 The Prussian state had mounted a campaign steeped in patriotic rhetoric to rally their citizens to repulse the French occupation.To finance the army, the king implored wealthy Prussians to turn in their jewels in exchange for a men's cast-iron ring or a ladies' brooch, each bearing the legend "Gold I gave for iron" ("Gold gab ich für Eisen").The award was reinstituted for the wars in 1870 and 1914.