History

The Colonial Award was founded by the Imperial German Colonial Veterans’ Union in 1922 and was conferred upon veteran members of the German Military Colonial troops.

It is also known as "Lion Order".

The I Class was awarded to Imperial German colonial troop veterans, including personnel who served in East Asia and China during the First World War. The I Class was also conferred upon Imperial German Navy veterans who rendered service overseas between 1914 and 1918.

The award was designed by Karl Richard Möbius.

The obverse inscription translates to "For merits for the colonies".

There were approximately 10,000 I Class and II Class awards conferred in total.