Germany - 1915 Lusitania Medal (British MoD Issue With Box)

Offered is an in-box example of the scarcer 1916 British Ministry of Defense cast of the Lusitania medal, with German spelling (most bear the modified spelling MAY), as BM#1916, 0707.9. Initially, German artist Karl Goetz was so incensed by the mere idea that a passenger liner might have been used for military purposes that he decided to produce a medal satirizing the subject. He mistakenly stated on the medal that the date of the sinking was 5 May – two days earlier than the actual event. This caused an outcry in Britain and accusations that the sinking had been premeditated by the Germans. This use of the wrong date was in fact a mistake, but copies of the medal were made and distributed in Britain in protest against the Germans’ use of medallic art to effectively celebrate a tragedy.

The medal is in excellent condition, showing no signs of corrosion, etc. The box is in typical condition. A fascinating piece of WWI memorabilia.

Obv: Ship is depicted sinking under the waves, weapons on deck, 5-line inscription below. Inscription: DER GROSS DAMPFER / LUCITANIA / DURCH EIN DEUTCHES / TAVCHBOOT VERSENKT / 5 MAI 1915.

Rev: Unsuspecting passengers queuing up to buy tickets from a personification of Death who sits inside the ticket booth. German man stood in background reading newspaper with headline ‘U-Boat Danger.' Inscription: GESCHAFT UBER ALLES.