Germany, Wehrmacht. A Rare War Commemorative Medal of 1939/1940

(Medaille zur Erinnerung an den Krieg 1939/1940). Constructed of blackened iron, on loop for suspension, the obverse with a raised Cross Pattée overlaid by a Heer-style German national eagle clutching a mobile swastika, flanked by dates “1939” and “1940”, the reverse with an inscrption of “DEN KÄMPFERN FÜR DIE DEUTSCHE FREIHEIT” (“TO THE FIGHTERS FOR THE FREEDOM OF GERMANY”), unmarked, measuring 32.39 mm in diameter, weighing 15.4 grams, in near extremely fine condition.

Footnote: The War Commemorative Medal of 1939/1940 was commissioned in the wake of the Wehrmacht’s successful conquest of France and the Low Countries, with German High Command under the assumption that the British would inevitably capitulate and the war would soon be over. With the expansion of the conflict into Africa, the Balkans, and the Soviet Union, the perception of the “invincible Wehrmacht” soon vanished and the award was scrapped. While prototypes were made, none were issued and no ribbons were manufactured.