Graf

Nice Work Steve. Very interesting person he was moved around in different positions From the decorations it looked he only has been involved in direct military actions in the early stages of his military service Most of the time he was on different organizational positions in the army

Hi Egorka Correct translation Well Done That is the Grand Officer or Second Class of the Bulgarian Order for Military Merit In the Document it was not mentioned whether the Order was with War decoration, therefore it can be assumed that it was without it and that is the 1915-1918 Commemorative Medal

Nice work Tony

Hi Ilieff, Good points. I also was tempting to mention that this issue was given beyond 1918 during the early years of King Boris III However Laurentius request was -" I need to confirm (somehow) that he received the Bulgarian Civil Merit Order somewhere around 1900-1920." That is why I tried to confirm that the Order was very likely given during King Ferdinand period Regards Graf

I am glad that information has increased Congrats

Number 5 is 100% : General-leytenant (Lieutenant General) Nikola Petkov Hadzhipetkov, Chief of Staff of the Bulgarian Army (10 December 1938-11 August 1941)

Welcome to the Club. It is a pity you cannot post any photos of the cross Here are pictures of the very first emission l of the soldiers cross it is made from silver The swards are normal size You can come across from time to time with some small variations of the different models of the cross however those variations could be explained with some errors during the making of the crosses

Very nice Tony

Thank you That is some news At least you know that the Bulgarian Order was awarded during this period. I am not sure whether you can trace from the Bulgarian site exactly when was awarded You might dig on the Dutch site for any more information Cheers

Welcome

Nice pictures Tony

It is a an early Overview of the Order for Civil Merit (part of my collection) The Fifth Class Cross on the bar is the same as the one without the ribbon on the very right of the picture You can see that the design is the same The crosses with the domed crown are the 1st Prince Ferdinand Issue 1891-190 Once the Prince Ferdinand proclaimed himself as King of Bulgaria in 1908 the crown changed, however the cross design staid the same till 1918 ( In this year King Ferdinand abdicated in favour of his oldest son Boris, who became King Boris III) I hope there could be a reference somewhere to bring more information for your research In a book published by Bulgarian author Todor Petrov in 2005 there are tables of the numbers of awarded Bulgarian orders during the period 1880-1908 According to this book The Fifth Class of the Order for Civil Merit was awarded to 288 foreign nationals. Unfortunately this period is for the Princely Issue -with the domed crown (the picture of the two Fifth class crosses for man and ladies) I hope some information does exist for the King's period 1908-1918

Thank you for the information I hope any of the members from Bulgaria could help It is very interesting. Only thing I can tell you that the Fifth Class of the Order for Civil merit could be dated in this period It looks as the Second issue King Ferdinand 1908-1918 with King's Crown. Once you got the bar I will be very grateful if you can send the photo of the reverse

Hi It will be very difficult to trace any low grade Bulgarian award More likely if you have to any Dutch materials it will be easier What information do you have for the Bulgarian award Do you have any photos Regards Graf

Hi contrary to the other Belgium Orders It is sometimes difficult to point out the exact period of the Order of the crown This Knight you have listed is real and could be from this period or a bit newer For sure it is not a modern one They are not very expensive -around 30-40 Euro the most for this class Regards Here is a nice Commander

Interesting photo of medical Officer with Red Cross badges

Hi Yes indeed very nice design The Red enamel is a separate two parts piece ( metal frame with the cred enamel backed on top} Together with the arms and the cross are assembled to a rod that is attached to the both sides on the bottom of the crown. The cross can swing back and forth

Very nice

I agree very impressive

Fake Bulgaria Order for Bravery -1st Class listed and sold three times on eBay Germany When asked the Dealer rejected my claim it is fake Keeps re.listing and selling for the last three months The price was what he hoped to get The same Dealer is selling many fake German Decorations including medal bars like the one listed in this thread

Thank you Nice items. The bag is rarer then the medal

Very nice minis

Thank you

Thank you

My latest addition - Very early Officer in 18 carat Gold. Military Division by G. Wolfers 71mm x 39 mm 18.5 gr Very light and fine construction Usually those crosses are unmarked my Guess around 1900 period