Offered is an original full-size Grand Duchy of Baden Military Commemorative Medal for the Campaign of 1849, known in German collecting as the Militär-Gedächtnis-Medaille für 1849 and historically nicknamed the by Grand Duke Leopold of Baden on August 29, 1849, this medal commemorated the military forces involved in suppressing the Baden Revolution of 1849, one of the final and most dramatic episodes of the German Revolutions of 1848–1849.
This example is the desirable Baden striking, featuring the characteristic broad angular suspension and the small “K” die-cutter mark associated with Ludwig Kachel. Specialist references catalogue the type as OEK 298. Comparable Baden/Kachel examples are specifically described by Künker as the badische Prägung and carry the K mark. (Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co. KG)
Medal detailsOne side displays a central upright sword surrounded by palm branches, while the inscription side bears the dedication:
DEM TAPFEREN BEFREIUNGS HEER 1849
approximately translating as:
“To the Brave Army of Liberation, 1849.”
The medal was created following the defeat of the revolutionary movement in Baden. Because German and particularly Prussian forces had fought other Germans during the campaign, liberal contemporaries gave the award the politically charged nickname “Brudermordmedaille” — “Fratricide Medal.” Specialist sale literature records that the first completed medal was presented to Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, commander of the combined forces and the future King Wilhelm I and first German Emperor.
This makes the medal an especially interesting artifact connecting the 1848–1849 German Revolution, Grand Duchy of Baden, Prussian military intervention, and the political developments that preceded German unification.
Reference / attributionGrand Duchy of Baden
Grand Duke Leopold
Date: 1849
Medal: Militär-Gedächtnis-Medaille für 1849
Collector name: / die cutter: Ludwig Kachel
Mark: K
Reference: OEK 298
Full-size period issue
Bronze / period gun-bronze type alloy
Approximately 31.16 mm across.and 20.08 g, establishing the dimensions of the standard full-size type.
The medal remains complete with its distinctive broad suspension bar intact.
It shows substantial genuine age and service/storage wear, including dark brown and greenish age patina, oxidation, scattered surface corrosion/verdigris, moderate pitting, small marks and wear/softening to portions of the relief. The central sword and surrounding palm design remain clearly recognizable.
The surfaces have the character expected of a piece dating from the revolutionary period of 1849.
No ribbon is included.
Please examine all high-resolution photographs carefully, as they form an important part of the description and show the exact medal being offered.
A scarce piece of mid-19th-century German States historyAn appealing original medal for collectors of:
German States militaria, Grand Duchy of Baden medals, German Revolution 1848–49 memorabilia, Prussian military history, European campaign medals, 19th-century German decorations, and pre-1871 German militaria.
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Your medal will be carefully packaged and shipped with tracking.
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