Serbia, Kingdom. Commemorative Medal For Kosovo 1912, Very Rare

In silver, obverse illustrating St. George on horseback, a sword in his raised right hand, the dragon beneath the feet of his horse, the arms of Serbia below, surrounded by the inscription in Serbian "СВЕТИ ЂОРЂЕ БУДИ СРБУ И ДАЉЕ УГПЕД БРАНИОЦА ПРАВДЕ И ИСТИНЕ" (Saint George be you always renowned defender of justice and truth for the Serbs), engraver signed in script on either side of the arms of Serbia, reverse with an allegory of the Maiden of Kosovo offering red wine to the dying knight Pavle Orlović, the updated modern image illustrating the Maiden tending to a soldier in a Serbian army uniform with a rifle, lying on the body of a dead Ottoman soldier, a broken field gun to the right and a broken limber to the left, dated "1912" on a radiant field below, surrounded by the inscription in Serbian "СЛАВА ОСВЕТНИЦИМА КОСОВА ПОМОЗИМО ИЗНЕМОГЛОГ РАТНИКА" (Glory to the Avengers of Kosovo. Give aid to the helpless warrior), measuring 35.3 mm in diameter, on an incorrect triangular ribbon with hook and eye, very light contact, near extremely fine.

Footnote: The Commemorative Medal for Kosovo was issued to commemorate the victory of the alliance of Balkan states over Ottoman Turkey in the First Balkan War of 1912-1913 and, in particular, the Serbian recovery of Kosovo, the scene reminiscent of the crucial battle in 1389 won by the Ottoman Turks, that consigned the Serbs to 500 years of Turkish rule. The legendary Maiden of Kosovo appears in an epic Serbian poem, tending to the wounded on the morning after the first Battle of Kosovo, bathing the wounds of the mortally wounded Pavle Orlović and offering him red wine and bread in sacrament. The medal is known to exist, but is unofficial and is very rare.