101185 | GERMANY. Four Horsemen/Propaganda bronze Medal.

101185  |  GERMANY. Four Horsemen/Propaganda bronze Medal. Issued 1914. The Ravages of War (28mm, 9.05 g, 12h). By B. H. Mayer's mint in Pforzheim.

 

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse—holding bomb, torch, sword, and scythe, respectively—riding left over the globe (focused upon the eastern hemisphere) plunging into the clouds; a bomb explodes over Eastern Europe / ERINNERUNG / AN DEN / WELTKRIEG / 1914 in four lines; all within wreath. Edge: Plain.

 

Cf. Zetzmann 2132 & 2160. Choice Mint State. Olive-brown surfaces, with some underlying brilliance; a few light marks are noted in the reverse field.

 

As both sides of this first global war began to dig in, the immense scale and tremendous toll began to emerge, as advancements in technology allowed for far greater devastation and ravages to unfold. This medal quite appropriately portrays the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, plunging the entire globe into chaos and destruction, with grenades—a new aspect to contemporary warfare—being hurled by one of the riders.

 

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