Graf

Hi GM1,

Very nice and well preserved Order and box

This is an early 2nd Type Knight Cross by Buls in its Original Box

Congrats

Diploma for Graduation  Police Gendarmerie Course

Super !

Hi Igor,

Lovely Crosses

Well Done

Thank you Bayern !

Any minis for listing???!!!

Great Topic I like it

Nice Work Igor

Yes it is sad that to make profit some people butcher very lovely original Orders.

That way the not only destroy history but reduce significantly the number of those original Orders..and make our life more difficult

Hi Igor

The Star in question could be from non Russian maker, hence different from the standards swords

Nice research

Nice  Star!

I agree with Paul. It looks French made one

Do not forget Belgium and German makers as well

Very nice indeed

Hi Igor,

Nice Crosses

Before the Introduction of the Grand Cross The 1st Class Crosses were 54-55 mm wide and the 2nd and 3rd Class were 50-51 mm

 After the introduction of the Grand Cross the Crosses from 3rd to 1st Class were 50-51 mm, however the Grand Cross was 54-55 mm. There are some exceptions when the makers produced Sets with smaller size, I also suspect that some of the Sets on the market could have been "upgraded" over the years by sellers or/and collectors

The Set on the last picture looks OK The Cross looks bigger and the Star has typical for Grand Cross two rings around the central medallion If this Set is yours you can measure the cross

Here is Grand Cross with a wrong Sash, however the cross and the Star are correct

Enjoy it !

As you stated a vintage Photo or/and good provenance can answer the question

Cheers

Hi 922F

Thank you for your contribution to the thread with your knowledge

I agree with you about the Scandinavian Awards. That is why i started a side line of my collecting with Swedish Orders.

BTW I got couple of those Badge and Star Combination Minis , however they are not Scandinavian and they are listed in the Bulgarian section

12 hours ago, augustin1813 said:

Nice item.

I think it could be from the Napoleon III period, or even later.

 

Yes i suspect it is around this period, despite the LOH badge is 1st Empire Model,

Nice items and part of history

Yes, the clasp looks Spanish, however it could be added later if the awarded person was Spaniard ..or by Spanish collector

Interesting Cross indeed

9 hours ago, Kvart said:

A ton of these were sold by Spink for a few year ago, if I remember correctly.

 Those sold in the last 2-3 years on Spink Auctions are part of a huge collections of an Austrian collector

Most of those miniatures were very exclusive Some were very rare

The ones that came from Italy looked like they were made somewhere (perhaps in Italy) with very similar pattern and finish, and  all were in very small size

And I agree with larsb001 that  "they are perfectly valid and seems to range from around the 1940-1960 period. "

Hi Igor,

The Cross has to be 54-55 mm, however we have seen any variations on the collectors market

We only can guess if the Sets do not have very strong provenance

It could be awarded this size.

It could be "upgraded" with a Sash for a better value

I collect Belgium Orders as well and I have Seen Grand Cordon  Sets awarded in between the WW1 and WW2 with Commander Crosses in Gold. Due to financial considerations around this time they stopped making the crosses in Gold and started producing them in Silver Gild  Now days they are made in Bronze Gild

I assume that those Sets were assembled that way using the left overs Gold crosses regardless that they were smaller size. Again they could have been mix and matched in a later stage. Only strong provenance can tell us the story

Cheers

Hi Igor,

indeed very nice Set.

Sadly not mine It is in my pictures files

Yes The cross looks smaller

Also the Star has only one ring around the central medallion

Recently i saw a German made Grand Cross Star with only one ring, although the size was bigger then the 2nd Class ones

The seller claimed to be Grand Cross Star. He stated that some German made Grand Cross Stars had only one ring

Cheers

10 hours ago, larsb001 said:

Johan, if I remember correctly these GC Sword miniature stars came from an Rome based Italian shop that closed around 5 years ago, I cannot remember which one. Their remaining stock were sold and I was offered a large lot of miniatures which I turned down due to the asking price. There were several of Nordic/Scandinavian interest, like GC stars of the Dannebrog, the icelandic Falcon, the Finnish White Rose, the Order of Olav and this Order of the Sword. You can find some of them on eBay from time to time, and even in Italian "Diplomatic" groups if you're lucky, they are perfectly valid and seems to range from around the 1940-1960 period.

 

I may have a spare one if you're interested, but have to look, so no promise ?

Yes, I have dealt with this Italian Dealer in the past he also offered many Original sashes and ribbons...and those items including the miniatures come from time to time ,mainly on eBay. France