The Military Jubilee Cross was instituted on 2 December 1908 in commemoration of the 60th Jubilee of Emperor Franz Josef’s accession to the throne. It was awarded to all professional armed forces and the Gendarmerie who were in service at the time of its institution, all military personnel of two years’ standing and all those who had fought under the Emperor and Field Marshal Radetzky during the Italian campaign of 1848.
The Cross was made of gold plated brass and formed by a cross pattée, 37 mm in diameter, set on a laurel wreath, with a 20 mm centrefield. The obverse of the centrefield is slightly raised and depicts the bust of the Emperor in profile, wearing the uniform of a field marshal with the Order of the Golden Fleece. The inscription round the left rim reads FRANC·IOS·I. The reverse is flat apart from the years of the Emperor’s reign in raised numbers. The Cross was worn on a 40 mm wide tri-fold of white ribbon with red outer stripes.