Graf

More models of the Red Cross I like this Badge, because there are so many models and it is a chalenge and at the same time fun to collect it 1. Large Badge -marked in luxury box 2. The same size Red Cross Badge with unusual open design

More of those medals with Document Graf

Hi Igor, Congrats. This Badge was sold recently on Ebay France I was away and did not follow the Auction. This is my contribution at this stage to the topic Graf

Hi Vazov, The Order you passed on could be OK. Simply we rely on sources where only discuss and show items that follow the rules The central medallions resemble the ones from 1915 Model.. However it is your judgment and do not regret. Orders with "three dots" do exist. 1st Class Order for Bravery with "three dots" was sold on 25-th June 2010 on 173 Auction of Kuenker in in Osnabruck. It was a par of the one of the biggest sale of Bulgarian Orders out of Bulgaria. The collection belonged to a Bulgarian living in Paris. The reason that there are some unusual pieces surfacing on the market is that most of the Bulgarian Orders were made by German, French Austrian and at the beginning Russian makers and sometimes they produced "once off' pieces that are either with the family of the recipient or in private collections and never have been shown to the rest of the world. That is why I opened the thread "Military Order with error" I have few pieces in my collection listed in different threads which had features not following the strict rules However it does not mean that we do not have to be alert about the fakes and that is the role of those forums. There could be situations when some parts were replaced because the decoration was damaged or the part was lost. Those are genuine alterations, compared to the latest changes made by fakers to increase the value of the Order. BTW I looked closely the eMedals 4th Class with the lilies You are correct -no pattern under the red enamel of the arms. It looks it is the model with smooth edges of the arms. I have the other model and I can only assume that it was the way it was made Similar scenario as the one on the pictures bellow The ribbon ring is marked 800 for silver Regards Graf

Hi Ilieff, Thank you for the post It is exactly how I felt it when i was vising the Museum. Nicely described Do you suggest that the 1st Class Star with the three dots on your second last picture is post -war production i.e. Museum quality reproduction? Yes, this is very interesting 3rd Class from the 1st Prince Alexander Model. -1st St Petersburg Emission The grand Cross with the "skull and bones" from this Emission should be exhibited in the personal collection of Prince Alexander in the Museum Unusual crown. It seems the crown is of French or other European Order Whether it was added at the time.when the Order was awarded or in later stage is very difficult to judge If is added in recent times then it is a little bit worry. On the other hand we are so used to the strict rules about the Bulgarian decorations that sometimes when such unique pieces surface we very easily reject them or look them with suspicion Those pieces are reminder that the rule were not followed all the time. I have in my collection few of similar pieces some with makers "errors" One has to separate them form the fakes.

Hi Thank you for the reply I also have seen couple of 1st Empire LOH with 1st Restoration reverse medallions -so called "Hybrids" when left overs from the previous period were used with replaced medallions corresponding to the particular period I have not seen 1st restoration Order with the typical shape of the restoration period It is a pity that the Gold Commander listed above is pictured only on the front, because it was sold on auction in France few years ago with the description for the 1st Type of Restoration period...however no picture on the reverse Otherwise it could have brought more light to the issue. I noticed that on this particular Commander the Henry IV is facing to the left, therefore i assumed that this could be additional specific feature for this period ..however not sure now. Yes, It is a rare beast I cannot find any good reference for this topic Graf

Hi guys, I asked for some more information regarding the 1st Restoration Model of the Legion of Honour ( April 1814- March 1815 ) Any good references? Is the crown on the back central medallion only different features from the 2nd Restoration period or there are more differences Regards Graf

