MEDALJA ZASLUGE ZA NAROD

(en) On the original ribbon and pentagonal bearer, the ribbon frayed at the lower edge and restitched. The Order and Medal of National Merit were instituted on 12 June 1945 to be awarded to those who distinguished themselves in the struggle for liberation and for merit in securing and organizing the Yugoslav government and army. A decree of 1955 extended its award for achievement in the economic, cultural, and social spheres. The first examples of the medal were produced by ZIN-KOVNICA of Belgrade with the inscription on the reverse in Cyrillic script. This later example with a Latin inscription is by IKOM of Zagreb but dates from before 1973 when ‘ZASLUGE’ became ‘ZASLUGA’.