Description
GERMANY – MEDAL – 1912 AVIATION DONATION DAY
In Germany both before and during the war there was a tremendous interest in some of the newer services of the armed forces. This included the zeppelin, submarine, and air services. Count von Zeppelin was always receiving donations from the general public to help finance his efforts, especially when his airships crashed and he needed to start over again. The interest in supporting U-boat development and airplanes was equally as robust.
This medal was given in 1912 to people who donated money to the cause. The obverse features an eagle in flight and the reverse has National Flugspende 1912. I have had perhaps two of these in the past, but I have never seen what the ribbon looked like until now. It is quite tattered as it was made of silk with a single large band of white flanked by two smaller black bands. Attached to the top is the original small safety pin which was attached the medal to a person’s clothing. The bronze toned medal is in excellent shape and perhaps if the original ribbon had been made of cotton or something other than silk it would have held up better. It is a very interesting prewar item of aviation in Germany.
