Graf

On 25/02/2024 at 23:35, ashley58 said:

I am afraid Iron Cross collecting is not so simple 😛 as Orth along with others did use parts/stamps from other makers, though the cross looks fine from pictures provided. It is a nice cased example but a fairly common cross to enjoy  👍👍

 

I agree

However those crosses marked with the LDO - L/14 are very rare

On 09/03/2024 at 11:30, steveBobby said:

Хайдуков, Тодор(Теодор) Димитров
Роден: 27.07.1893 във Варна.
Образование: Военното училище в София (1914). Военната академия в София (1930).
Военна служба:
? - 37-ми пехотен полк;
? - 39-ти пехотен полк;
? - 1-ви пограничен участък;
1928 - Помощник-началник на Орханийското бюро за доброволци;
1929 - 2-ра интендантска дружина;
1930 - Преподавател във Военното училище;
1933 - Командир на рота в Пехотната школа;
1934 - Началник на секция в Щаба на армията;
1935 - Пехотната школа;
1935 - Началник на Оперативния отдел в Щаба на армията;
1936 - Комисията по Гражданската мобилизация;
1936 - Помощник-началник на Пехотната школа;
1938 - Началник на отделение в Щаба на армията;
1938 - Помощник-началник на Държавната военна фабрика;
1939 - Началник на Снабдителното отделение в Щаба на войската;
1939 - Временен началник на учебния отдел в Щаба на войската;
1940 - Началник на отдел ДГПМ към Пехотната школа;
1941 - Началник на социално правния отдел;
1942 - Артилерийската школа;
1942 - Щабът на 1-ва армия;
1943 - Пехотната инспекция;
1944 - В запас.
Офицерски звания:
22.11.1914 - Подпоручик;
05.12.1916 - Поручик;
01.04.1919 - Капитан;
31.10.1930 - Майор;
01.11.1934 - Подполковник;
03.10.1938 - Полковник.

 

Here are some details I found about him, I have not translated it into English for accuracy

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

On 07/03/2024 at 07:20, Egorka said:

The first document is for medal For participation in the European war 1915-1918 (Медал за участие в Европейската война 1915-1918).

 

The second document is for "Голям офицерски кръст", i.e. "Grand Officer Cross" of the Order "For Military Merit". So, it is 2nd class then. Date was mentioned before: 26 June 1938.

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

On 17/02/2024 at 07:50, Farkas said:

Hi Gents,

just a quick heads up for anyone interested in militaria from the Northern Ireland conflict… I just saw there is currently a mess kit for sale on EBay attributed to Colonel Eaton T.D. murdered in cold blood by the IRA in 1976. 
 

Col. Oliver Eaton T.D., General Staff and North Irish Horse, killed by the I.R.A. 30/06/1976.

 

Item no : 276115881889

Nowt that special in itself but nice if the troubles are your area of interest.

 

cheers

tony 🍻

Nice work Tony

On 24/02/2024 at 04:04, ilieff said:

Hi laurentius,

 

I wouldn't put hard stops when it comes to the award date for the Bulgarian order.

The labelling of Princely vs King issues is mostly semantic. I mean that in the general period of 1900-1908, there was a gradual replacement of the `dome-shaped` crown with the latter, `pitched roof`-style crown. In this sense, it's theoretically possible that the order was awarded even before 1908. 

 

Furthermore, even after the abdication of 1918, there was leftover stock of `Ferdinand orders` in the Chancellery of Bulgaria orders, which continued to be awarded in the post-war years on behalf of King Boris III, though in much smaller numbers, compared to before. 

 

Congrats on the acquisition!

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

On 26/02/2024 at 02:00, laurentius said:

Dear fellow collectors,

 

The city Archive of Wetzlar has written back to me. They said that Göbel lived in Wetzlar from 01.01.1906 and that he moved to Bad Homburg on the 23nd of may 1910. This probably coincides with his promotion. Prior to living in Wetzlar Göbel lived in Betzdorf. 

 

 

He probably got it after 1909, since it isn't lised yet in the Ordensalmnach that Uwe mentioned. I consider it possibly that he got it after 1918, although I would find that unlikely.

 

At this moment we will have to wait, I have also written to the archives of the cities of Hungen, Bad Homburg and Hagenau.

 

Kind regards, Laurentius

I am glad that information has increased Congrats

On 07/12/2023 at 02:10, Kriegsmarine Admiral said:

Thank you Graf for the interesting and detailed explanation.

 

Here is the other photo:

1: Kapitän zur See Hellmuth Heye, Chief of Staff of the Admiral „Z“ (14 February 1941-03 April 1941)
2: General-leytenant (Lieutenant General) Nikola Totev Markov, Inspector of the Infantry of the Bulgarian Army (1938-11 August 1941)
3: Admiral Karlgeorg Schuster, Admiral „Z“ (04 March 1941-03 April 1941)
4: Herbert Freiherr von Richthofen, German Ambassador to Bulgaria (1939–1941)
5: General-leytenant (Lieutenant General) Nikola Petkov Hadzhipetkov, Chief of Staff of the Bulgarian Army (10 December 1938-11 August 1941)
6: Oberst Hans Bruckmann, German Military Attaché in Sofia (01 November 1937-19 December 1942)
7: Oberstleutnant Carl-August von Schoenebeck, Military Advisor and Air-Attaché at the German Embassy in Sofia, at the same time Chief of the Luftwaffe-Mission in Bulgaria (01 September 1939-06 September 1944)

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

On 25/02/2024 at 22:04, Bratovanov.T said:

Hi guys, I am new to medal collecting (I'm 17) and just came across a very strange soldier's cross with short swords from the Balkan wars. It is the first emission. 

