Finnish Commemorative Medal of the War of Liberation 1918
Exactly this medal is published in Jani Tiaises very good book about Finnish awards. See last two pictures.
This medal was issued to a Swedish volunteer soldier, you can tell by the Swedish translation of the Finnish names.
Very nice medal in excellent condition. Made of iron(magnetic).
Has 4 very nice clasps for the area of fighting the recipient had participated in, in this case ÖSTERBOTTEN, SATAKUNTA, TAMMERFORS and LEMPÄÄLÄ-LAHTIS.
Maker marked S&Co for Sporrong & Co in Stockholm.
A very nice and rarely seen combination.
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HISTORY:
Awarded to all who had participated in the war to secure Finland's independence. Instituted on 10 September 1918 by the Finnish Senate in Helsinki, this blackened iron medal was originally decreed to hang from a dark blue ribbon. In order to avoid confusion with the Order of the White Rose's ribbon, General Mannerheim decided on 3 July 1919 to have this medal's ribbon altered and black side stripes were adopted.
The obverse shows the Finnish arms, a crowned rampant lion standing on a curved sword and holding a broken sword in its raised paw. The reverse shows the Cross of Liberty with in each of the upper segments an armoured arm holding a sword (as in the Cross's Military Division suspension). In the lower segments is the year 1918.
