Pour Le Merite - Imperial German Knights Cross - Original Exhibition Copy-1920\'s for Sale

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Pour Le Merite - Imperial German Knights Cross - Original Exhibition Copy-1920\'s For Sale

$Pour Le Merite - Imperial German Knights Cross - Original Exhibition Copy-1920\'s$
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Pour Le Merite - Imperial German Knights Cross - Original Exhibition Copy-1920\'s:
$1875.00

The Pour le Mérite, also informally known as the \"Blue Max\", is an order of merit established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia.The Pour le Mérite was awarded as both a Military and Civil Honor and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order of the Red Eagle and the House Order of Hohenzollern, among the highest orders of merit in the Kingdom of Prussia. This Pour Le Merite is hallmarked both on the holder and the ring of the medal itself-Manufacturer-Sy& Wagner Marker S&W PLUS \"938 on CROSS and RING-It is seldom that you find an Original Exhibition Copy of the Pour Le Merite-Hallmarked extensively as this Pour Le Merite-The holders of the Pour Le Merite \"were required to wear the award at all times while in Uniform or in civilian attire\" Thus the duplicate copies of the award- were made thus keeping the original in a safe place-This Pour Le Merite is in exceptional condition and was produced around the 1920\'-1930\'s time period the ribbon is UV Negative and in very good condition-the lettering and gold filigree and gilding is excellent-This Pour Le Merite comes with a Reproduction PLM Box-Here is an Opportunity to acquire a piece of history for your collection of a rare Hallmarked Sy & WAGNER-938 SILVER PLM-Not many come up for sale-Follow PeterSuciu on Twitter

Here\'s What You Need to Know:Novelist Ernst Jünger was the last living holder of the Pour le Mérite at the time of his death in 1998.

While the name is in French rather than German, the “Blue Max” is an award that has become nearly legendary. The origins date back to 1667 when the German state of Brandenburg introduced the Order of Generosity or Ordre de la Génerosite. The name was in French as it was the common language of many German courts of the day. This award was later renamed the Pour Le Mérite (For Merit) by Prussian King Friedrich the Great in 1740 and was issued to loyal subjects for meritorious service in the pending war over the lands of Silesia. More commonly known today as the “Blue Max”—in no small part due to the book and film of the same name—this is among the most famous Imperial German decorations.

It was Prussia’s highest military award and was in fact given not for individual acts, but rather for repeated and continual gallantry—hence it was often awarded to pilots during World War I. This award should not be confused with its civilian counterpart, which is still awarded to this day. Likewise, while it was a Prussian award but when the King of Prussia became the German Kaiser after the unification of Germany in 1871 it was awarded to all German soldiers. A total of 1,687 were awarded during World War I. A higher-level award, usually given to recipients of high rank, featured golden oakleaves mounted on a suspension ring. This version was issued 122 times.

Furthermore, unlike the American Medal of Honor or England’s Victoria Cross, the recipient of the award needed to be among the living and the Pour Le Mérite was not awarded posthumously. Sadly, during World War I many German soldiers died while the paperwork for their awards was being considered. It should also be mentioned that unlike many other medals soldiers in the field wore this one on their uniform. Peter Sacuci