Order For Outstanding Merit To The Ministry Of State Security

[Taz]

Apparently these three Orders were made as a '' Muster'' but never issued.
I have never seen these before, does anyone have any info on these?


Nicht verausgabte MUSTER Staatlicher Auszeichnungen DDR. MfS.
Zum 40 jährigen Jubiläum vorgesehene, nicht mehr verliehene Auszeichnungen.
Orden für Hervorragende Verdienste.



Regards Eddie

[Taz]

Orden für Hervorragende Verdienste der MFS Ribbons.

So the Orders above are examples of the 2nd, 4th and 5th or 6th prototypes.
And the correct name is Verdienstmedaille des Ministeriums für Staatssicherheit.

The Medal of merit of the Ministry of State security was a planned, but no longer realised award of the Ministry for State security, which would have been awarded to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the founding of the MfS on 8th February 1990 for outstanding merits in the MfS as a State Award.
However the MfS at this time had been resolved already, so that no foundation or awarding of the medal could be carried out.
Preparations, which would lead to the creation of the award were made as far as six sample types were made, in one or more classes.
A publication of the Foundation statutes in the Government Gazette of East Germany was no longer made in this period. The Medal would have been worn on the upper left chest.

Medal of the first prototype

The planned one class medal has a diameter of 43.7 mm and the form of a bronze five-pointed star.
In the round purple medallion of the coin is a font ring with the inscription for HERVORRAGENDE VERDIENSTE MINISTERIUM FÜR STAATSSICHERHEIT and the logo of the MfS, a coloured Black-Red-Gold shield with the coat of arms of East Germany with the underlying dagger.
The reverse shows the coat of arms of East Germany, as well as the inscription: FÜR DEN SCHUTZ DER ARBEITER-UND-BAUERN-MACHT.
The Medal will have a 24 mm wide pentagonal clasp with the coloration (from left to right): yellow (1 mm) - white (1 mm) - wine red (8 mm) - white wine (3 mm) - wine red (1 mm) - yellow (1 mm) - red (1 mm) - yellow (1 mm) - wine red (1 mm) - white (3 mm) - wine red (1 mm) - white (2 mm).
The corresponding ribbon bar 24 mm wide and 13 mm high.

Medal of the second prototype

The second prototype, also in one class resembles the first type, and differs only in its ribbon colours.
The pentagonal clasp is 24 mm wide and the color combination (from left to right): yellow (4 mm) - white (3 mm) - wine red (4 mm) - yellow (2 mm) - wine red (4 mm) - white (3 mm) - wine red (4 mm).
The corresponding ribbon bar 24 mm wide and 13 mm high.

Medal of the third prototype

The third draft of the planned one class Medal is round and has a diameter of 35.3 mm. It shows on the obverse within the white font ring the inscription HERVORRAGENDE VERDIENSTE MINISTERIUM FÜR STAATSSICHERHEIT and the logo of the MfS, a coloured Black-Red-Gold shield with the coat of arms of East Germany with the underlying dagger.
To Be worn on a 24 mm wide pentagonal clasp with the colour combination (from left to right): green, yellow (2 mm) - yellow (1 mm) - green (2 mm)-(5 mm) - green (2 mm) - yellow (1 mm) - green (2 mm) - wine red (9 mm).
The corresponding ribbon bar 24 mm wide and 13 mm high.

Medal of the fourth prototype

The fourth prototype of the Medal, also planned in one class, modelled on the appearance of the third prototypes, but the medal has only a diameter of 34.6 mm and is therefore 0.7 mm less than the previous model. The modified colored ribbon to the pentagonal clasp is 24 mm wide and has the following colour combination (from left to right): yellow (3 mm) - wine red (4 mm) - white (1 mm) - green (3 mm) - yellow (2 mm) - green (3 mm) - white (1 mm) - wine red (4 mm) - yellow (3 mm).
The corresponding ribbon bar 24 mm wide and 13 mm high.

Medal of the fifth prototype

The planned medal will have three classes, a diameter of 34.6 mm and is almost identical to the fourth prototype. Only colored element in the otherwise bronze, silver or gold-plated Medal is the colored Schwarz-Rot-Goldene shield with the underlying dagger in color of the conferred class. The Ribbon of the pentagonal clasp is 24 mm wide and has the following colour combination (from left to right): Orange (3 mm) - wine red (4 mm) - white (1 mm) - green (3 mm) - orange (2 mm) - green (3 mm) - white (1 mm) - wine red (4 mm) - orange (3 mm). The corresponding ribbon bar 24 mm wide and 13 mm high.

Medal of the sixth prototype

The planned triple-class Medal is similar to the fifth prototype, but has a red-painted font ring. Only the inner part of the coin is bronze, silver or gold-plated, according to the awarded class. The colored enamelled shield is similar to its predecessor, only the coat of arms, as well as the underlying dagger are bronze according to the awarded class also, silver or golden. The pentagonal 24 mm wide ribbon of the 2nd class in silver has the following colour combination (from left to right): silver grey (3 mm) - wine red (4 mm) - white (1 mm) - green (3 mm) - silver grey (2 mm) - green (3 mm) - white (1 mm) - wine red (4 mm) - silver grey (3 mm). The corresponding ribbon bar 24 mm wide and 13 mm high.

So after all that it seems I've answered my own question about this award :chuckle

Seems to be very rare though, these are the only examples i have seen of these medals offered for sale.

Best regards Eddie

[medals73]

A very educational thread. Many thanks.

Sometimes, we learn more by seeing what was planned but never happened than we do from the micro-dissection of things that existed.

:thumbsup

[Greg Collins]

I've seen several instances of these prototypes offered; some singular and some in sets of three and all quite expensive; some on our favorite auction site here in the US and some on the German counterpart of that site. As medal and badge manufacture was "jobbed out" in the DDR (no State Mint for this) I would imagine that, after the Wall came down, manufacturers (or perhaps individuals at that manufacturing entity) saw an opportunity to "cash in" and offered these "musters" for sale. There were probably more than a few lining the shelves- nothing is ever done "singularly" in that type of business. Insofar as I know, no final design decision had been made prior to the dissolution of the MfS.