Hello, thought I would show my British Lusitania medal with box and commemorative postcard. These medals were originally produced in Germany (only 500 were privately produced) to blame The Cunard Line for the deaths of passengers, and make clear that the ship was carrying war material and therefore a legitimate target. It was then reproduced by the British in 1916 (250,000 were struck) to show how the Germans were 'gloating' over the deaths of civillians. The front shows the ship sinking, with war material spilling over board, and says 'No Contraband! The Great Steamer Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine 5th May 1915.' The date of the sinking was actually 7th May. The reverse shows a skeleton selling tickets at the Cunard offices and says 'Business over everything' One of the passengers can be seen reading a newspaper pointing out the danger of submarine activity.
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