries the inscription Dem Verdienste ("for merit"). The crossed swords are a separate applied device through which the ribbon passes.

The order's history runs deep into the Württemberg monarchy. It was instituted on 1 January 1830 by King Wilhelm I of Württemberg to honor the memory of his late father, King Friedrich I, who had been raised from duke to the first king of Württemberg during the Napoleonic reordering of the German states. Originally a single class conferring nobility, the order was reorganized in 1856 into four classes and again on 29 September 1870, when the military division with swords was created and the Knight's grade was divided into 1st and 2nd classes, in time to reward service in the Franco-Prussian War. Thereafter the Knight's Cross 2nd Class with Swords was the grade most often given to mid-level combat officers, captains, first lieutenants, and lieutenants, for demonstrated bravery or leadership on the battlefield, and it was awarded again through the First World War until the order was abolished with the fall of the monarchy in 1918. Its higher classes were held by senior soldiers of note, which places even this junior military grade within a distinguished Württemberg honors system.

The German elements translate as follows. Friedrichs-Orden is the Friedrich Order; Ritterkreuz 2. Klasse mit Schwertern is the Knight's Cross 2nd Class with Swords; the crowned F is the cypher of King Friedrich I; Dem Verdienste on the reverse means "for merit"; the swords (Schwerter) denote the military award. Württemberg was one of the four kingdoms of the German Empire and maintained its own orders and army under its own king.

In condition the cross is complete and displays well, with an even dark patina to the silver, the pebbled arms crisp, the white enamel center sound, and the crowned cypher and crown clear. The crossed swords and their suspension are intact, and the cross hangs from a full black-and-gold ribbon. The order's own ribbon is generally described as light blue, with combat awards appearing on the black-and-gold military ribbon as here. One point is worth settling in hand: the order's crosses were made in fine coin silver in the earlier period and, as wartime shortages set in, sometimes in silver-plated wartime alloy (Kriegsmetall), and a hallmark or silver check will place this example within its period of manufacture.

For the collector, the Friedrich Order Knight's Cross 2nd Class with Swords is a genuine Württemberg combat decoration, the grade through which the kingdom recognized the bravery of its frontline junior and company officers. Complete on its military ribbon with sound enamel and intact swords, it is a representative and desirable piece of the Württemberg royal honors system and suits a collection built by the German states, by orders with swords, or by Württemberg military material.