This guide will address the Austrian 1908 Civil Jubilee Cross only.  The 1908 Civil Jubilee Cross (1908 Jubiläumskreuz für Zivilstaatsbedienstete) was instituted on 14 August 1908 (published 16 November 1908) to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the rule of Kaiser Franz Joseph I which occurred on 2 December 1908.   In the case of multiple qualification for one of the 3 various Jubilee awards, it was restricted to only one award per person.  The military version was considered the highest, the civil was the middle (exactly the same as the military version but for a solid red ribbon), while the court version was the lowest – which was quite a change from the 1898 Jubilee awards!

The 1908 Civil Jubilee Cross was presented to all male or female officials - who were over 21 years of age - of any branch of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire Civil Service (except the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and to employees and workers of state-owned companies who were on duty on 2 December 1908 (and had a minimum of 3 years of service or who were not on duty that day but had fulfilled as a minimum 10 years of service during the period from 2 December 1898 to 2 December 1908).   Civil employees at military schools, cadet institutes, and military orphanages were not eligible for this cross but were awarded the Military version.

The bronze gilt alloy medal is cross shaped (ca. 36 mm x 42 mm) and surrounded by a laurel wreath.  Within the obverse center of the cross is a circle (ca. 27 mm) with the bust of Kaiser Franz Joseph I.  At the 8:00 to 11:00 position is FRANC. IOS. 1.  At first glance, the entire design appears to be struck off-centered but this design was purposely incorporated.  The reverse is plain (except for the wreath) with a thick 1848  1908 in 2 lines and centered.  The medal is almost 4 mm at the thickest point and tapers to the ends of the cross.  It is suspended from a thick barrel type suspension which is part of the struck medal and has a hole bored through for the suspension ring.  The suspension ring is usually of the same metal as the medal but the alloy varies.  One late variant of this cross has the inner field of the cross incised with a border but it's currently suspected to be a jeweler's copy in an attempt to improve the general design of the cross (the central design was also noted to be somewhat improved as well).  The tri-fold civil silk ribbon (40 mm wide) is solid red (sources often attribute different colors such as maroon or rose - often in an attempt to indicate discoloration - while red is the officially specified color).  Note that various ribbons are often used on this award but only the solid red (Civilian Jubilee Medal) and the white with 2 red stripes toward each edge (Military Jubilee Medal) were ever awarded, the remainder being fantasy ribbons.  The original ribbon was woven silk with a very distinctive weft - most modern ribbons are a poly based material.  The original grommet and hook device was of thin fine brass and very tightly affixed - almost all show various degrees of suspension ring wear to the internal ribbon. 

(obverse) 1908 Civil Jubilee Cross (reverse)

Copies and forgeries do exist of this medal, the most common being a cast copy which has been painted.  Prices observed in February 2007 for genuine single examples are generally between $10 to $45 and the market has not moved substantially for over two decades.   For your convenience, other associated guides can be found at:   http://reviews.ebay.com/Austria-Hungarian-Empire-Medal-Guides-Index_W0QQugidZ10000000002996168.  Please visit my blog (http://blogs.ebay.com/tsa-li) and/or guides for further information.  Thank you for your visit!