Figure 1: Wound Medal, Image from the author’s archive
Introduction:
In this blog I am going to continue my discussion of the Wound Medal (Verwundtenmedaillen) . This medal was created by emperor and King Karl to recognize those who became ill or were wounded as a consequence of their military service in World War I.
Date Issued: August 12, 1918 – 1922
Reason Issued: To reward members of the armed forces of all ranks who were wounded or became seriously ill while serving in the combat theater of operations.
Classes or Types: This medal was issued in six types.
· Wound Medal for invalids
· Wound Medal for one wound
· Wound Medal for two wounds
· Wound Medal for three wounds
· Wound Medal for four wounds
· Wound Medal for five or more wounds
Figure 2: Wound Medal for invalids ribbon. Image from the author’ archive.
Figure 3: Wound Medal for one wound. Image from the author’ archive.
Figure 4: Wound Medal for two wounds. Image from the author’ archive.
Figure 5: Wound Medal for three wounds. Image from the author’ archive.
Figure 6: Wound Medal for four wounds. Image from the author’ archive.
Figure 7: Wound Medal for five or more wounds. Image from the author’ archive.
Ribbon: The ribbon is 39 mm wide and comes in six variations. They are:
· For military invalids a 39 mm wide tri-fold ribbon of green-gray with 5 mm Carmen red (described in the statutes as blood red) edges (Figure 2)
· For one wound a 39 mm wide tri-fold ribbon of green-gray with 5mm blood red edges and a 2 mm blood red stripe bordered in black in the center. (Figure 3)
· For two wounds a 39 mm wide tri-fold ribbon of green-gray with 5 mm blood red edges and two 2 mm blood red stripes bordered in black in the center. (Figure 4)
· For three wounds a 39 mm wide tri-fold ribbon of green-gray with 5 mm blood red edes and three 2 mm blood red stripes bordered in black in the center. (Figure 5)
· For four wounds a 39 mm wide tri-fold ribbon of green-gray with 5 mm blood red edges and four 2 mm blood red stripes bordered in black in the center. (Figure 6)
· For five or more wounds a 39 mm wide tri-fold ribbon of green-gray with 5 mm blood red edges and five 2 mm blood red stripes bordered in black in the center. (Figure 7)
· A small rectangular ribbon for this decoration sometimes issued with small attachments to indicate specific awards was introduced in October 27, 1917.
Figure 8: Wound Medal for invalids , Image from the author’s archive
Figure 9: Wound Medal for five or more wounds. Image from the author’ archive.
Figure 10: Hungarian wound attachment, Image from the author’ archive.
Attachments: There was no attachment authorized for this medal however it is occasionally seen with the device in figure 10 attached to the ribbon: a 22 mm bronze or bronze gilt laurel wreath with the letters HR (Hadirokkant, War Invalid) in the center and the Hungarian crown at the top. This device indicates wounds sustained by members of the Hungarian forces during World War I or during the regency period. The attachment was intended to be worn on the Hungarian Fire Cross; however it is often found on the Wound Medal awarded to Hungarians.
Figure 11: Wound Medal miniature, obverse. Image from the author’ archive.
Miniature: Several types and sizes known to exist
· A 17 mm in diameter bronze medal with gray wash, weighing 2.2 grams
Figure 12: A wound medal as s worn in court mounted groups. Image from the author’ archive.
Figure 13: Award Verification Document for the Wound Medal for two wounds. Image from the author’ archive.
Hope you enjoyed this blog. Until next time, I hope you find joy in our shared interest.
Rick
Hello, in my collection are two Austrian woundmedals. They are made of different materials.
One is the regular form of zinc, the other a type of aluminum or tinplate. The diameter is the same, the piece of zinc is 0.7 mm thicker. The zinc piece weighs 22.7 grams, the silver 18.66 grams. Is the silver one a post-war version?
There are no markings on the edge. The stamp cutter P. Placht can be recognized on both medals.
Regards Andreas
Andreas
Thank you for sharing the information and the images of the wound medals you have in your collection, including the one in white metal. I have not previously seen a wound medal in white metal such as the one you shared. It is conceivable, as you have suggested, that it is a post war production as there were many veterans of the war that were entitled to this medal and would have sought to get an example post war. We also know that most of the extant medals that are known to be genuine were issued post war. It is not possible to tell from the pictures whether this is a struck medal or a cast medal. I recommend that you examine it closely to see if it is cast or struck. If cast it is almost certainly an example produced for the collector trade and not genuine. However if it is a struck medal then it has a greater possibility of being genuine. One other point is that the only medals that I have encountered that were not in a zinc alloy were marked on the rim with the word bronze. The fact that this medal is not marked does not in itself raise suspicion but were it marked in some manner that would mitigate in its favor. If you are able to determine if the medal is struck or cast, please let me know. if cast I will add it to the blog as possibly genuine. Once again thanks for sharing.
Rick
backside
Hi Rick, small bubbles are visible on the surface under the microscope.
The transitions to the eyelet are blurred. So I am now assuming a cast
Regards Andreas