WW1 GERMANY WOUND BADGE MEDAL IN BLACK FOR WOUNDS IN COMBAT

Offered is an original German WW1 Wound Badge in black. 42mm high oval blackened alloy badge, the face stippled with a helmet imposed on crossed swords within a laurel wreath border; the reverse plain; with pin & hook attachment, with only very slight rubbing of enamel from the helmet. The wound badge was instituted on 3 March 1918 in three grades, black for one or two wounds, as in this example, silver for three or four wounds and gold for five or more wounds. The badge was re-instituted in the late 1930s, though these later examples may be distinguished by the presence of a cross gammée (the so-called swastika) on the helmet.