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Image courtesy of the National Military Museum in Sofia A very rare commemorative badge for officers, who graduated with the first issue of the military school in 1879. Likely not an officially sanctioned award, per se. It clearly shows that the pitched-roof* design of the heraldic Bulgarian crown is well established by 1903/1904 and that it bears no connection to the proclamation of Independence in 1908. *aka flat-top crown, aka square-domed crown, aka 'tsar' crown, etc.

Most likely, yes. As long as the cross appears 'golden' (that is, either of yellow metal or gilded) and, of course, hasn't been altered by greedy 'traders' later on, it would be the top two classes. No, that is incorrect. Until [at least] the end of the war, there were 3 classes of the soldiers' cross. However, we can be fairly certain that there were no wartime decorations, per se. In December 1885, once the war had ended, a fourth class is added. And no, the folding of the ribbon had little significance and cannot be used to date crosses - we can see pentagonal ribbons from the Balkan wars, as well. The folding of the ribbon was just a preference of the bearer, ribbon manufacturer specifics (to an extent) and partially a heritage from the Russian influence in the Bulgarian military. Yes, it's possible. We do not have sufficient information to speculate about the country of origin. If you are interested in the historical aspects of the topic, I would encourage you to search for Todor Petrov's book "Наградната система на България (1878 - 2010 г.)". It's a very good source of information, giving a clearer historical context, especially for those initial stages of the award system.

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!

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 think it's the first time I see a quality picture of this type of breast star. Thanks. As for the swan hallmark, I would suggest you inquire in the French section of the forum (if you haven't already).

Congrats, Graf The ribbon colours/alignment for this medal are somewhat similar to that of the "Order of 9 September 1944" (1st class) of the socialist era, but the silky moire appearance of the original material would be difficult to replicate. Plus, the ribbon widths are probably different, too. PS: the ribbon you have secured appears to have slightly different colour width ratios, when compared to the medal with original ribbon you shared earlier 🤔

Two images of [what appears to be] a Cejalvo-made St. Alexander Grand cross being displayed in present days. Yes, one of them is worn over the wrong shoulder/chest - it happens. I want to point out the breast stars. I don't think I have seen close-up images of these types.

I would have to agree with Alex about the cord and the jewelled order. I think I have seen other photos where King Ferdinand I wears an order, suspended from a generic thin metal chain or cord. It was probably due to ease of wearing (due to the weight of the official metal chain) but the above is clearly a studio portrait and I don't see a reason for the cord to be used.

Princess Nadezhda of Bulgaria's decorations (interwar period photo). Would be nice to know what the foreign awards are

Yes. These epaulettes apparently belonged to a major of the 2nd Cavalry [of HRH Princess Marie Louise] regiment. They should be silver in colour though - presumably the yellowish tint comes from the oxidation of the silver or [more likely] all the silver layers have been lost to time and we can only see the 'naked' brass base.

Very nice! I think it's called shabrack. Their design often mimics that of the actual uniforms.

This is something I made years ago. Glad to see that people find it useful. There was an updated version somewhere - not sure I'll be able to find it though. Also, another thing I worked on is that poster you pasted in snippets from. Here's the original digitised version: https://royalbulgariaincolour.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/poster_20s_45X60cm.pdf I am not too sure, but I think this is a later rework of an old Imperial Russian Intelligence report which has many inconsistencies when it comes to Bulgarian uniforms. Still, interesting read.

Ooops! Seems that someone had lost their cross! 😄

Portrait of Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, colonel-in-chief of the Bulgarian 3rd cavalry regiment. She had a passion for jewels, so I believe that this is a diamond issue Order of Merit I class (on a sash, rather than on a bow).

General Asen Nikolov earned his Order of Bravery in WW1 and was decorated with it post-factum in 1919, once the war had finished. It was a common occurrence for people to be decorated with a delay in the years after the war. The bravery order he is wearing in the photo is most definitely not a decoration, given to him (or replaced) by the new communist government, simply because he was not in Bulgaria for most of the time of the Regency and once he was back from German captivity, we has executed anyway, similarly to most Royal generals.