Polish Republic Cross of Merit
Highest civilian award of Poland
I'd like to start with what is currently my favourite medal, of which I have several versions. This is the Polish Republic People's Cross of Merit (Krzyż Zasługi). This is a civilian award and was first instituted in 1923 by the 2nd Polish Republic.
Originally it featured the initials RP in the centre, this was replaced after World War 2 when the country became a communist satellite state of the USSR with PRL (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa). These pre-communist versions are rare and much sought after,
The medal is obstensibly available in 3 versions or classes: bronze, silver and gold. The medals were issued in a dark red box featuring the traditional Polish Eagle and a small booklet with the particulars of who it was issued to.
This is a handsome medal which usually has a dark red or purple ribbon with thin light blue stripes. The cross is enamelled red on the silver and gold versions while the 3rd class version is solid bronze. The medal is hung from a chunky wreath-like suspender ring.
The post-World War 2 communist versions can be found for £20-£30 while the earlier versions are commonly £40 plus and are much harder to come by. Miniature versions can also be found.
