Bronze-gilt cross pattée, the arms with panels with three edge lines, with loop for ribbon suspension; the face with a circular central medallion bearing the crowned cipher of King Wilhelm IV on a stippled ground; the reverse with a circular central medallion bearing the Latin numeral ‘XXV’ (= 25) on a stippled ground; slight wear to the gilding of the high point of the lower arm of the face and reverse; on probably replaced correct ribbon cut short at the back. The Cross was instituted by King Wilhelm IV on 2 March 1837 and was initially in gold; from 1860 a version in bronze-gilt, as in this example, was issued. The Cross was suppressed after the German war of 1866 when, against the wishes of its people, the Hanoverian kingdom was annexed by Prussia and its king sent into exile. The Cross thus had a life of just six years and is rare.
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