Hi Vazov, The 4th Class 2nd Grade Order is again a rare model, Although not as rare as the one you listed yesterday It is believed to be one of the very early Ferdinand emission pieces -" with the Lily connection between the cross and the ribbon ring. Both crosses are OK The one on eMedals site was a very nice one in near mint condition and I know the person who did not hesitate and did buy it. Not me. He is an advanced collector. eMedals is a good site, however sometimes they also make judgment errors. The 3rd Class 2nd Grade looks OK for me The finish is very nice and the central medallion is perfect However you have to ask the seller to do so called "needle" test The main give away of the fakes is the soft enamel and not very well defined letters on the central medallion. Ask for pictures on the reverse as well and compare with well known samples If possible pay with PayPal and if anything is wrong you can return it Most importantly "listen" your guts If you do not feel comfortable of buying an item then pass it on.Like you did Fakers are everywhere not only in Varna. I visited recently Sofia, as part of a small hollday in some of the Balkan countries, and I went to see few antique shops One of the dealer mention a "new" Faker on the market, who is very good. That is a little bit worry I was happy to visit the Military Museum in Sofia. Very impressive exhibitions of Bulgarian Orders and decorations You have to go and see them Even they had small errors in matching some of the Sets Graf

Hi Vazov, Welcome on board This is not a fake Order It is very rare variation of the first model I saw the Bravery cross on Ebay, however i passed it because of the significant damage; The VicMart as far as I know is still in action, however they do not sell much Orders and decorations now. The Bravery Order you listed is one of their items which was sold , like you stated, few years ago You can see this cross in Prof. Pavlov book and also it is on display in the Bulgarian Military Museum in Sofia as part of Prince Alexander personal collection Graf

Hi Vazov, Thank you for the correction, Yes It is General Nikolaev, Best Graf

Hi Laurens, I also forget to tell you that "luxury" miniature do exist in all classes iccluding in silver as well -for the 5th -Knight Class (Chevalier) The trend started from the very beginning up to the 4th Republic included. I have not seen any from now days in this "luxury" model Again there are made by order to show some kind of social status ....and deep pockets How did you get information regarding the recipient? Hi Paul I did not get what did you mean with your message Graf

Hi Laurens, Your Miniature is Officer Class from the Third French Republic -from 1870 till the end of WW2. Sometime those Miniatures do not come with a rosettes for Officer, simply because they are so called" luxury Miniatures" and are made by order by the recipient to show some kind of social status. The standard Miniatures from this Period for Officer Class were made from gilded silver NO Diamonds. Your Miniature is such one -made of 18 Karat Gold and two Real Diamonds The material and the number of Diamonds can be different, depends how much the owner wants to pay. If you are collector do not stress too much about the ribbon with the rosette. I have seen even higher classes without the matching rosette. Here are some similar Miniatures as you see I have two of my Miniatures without rosettes. The last one could be a Commander Class because is made from Gold and Platinum and as you see has multiple diamonds and other stones --but No rosette. Graf

Hi, Is anyone knows what are the main features of the Badges/Crosses of the Order of Legion of Honour from the 1st Restoration Period, apart from the distinctive reverse medallion with the Royal crown above the three lily. Any other features?? Best Graf

Hi Alex, From what I see you are safe. The only thing we do not know whether the Document and the cross are for the same person.Sometimes dealers/Sellers "marry" such items for a little bit more profit as a Set. The problem is that all Bulgarian Orders and decorations are not named. Unless you have a very strong provenance that they come from the family of this person it is very difficult to know. On the good side both the Document and the cross look Original The Cross looks an early Boris III period.one.. Only we have to accept that they belonged to the same person The main areas of fakers are -Order of St Alexander -mainly Stars. Crosses are "upgraded" from Commander Class with Green enamel to a First Class -see some of the listing in this thread Sometimes crosses are mutilated to match a Star. - High Classes Stars of the Orders for Military Merit and Order for Civil merit -Order for Bravery -only the 1st Class Star is known so far to be faked. I have seen also 3rd Class 2nd Grade copy -very bad work - Different Badges from the Royal Period, however i collect only Bulgaria Royal Red Cross badges and Documents and I cannot make any comments. The Civil Merit Commanders and lower Classes are the last on the fakers list due to the relatively low prices. Why bother to fake and spend time only for few backs? Best Graf

more pictures of the "better Fake"

