102044 | GERMANY. Russian Ambassador receives Serbian Assassin bronze Medal.

102044  |  GERMANY & EUROPE. The Russian Ambassador receives the Serbian Assassin cast bronze Medal. Dated 1914, though likely a later casting. "Serajewo/Der Funke des Weltbrandes"—on the spark of the global conflagration (57mm, 57.09 g, 12h). By K. Goetz in München.

 

DER RVSS GESANDTE VON HARTWIG EMPFÄNGT SERB MÖRDER, Russian ambassador Hartwig standing left, receiving Serbian assassins and presenting them with a bag of money / DER FVNKE DES WELT-BRANDES, assassin advancing on a road to Sarajevo, holding bomb behind back. Edge: Plain.

 

Kienast 132; Klose 1.1; Art of Devastation p. 81, fig. 5. Mint State Details. Deeper brown surfaces, though a few spots of corrosion are noted. An important and scarce issue recounting the events leading up to what would cause the first of the two great world wars.

 

Starting merely as a local issue between Austrian-dominated Serbia and the Russian Empire (who wished to have greater influence in the Balkans), World War I escalated upon the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian crown prince, Franz Ferdinand, along with his wife Sophie in the streets of Sarajevo in 1914. Conducted by Serbians who were members of the Black Hand, this caused Austria to punish Serbia, with Russia then coming to the aid of Serbia. In turn, Germany's decades-old alliance with Austria brought her into the conflict against Russia, with France and Great Britain (owing to their own alliance with Russia) in against Germany and Austria. Through numerous alliances, this Balkan issue quickly spiraled into the largest conflict then seen by the world.

 

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