Miniature silver cross pattée with eyelet and loop for ribbon suspension; the face with a circular central medallion bearing the Finnish lion within a laurel leaf border, the arms stippled; the reverse plain; diameter 17.74mm (0.7 inch); on original ribbon.
The Cross was instituted in 1936 to mark the fifty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the Finnish army and was awarded to serving and veteran officers.
In 1881, the Grand Duchy of Finland, though part of the Russian Empire, established a small independent army which was suppressed in 1901 and re-established after Finnish independence in 1918.
The Cross is rare, especially in miniature.
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