Miniature deep red enamel cross pattée with loop for ribbon suspension; the face with a circular central medallion bearing the silvered arms of Bremen; the reverse silvered with a circular central medallion inscribed ‘Für Verdienst im Kriege 1914’ (For Merit in War, 1914); diameter 15.24mm (0.6 inch); on replaced correct ribbon; with a related stickpin, overall length 42.37mm (1.67 inches), the cross 8.89mm (0.35 inch) in diameter. Each of the three ancient Hanseatic Cities - Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck - issued a cross of similar design in World War I, differing only in the arms on the central medallion of the face and the ribbon, that for Bremen being instituted on 14 September 1915. The population of Bremen was about a quarter that of Hamburg and its Cross is consequentially found less often, a total of 20,018 awards having been made. The Cross was suppressed at the end of 1918. It is rare in miniature.
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