Gilt-bronze cross pattée with laterally-pierced ball suspension; the face with a centrally imposed gilt laurel wreath encircling the Rose of Lippe, the crowned cipher of Prince (Fürst) Leopold IV on the upper arm, the lower arm bearing the date ‘1914’; the reverse inscribed ‘FÜR’, ‘AUSZEICHNUNG IM’, ‘KRIEGE’ (for distinction in wartime) on the upper, central and lower arms respectively; on original ribbon for non-combatants, the reverse with the residue of a sticky paper label. The Cross was instituted by Prince (Fürst) Leopold IV on 8 December 1914 and could be awarded to combatants and to non-combatants who made a significant contribution to the war effort. The population of the Principality of Lippe-Detmold was less than 150,000 in 1914 and only approximately 1,100 non-combatant awards were made. A good example.
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