Hi, New World is correct The main problem is the soft enamel white, red and green. At one stage Victor/Karissa had other Star with hard central medallion I suspect it could be an original part and the rest is fake I have the pictures of this Star in my files Here is the Front the back is identical as my Star See the poor finish of the swords, especially the one on the left Other problems are - The Star is very thin - The gilding on the back surface and on the lion and the swords on the front came off very easy - the front detailing is very poor -on the central medallion and on the swords - the silver ring on the central medallion is not very detailed as on the original - the difference in the colour suggests two different metals - the nut on the back is glued not screwed and not the right form - the pin assembly is poorly attached to the back New Word is right that if you never seen the Original and/or hold it just from pictures one can be fooled. However, at the moment I held this Star i realized, that something is wrong It is impossible to have a very high class Order made with so many problems, especially during King Ferdinand Period That is why I started this thread to share with others what i have experienced and learned regarding the fakes That does not mean that the fakers are not improving and they still can fool us Graf

Sold for over 800 EURO I feel sorry for the buyer Graf

I just to add to the topic. Yes, Victor and others managed to sell few fake High Classes on Ebay and later on different dealers in EUROPE. I even have in my collection one of his last Stars as a nice "Gift" from this period. At the time the Star arrived and I found it was fake he closed his Ebay store and I did not have a chance to return it. I keep it as a "filler' in my Collection till I get the original Regarding the boxes - for me it is OK to have an rare original box with a replaced lining as long as long as the collector is aware about the fact and the price is right. Here is the fake Order for Bravery Star 1st Class and also pictures of the Original so the members can compare both of them The God thing is that I did not pay a fortune for the fake/copy Star I made a very low offer and "surprisingly" Victor accepted it I found later on why..but a little bit late he was gone I hope for good. Graf

HI 922F, Glad you found it and you agree with my points. Sorry i missed last part of your post regarding the item 131937236792 on Ebay.de I saw it In my opinion is OK. Only the War Decoration is missing The edges are not as black as i have seen on some fakes See the fake Commander on top of this page. There are some marks on the swords on the obverse of this 1st Class Cross It looks they tried to mask them. It means they were aware that the Decoration is missing. Graf

Hi 922F. The Star is for sale on Ebay.de The German site of Ebay The Title is in English RARE! BULGARIA ORDER OF MILITARY MERIT STAR Please copy the title and go to Ebay Germany - Ebay.de and Paste the title in the search box/bar The Seller does not accept returns He is from Hungary Graf

This Star is on, currently on Ebay.de (Germany II my opinion is fake Very questionable finish - too many defects for a 1st Class Star from this Maker The enamel lloks dull and not very well defined -signs for a new soft type one The pin system is not correct You opinion is needed. I might be wrong, but I would not buy it Look the details very rough finish It is worry because they use this Famous maker marks +Graf BTW The Seller claims that is from his Granddad collection and he does not have any knowledge about it ??!!!! Graf

Hi I just added a very interesting old model of the Order of Leopold -Officer Class in Gold It has the crown of an early Charles J. Buls with typical Buls mark on the ribbon ring however the body including the central medallions are from J.G. Dutalis The cross has 2 marks one is a round one not known to me the other looks like French eagle head or Belgium horse head The weight and the size are the same as Dutalis Orders 16 Grams and 39 mm wide Here is the new Order together with an early Knight by Charles J. Buls to compare

Hi, It looks like that there are more awards with errors made then we know Here is my latest addition French made miniature of the Order for Military merit The front text is entirely wrong The reverse text is not as bad However it is extremely nice cross

THANKS JIM, I ALSO SUSPECTED THE MAKER L/55 I COMPARED THIS CROSS WITH MARKED L/55 AND ALL THE FEATURES WERE THE SAME ..MINUS THE MARK THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE THREE MAKERS . I DID NOT KNOW THAT FACT REGARDS GRAF

HI, I HAVE THIS EK1 SCREW BACK VARIANT -NOT MARKED CAN ANYONE IDENTIFY THE MAKER GRAF