102039 | GERMANY. Friedrich Wilhelm/Schwarze Braunschweiger bronze Medal.

102039  |  GERMANY. Friedrich Wilhelm/Schwarze Braunschweiger bronze Medal. Issued 1909 for the centenary of the legion's founding (34mm, 16.67 g, 12h).

 

FRIEDRICH WILHELM HERZOG ZU BRAUNSCHWEIG, capped bust left / Skull and crossbones set upon banner inscribed PENINSULA set over crossed laurel branches. Edge: Loop attached at the top, otherwise plain.

 

Brockmann 546. Mint State. Brassy-brown surfaces, with great brilliance in the fields.

 

The Schwarze Braunschweiger, or Black Brunswickers, were a military unit formed during the Napoleonic Wars under Friedrich Wilhelm, the Duke of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, who was a harsh opponent of Napoleon. He outfitted his unit in all black, with the skull and crossbones motif, or totenkopf, being used on the headgear of the soldiers.