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    Bulgarian medals and ribbon bars


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    I have to say that the ribbon is most likely not original, yes old it is, but perhaps not original.

    Well done Kevin,

    The mark hadn't occured to me.

    I'm wondering too.

    Kind regards,

    Jacky

    p.s. these photo's looks far more beautifuller than the scan.

    Edited by Jacky
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    Can somebody give me some info on award criteria please,

    The Silver Cross (Сребърен кръст) was the 6th Class (VI степен) of the Order. It came in two grades, with and without crown, and could be awarded with swords. It was awarded to master sergeants (фелдфебели), other NCOs (подофицери), enlisted soldiers (войници) and lower ranking civil servants (низшн чиновници) for meritorious deeds or service.

    Note: фелдфебел is literally "Feldwebel"; it translates from Bulgarian as master sergeant or sergeant major, but if anyone more familiar with the Bulgarian royal army rank structure has a better translation, it would be appreciated. I think the distinction between a фелдфебел and a подофицер (literally the same as Unteroffizier) might be the with/without Portepee distinction of German NCOs, but I'm not sure.

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    The one on the far right is a Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order (Herzoglich Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden). Given the Bulgarian monarch's background, it would likely be from the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

    Eric is right about the middle one though. It is the Order of Saint Louis (Ordine di San Luigi) from the Duchy of Parma. The Duchy ceased to exist as an independent state on Italian unification in 1859-60, but the order continues to this day as a house award of the House of Bourbon-Parma.

    .And why would a Bulgarian officer have an award of a state that ceased to exist before Bulgaria was founded? Because the wife of Prince (later Tsar) Ferdinand I was Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma, daughter of Roberto I, the last Duke of Parma. The wedding occurred in 1893, so the card probably dates from right after that

    Czar Ferdinand created a wedding medal for the happy occasion which depicts couple on obverse & both crests on reverse.

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    Hello Gentlemen

    Picked this one up a while back, was always curious about this one. Ferdinand issued a few merit medals with his bust at different stages of his life. My question is does anyone know when this medal was issued?

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    Hallo Gents, :beer:

    just obtained this from Jacky in Holland, a nice salty piece.

    A Silver cross of the Bulgarian Order of St. Alexander. :jumping:

    Can somebody give me some info on award criteria please,

    There appears to be a stamp / mark on the silver piece under the ball ribbon ring hanger (appears as a dark round spot in the picture).

    Kevin in Deva. :cheers:

    Nice one Kevin

    An early SILVER one hallmarked :D

    Thanks for sharing Yankee

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    Order of Saint Alexander 4th class with X

    post-176-1118189448.jpg

    I guess yours is a 5th class with crown and swords, not a 4th class. The 4th class was golden and had a rosette on the ribbon. The yellowish colour on your badge might just be patina.

    Here is a comparison between the 4th class and the 5th class of the Order of Saint Alexander

    bgsfalex4auy0.jpgbgsfalex5acp9.jpg

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    Personally I think it's too golden to be patina, it might be a stripped down 4th class just because it looked so nice, without the rosette...

    Or it might have been reribboned without the correct rosette,

    it's hard to tell from the pictures, because flash, shadows etc etc.

    kind regards,

    Jacky

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    Personally I think it's too golden to be patina, it might be a stripped down 4th class just because it looked so nice, without the rosette...

    Or it might have been reribboned without the correct rosette,

    it's hard to tell from the pictures, because flash, shadows etc etc.

    You could be right, Jacky. Maybe Deruelle will come with some more details about his badge.

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    • 1 month later...

    I guess yours is a 5th class with crown and swords, not a 4th class. The 4th class was golden and had a rosette on the ribbon. The yellowish colour on your badge might just be patina.

    Here is a comparison between the 4th class and the 5th class of the Order of Saint Alexander

    bgsfalex4auy0.jpgbgsfalex5acp9.jpg

    It looks like IV class with replaced ribbon to me. It's definitely goldplated.

    William

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