Could someone please tell me why it has short swords. I have compared it to a cross the same emission.

I can't share the pics

 

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

On 01/03/2024 at 06:53, Farkas said:

Thanks diwe. 👍

 

I got it recently but I had been aware of it for a little while. I already had 2 out of 3 I was aware of, that belonged to the same man and then it came up for sale, I recognised it and snaffled it up!

 

 

I am/was the only person in the world who knew who it belongs to…

 

This is the label on one of the other ones👇

 

and I have this 👇

 

Captain A W M Ponsonby.

 

I was over the moon and so it’s history is safe now.

 

tony 🍻

 

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

On 18/02/2024 at 05:05, laurentius said:

Hello Graf,

 

Thank you for your reply, I bought this medalbar a few days ago and it's coming to me as we speak.

 

 

It was advertised as a medalbar belonging to a diplomat. As a collector of both Dutch and German awards I immediately knew that this wasn't a diplomat's bar. The last decoration is the very rare Dutch House Order of Orange with only 167 awards between 1908 and 1969. This decoration was given out at the personal behest of the monarch for 'services rendered to the royal house'. We know the names of all 167 recipients. Based on this I started scanning the list on people from Hessen, since the combination and sequence of the decorations pointed in that direction. It was clear to me it had to be someone connected to the royal court in Hesse. I ended up with a list of 12 possible persons, of whom Ludwig Göbel or Goebel was the most likely candidate to me. With the help of several collectors I was able to confirm that:

 

- Ludwig Göbel received the Hessian Order of Phillip the magnanimous (2nd award) as Oberbahnhof Vorsteher in Wetzlar on 15. november 1904.

- Ludwig Göbel received the Dutch House Order of Orange (last award) on 4. April 1913 as station director in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe.

- Ludwig Göbel had received both the Red Eagle Order (3rd award) and the Verdienstkreuz für Kriegshilfe (1st award) by 1918 as Baurat in Hagenau in 1918.

 

Persons working for the railway were amongst the most decorated persons in the German Empire and this would not be an uncommon combination for someone working at the train station of Bad Homburg. Especially given the fact that many different royal families came together there. This would explain the four different orders and the Verdienstkreuz and explain the abscence of an Iron Cross. 

 

Given the rarity of the House Order I think this medalbar is identifiable and to correctly identify it to Ludwig Göbel I need to confirm (somehow) that he received the Bulgarian Civil Merit Order somewhere around 1900-1920. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Kind regards, Laurentius

Welcome

7 hours ago, Farkas said:

Thanks Tracy 

you always say something nice 🍻. 
 

Yes, I’ve been distracted, I kept starting new ones and I knew really had to finish that Karl Truppen Kreuz topic but it took ages…

 

I’m back on track now 😊

A 30.5cm artillery piece (mortar?)

May 1915

Close up

Reverse of above

 

 

 

cheers

tony 🍻

 

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

12 hours ago, laurentius said:

Dear fellow collectors,

 

I am doing research into Baurat Ludwig Göbel. I was wondering if anyone could conform that he received the Bulgarian Civil Merit Order fifth class? I was able to confirm his Dutch and German awards, but my unfamiliarity with Bulgarian awards prevents me from dong so. Thanks in advance. 

 

Kind regards, Laurentius 

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

On 05/02/2024 at 19:16, Frank Japan said:

Gentlemen,

 

how could I tell the year this one was awarded?

 

The seller is describing it as WW1ish.

 

The prerequisite would be it is a real one.

 

Thanks & regards,

 

Frank

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

2 hours ago, eurorders said:

I always wondered how the jewelers of these got that red enamel inside the crown? Very effective design in its outcome appearance

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

On 06/01/2024 at 02:44, Jstrom said:

Very nice

On 11/01/2024 at 03:55, ilieff said:

Major General Asen Nikolov

 

It is interesting to see how he earned a grand total of 4 military order decorations during his military career. 

 

Soldier's cross 4th class - for the war with Serbia in 1885 (only weeks before he was appointed junior officer, hence a cross and not an actual order) 

Order 4th class - for the Balkan wars

Order 4th class (1st grade) and 3rd class (1st grade) - for the Great war

 

I think it's impressive.

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

On 13/10/2023 at 02:27, larsb001 said:

Stefan, tanks for the feedback. As mentioned, when I bought the group I was given the provenience, and this could of course be wrong. So Nyström could be an possibility, but it's mentioned that he got the Gold medal, and not the Gold medal with Crown. Who knows?

 

And now to something else!

 

Not so long ago I got two different examples of one of the rarer miniatures, the Badge of the Herald of the Order of the Sword (Tjänstetecken för Härold), both in gold. They are identical on both front and reverse ...

 

 

These go very well together with the similar badge for the Order of the North Star ...

 

 

And again very well together with the similar badge of the Order of Wasa ...

 

 

And last, very well together the the Badge of the State Herald of the Order of the Seraphim ...

 

Very nice minis

On 26/12/2023 at 11:57, steveBobby said:

Greeting Graf and all members！

Wish all members have a happy holiday.

Sincerely

Setve

Thank you

35 minutes ago, Harry the Mole said:

Very nice!

Thank you