France, Republic. An Order of Social Merit, Commander Hold as no one else could

as no one else could have broken down the resistance of his own kind so well

7 mm x 62 mm inclusive of its crown suspension

A studio portrait showing an Officer of Grenzschutz Ost in a Reichswehr uniform alongside a female companion

heaving stitched 19 mm wide patterned leather strap sewn in place along the lower portion of the shako

silver and red sequins

France, Republic. An Order of Social Merit, Commander Hold as no one else couldInstituted October 25, 1936. In silver gilt, a blue enamelled seven point star with ball finials, a wreath connecting each quadrant, the obverse medallion in silver gilt and white enamels inscribed, the reverse medallion features the inscription MINISTERE DU TRAVAIL, surmounted by a wreath suspension and worn on original neck ribbon, marked on suspension with a boars head denoting silver fineness and indecipherable makers mark, measures 62. 7mm (w) x