A new series of Silver and Bronze Military Merit Medals was created on April 18, 1917, which featured the bust of Emperor Karl I, who had acceded to the Austro-Hungarian throne after the death of Franz Joseph I on November 21, 1916. The main difference, besides the bust of the new Emperor in place of the old, was the replacement of the single crown above the medal by the paired crowns of Austria and Hungary on a bed of laurel and oak leaves. Also, given late-war conditions, the new medals were cruder in quality than their predecessors. A new Grand Military Merit Medal was added on April 28, 1917.