General Honor Decoration (Hesse)

The General Honor Decoration (Allgemeines Ehrenzeichen) was a civil and military decoration of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. Established 25 September 1843, the medal could be awarded to recognize several different accomplishments or merits. The reason for the award of the medal was determined by the inscription on the reverse of the medal, with the obverse bearing the effigy of the reigning Grand Duke of Hesse.

There were nine different reverse inscriptions for the medal:
 * FÜR VERDIENSTE (FOR MERIT)
 * FÜR TREUE DIENSTE (FOR FAITHFUL SERVICE)
 * FÜR LANGJÄHRIGE TREUE DIENSTE (FOR MANY YEARS OF FAITHFUL SERVICE)
 * FÜR FÜNFZIG JÄHRIGE TREUE DIENSTE (FOR FIFTY YEARS OF FAITHFUL SERVICE)
 * FÜR RETTUNG VON MENSCHEN-LEBEN (FOR RESCUE OF HUMAN LIFE)
 * FÜR WIEDERHOLTE RETTUNG VON MENSCHEN-LEBEN (FOR REPEATED RESCUE OF HUMAN LIFE)
 * FÜR TREUE ARBEIT (FOR FAITHFUL WORK)
 * FÜR KRIEGS-VERDIENSTE (FOR WAR MERIT)
 * FÜR TAPFERKEIT (FOR BRAVERY)