ilieff

More fake Military merit orders This one looks to have been made from scratch (perhaps a small portion of the parts of the cross might be genuine) and I must say that I am impressed (and worried). https://balkan.auction/en/auction/3910876/royal-order-for-merit-merit-iii-degree-borisovo-issue

Rarest of things: Medal of merit - solid gold, 2nd Ferdinand emission If we assume that this is the original case, who would be the maker? Rothe? Or perhaps Schwerdtner? Image courtesy of Mr Manov, collector

This video basically covers the above article about the baton but with subtitles in English. Enjoy

Hi all, For those of you who can read Bulgarian, here's the source of the images: https://www.24chasa.bg/ojivlenie/article/6660366 By the way, this is yet another indicator that the King never wore a bravery order higher than the 3rd class he was given in WW1.

Slightly off-topic: The mythical King Boris III's fieldmarshal's baton which was meant to be presented to Him (along with the corresponding military rank) just a fortnight after this death. Original invoice for the production this masterpiece was 148 229 reichsmarks, excluding the materials, I believe. Maker is Gerb.Godet&Co (supposedly, the best jewellers in Germany at that time). The baton is property of the National Military history museum but due to its high value, it's permanently stashed at the National Bank treasury deep underground.

You are correct, especially considering that the photo was taken [roughly] in the years of WW1. However, I'd consider this a less likely scenario. I did compare the widths of the Alexander star and the sash, and the ratio suggests it's a 1st class star (not a 2nd class, as some might have suggested).

I assume it's the St. Alexander Grand Cross

Gen. Racho Petrov with nice early examples of orders and [what appears to be] a gold grade of the Order of Merit [Ferdinand].

Well done for the find Vazov. Indeed, it appears that someone tried to amend history with this 'set'. Further to the above comments by others, I'd like to add a couple more in regards to this 'thing'. Strictly speaking, it vaguely resembles the image, shown on illustrations issued by the Chancellery of Orders (the gilded 8-point base of the star) but whoever made the star has failed to add the sort-of-a-mandatory beaded silver outer ring around the central medallion. Also, even if this was a genuine makeshift post-WW1 set, then who would its recipient be? The sole person to have had the right to wear this top grade was the King and I don't think that Tsar Boris III would put on anything like this. The theory of a 'high-ranking foreigner' does not sound plausible either - the Kaiser Himself was awarded the 1st class 2nd grade set - I don't think there could be any German (or foreigner, in general) ranking higher than Him, to have been given a grand cross. The funniest thing is that eMedals said their experts have researched the set and proven its authenticity. I can imagine...

Edit: The total number of badges produced is 100 (as per Petrov). They were produced in Austria (in 1924) after the local Sofia-based manufacturer refused production. About 50 of these were awarded to the officers, NCOs and soldiers who were involved in this ordeal. These were also among the last military decorations after the end of the war. And these badges are displayed at the Military Museum in Sofia. However, I have no idea if they have been divided into grades or types, as the metals used suggest.

Hi guys, This badge was actually given to people who participated in the activities of hiding/smuggling the military banners of their units (and not re-capturing them), after the defeat in WW1. If I am not mistaken, the total number of badges minted (locally, in Bulgaria) is 200 and these were given to the people who participated in these acts - usually, about 4-5 people per military unit. I need to double-check in Petrov's book, as he describes this in detail. In the meantime, here's an image of a badge from the museum of Pleven (supposedly an original piece) - yes, the quality was not as good as it should be for such rare award.

That's all right mate. It's possible that you're being honest. However, it's next to impossible that two different individuals are posting images of the very same medal and asking the same questions in the span of just 10 months. Anyhow, if you haven't read the thread, here you go (you guessed it - you won't find the numbers you're looking for - neither in here, nor elsewhere, simply because there is no summarised data):

Wow, Is the base silver at all? Looks cheap as well. And what about this number (circled)? What is that doing there?

Mate, I think you asked the same question a few months ago - I don't want to be blunt, but do you really expect to receive a different answer this time by simply using a different gmic profile? In my opinion, creating loads of identical threads only complicates the process of finding useful information within the forum.

This is probably one of many variations in the 1890-1892 period (the rounded top one, designed by Von Rosenfeld). However, the font on the case suggests a later period. Keep in mind that the person who wrote and illustrated the letter is probably not a professional when it comes to heraldry and phaleristics and his sketches should not be taken for 100% accurate depiction.

Nikola Kostov - I presume he's the youngest 'soldier' to be decorated with a bravery cross (just 10 years old at that time). Supposedly, he was decorated with the 3rd class but my suspicion is that it's actually the 4th class. http://img.bg.sof.cmestatic.com/media/images/600x/Nov2017/2111504043.jpg

May he rest in peace. Any idea if he wrote any memoirs?

Hi all, I hope it's not too off-topic but I wanted to contribute a little bit more to the discussion about crown variations... I came across this interesting letter (unfortunately, only a screengrab, as it was part of a video) which has been sent to prime-minister Stambolov, asking him to approve the new design of the 100 Leva gold coin. In the letter the unknown bureaucrat complains that the Prince (Ferdinand I) has 'yet again changed the shape of the crown'. He writes: 'Two years ago, it used to be like so [first icon from the letter], then it became [second icon], later it changed to [third icon] and now it's [fourth icon]' [...] and then gives some further details. This is a fairly informal letter and not directly linked to phaleristics, but it clearly shows that the frequent experiments with the appearance of the Bulgarian crown which have been initiated about 1890 and, for a brief period, there have been many iterations, most of which (if not all) have been directly influenced by the Monarch. And just for visual reference, here's the final result of the 1894 golden coin: http://www.bulgariancoins.com/re_BGCoinImages/1262963593_1894100LevaObverse.jpg Regards, Ilieff

I agree. By the way, here's another image of a person with a 'lily' order for bravery (looks like the lower-quality variation). This is a Petar Baklov, commercial trader.

Perhaps yes, perhaps not. Either way, it was more of an honorary title in these years, as opposed to WW1 period.

The King in a Nazi fieldmarshal's uniform. By the way, note the large Maltese cross at the bottom - this is the decoration which I still cannot identify.

Portrait of a lady, wearing some of her awards as men usually do. Not too sure why

Nice one Graf. This is General Draganov just a year priot to his death.

The Maltese cross on the below picture (circled). It's the same as shown on the uniform from post 27 in this thread.

Your cross should have been gilded, too. I assume the golden layer has worn off with time. All classes except 5th and 6th had gilt.