Reverse : -
Diameter : 28 mm or 1,1 inch
Weight : 2 grams
Metal : stamped copper
Elisabeth of Bavaria (25 July 1876 – 23 November 1965) was the Queen of the Belgians as the spouse of King Albert I, and a duchess in Bavaria by birth. She was the mother of King Leopold III of Belgium and of Queen Marie-José of Italy, and grandmother of kings Baudouin and Albert II of Belgium, and Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg.
When war broke out in 1914, Queen Elisabeth worked with the nurses on the front and helped establish the Symphony Orchestra of the field army. She also traveled frequently to the United Kingdom, under the pretext of visiting her children who were studying there. She was often bringing important messages and information to the British government from her husband and his forces. During the First World War, she and the King resided in De Panne. The Queen made herself beloved by visiting the front lines and by sponsoring a nursing unit. Despite her German background, she was a popular queen, perceived as eagerly supporting her adoptive country. Following the war, the family made a triumphant return to Brussels and set about to rebuild the nation.
Numismatics of first world war in Belgium, under the German Occupation, includes a considerable number of medals. Some of these insignia from were only issued in a little numbers of copies. They mark the spirit of belgian population, its anxieties, its hopes and its confidence. It therefore seems that there is, among the populations of Belgium, a particular disposition of mind, which leads them to represent by emblems the principles they stand for and the men they honor. Thus, until November 11, 1918, this was on one hand, a tribute to the defenders, to the Fatherland, to their King, and, on the other hand, the utilitarian intentions of the Charity provoked a profusion of more than 3000 different metal types. Thus, during the occupation of Belgium by the German troops, a spontaneity appeared among the makers of Belgian medals, giving rise to a profusion of patriotic insignia and medals, charity or gratitude, spontaneity comparable to that of the spirit of decision and of duty which carried king Albert and his soldiers without hesitation before the invader.