Patriotic Merit Order/Vaterländischer Verdienstorden.

[Taz]

The Patriotic Order of Merit/Vaterländischer Verdienstorden, or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the GDR.
It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding contributions to the state and society in various areas of life.

It was awarded "for outstanding merit":

"in the struggle of the German and international labour movement and in the fight against fascism,"
"in the establishment, consolidation and fortification of the German Democratic Republic,"
"in the fight to secure peace and advance the international influence of the German Democratic Republic".

The order was awarded in bronze, silver, gold and gold honour clasp (for exceptional merit). Each level was only awarded once and with the exception of the recipient of the honor clasp, all recipients received a sum of money.

Up until 1973, the following annual honour money was paid to the awardee:

Bronze 250 mark
Silver 500 mark
Gold 1000 Mark

Afterwards, there was only a one-off bonus:

Bronze 2500 mark
Silver 5000 mark
Gold 10000 mark

At the award ceremony on collectives (up to 10 people):

Bronze 500 mark
Silver 1000 Mark
Gold 2000 mark

The premium for the awarding of the order was from September 10th, 1987:

Bronze 2500 mark
Silver 5000 mark
Gold 10000 mark

Honour clasp in gold: 15000 mark

Shown below is the VVO in Bronze

[Hagen]

Got my first VVO today and just want to show it off a bit, a nice cased bronze example.

[Ralph Pickard]

Mike - all you need to do now is get the darker issued bronze VVO for your collection. :thumbsup

[Hagen]

Mike - all you need to do now is get the darker issued bronze VVO for your collection. :thumbsup

Darker bronze VVO?? Early issue?

[Ralph Pickard]

Yes, the darker brown VVOs were awarded up to the late 1960s.

Another thing to look for when it comes to the older VVOs is that the older VVOs have two "U" shaped metals that connected to the ribbon that is also connected to the medal itself.

The later VVOs have a single circle ring connected between the two like the ones that are shown in this thread.

[desantnik]

Here's a III Class (Bronze) unit award doc to a kampfgruppe motorized company in Ribnitz-Damgarten, known for its amber and hosting the Soviet 16 Guards Fighter Aviation Division was HQ'd during the Cold War.

Ribnitz-Damgarten - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Ralph Pickard]

desantnik - Thanks for posting this document. These documents along with getting the medals that were awarded with them are becoming harder to get. And on top of that getting a VVO from a unit is also nice.

[Pravda]

Does anyone know how rare the solid silver of the Patriotic Merit Order, second class, is? This one was being offered by a regular dealer I buy from and had a 900 mark on both the medal and suspension.

Does anyone also know how many of the early versions were issued, by class?

Also, this is the bronze example I bought recently. It looks ok to me, but I would like a second opinion.

[desantnik]

Here's the silver version awarded to Soviet citizen Gani Valiev in 1985 in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the GDR and GDR-Soviet friendship. According to his two citations, Valiev did his share of killing "fascists."

Inside the document was included an onion-skin Russian translation of the German text (pictured to the left).

This set included a book on the 61 Rifle Division that included Valiev's photo. Although an enlisted man during the war he continued on to retire as a colonel.

[Ralph Pickard]

Pravda - I do not see any problems with your latest VVO you have added to your collection. :thumbsup

Also, this is the bronze example I bought recently. It looks ok to me, but I would like a second opinion.

desantnik - nice addition to your collection...well done!!!

Here's the silver version awarded to Soviet citizen Gani Valiev in 1985 in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the GDR and GDR-Soviet friendship. According to his two citations, Valiev did his share of killing "fascists."

Inside the document was included an onion-skin Russian translation of the German text (pictured to the left).

This set included a book on the 61 Rifle Division that included Valiev's photo. Although an enlisted man during the war he continued on to retire as a colonel.