Carol I

Does anyone have close-up images of these replicas?

As far as I know, Switzerland does not have any medals.

The badge of the Sanitary Merit Medal has remained unchanged during its whole existence, so it is not easy to say whether it was awarded in WWI or WWII. The ribbon on the bar on the other hand is that of a WWII wartime award (with swords) of the Order of the Crown of Romania (the reverse of this order was posted by Dave above).

Thanks Rick for your opinion. I do not think however that the owner had purposedly bent the tips of the swords transforming a war badge into something that could have easily been mistaken for a peacetime badge. Besides, for years after WWII there was no occasion for the bearer to pose with such an award, not to mention the danger associated with such an act. I would rather suspect that the badge was damaged by someone who did not know or understand its value, such as a kid playing with "grandpa's shiny trinkets found in the upper drawer". This being said, I would not do anything to the badge unless I was certain that it would not do any further harm.

I have no idea Alex. It's not as if someone has dropped the badge. Had this happened I suspect that only one or two of the tips would have been bent, not all of them. Furthermore, except for a couple of hairline cracks and minute flakings, there is no damage to the enamel. All these make me think that the damage was done intentionally. However, I can find no reason for this except that it was done by someone who played with the medal.

Thanks Brian for the advice, but as I said I am not going to do anything for a while.

That was precisely my point Dave. But I think the difference between the terms should be explained by someone with experience from a museum environment (Ed?) as well as how much it is allowed to work on a damaged piece.

According to the 1906 regulations and presumably before that date as well "the Knight grade of the of the Order of the Star of Romania is above the Knight grade of the of the Order of the Crown of Romania and equal to the Officer grade of the latter order". Admission into the orders was to the lowest rank and promotion to higher ranks took place after specified time delays. Only in extraordinary circumstances these rules were to be overlooked. The foreigners were generally exempted from the regulations governing the awards to Romanian citizens.

Thanks Kim for the update. If there are no other connections than the comissioned painting, I would guess that the accomplishments of Commander af Sill?n both in the navy and in the artistic world must have determined King Carol to appoint him Officer of the Order of the Star of Romania. Nevertheless it is quite interesting what unexpected links can be found between countries.

Thanks Alex for the advice. I have the badge for some years now but I haven't done anything yet out of fear that I would damage it even more. Personally I would incline towards an operation at a jeweller who would probably have the means and expertise to improve the fluidity of the metal to bend it without breaking it. But for various reasons the operation would still have to wait some more time. However, I think it is an apropriate topic of discussion for this thread. How would such an operation be regarded by the various members of the forum? Is it acceptable or not?

This is an interesting debate, but I think that what to do to a damaged piece, how much and how depends on the piece and the type of damage. As an example I will show a Knight's Cross of the Order of the Crown of Romania with the tips and hilts of the swords bent. I am very much tempted to straighten the swords, but what would you do? Leave it as it is? Is the straightening a welcomed restoration or an unwanted repair? If one decides for restoration, should this be done with a pair of coarse pliers to leave obvious marks that a restoration has been performed? Or you would better seek the help of a jeweller to do the restoration as finely as possible? As a foot note, personally I do not like enamel restorations/repairs.

Here is an image of a Commander's Cross of the Order of the Star of the Union from the National Military Museum.

Is this in your collection? If authentic, it is a badge of the short lived Order of the (Star of the) Union. May I please have better images of the badge?

Thanks Mike for the dates of the two awards. I guess the medal in the photo is the 'Litteris et Artibus'.

Close-up of his medal bar

I have come upon this photo of Herman af Sil?n, officer of the Swedish Navy and marine painter. When reviewing his medals I was surprised to find a most interesting combination: Swedish Order of the Star, a Swedish Medal, the Danish Order of the Dannebrog and the Order of the Star of Romania. Any information on his activity and connection to Romania that could justify the Order of the Star is most welcome. Thanks.

The Order of the Star of Romania has always been ranked above the Order of the Crown of Romania.

Its name is "Commemorative Cross of WWII, 1941-1945". It was established in 1994.

The Order of the Star of Romania has recently become 130 years old. It was established in May 1877 through the first law passed after the declaration of independence. This was a highly symbolic gesture in the light of the long opposition of the Ottoman Empire towards the official establishment of a Romanian order. The Order of the Star of Romania used the same insignia as the Order of Union established by Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza in 1864 to mark the 5th anniversary of the union of the Romanian principalities of Moldavia and Walachia. The opposition of the Ottoman Empire as well as the political situation in Romania at that time prevented the completion of the establishment procedures during Prince Alexandru Ioan's reign although the insignia were already manufactured and some of them were even handed proprio motu by the prince. The insignia was subsequently used for the Order of the Star for the first awards of the War of Independence, with only minor changes (such as the motto and the cipher) that reflected the changes in Romanian society that occurred meanwhile. The Order of the Star of Romania was restructured several times during its history, the most important being that of 1932 when the insignia and the ribbon were changed. The order in its traditional structure was officially disbanded in 1948 together with all the other awards of the national system of decorations. The order was re-established in 1998 and it is now the highest order of Romania. Below is an example of the three main types of the order. They are a reflection of their respective periods of existence, both with respect to the design and the finishing quality.

"This summer" probably means the week or so since the heat wave came. Terrible! Stay cool, Kevin!

How are you surviving, Kevin? If there were 34 degrees in Deva, it's not hard to imagine what must have been in the south...

As an interesting note, the Medal for Valour and Faith appears to continue the tradition of a short lived medal from the time of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza. That medal, named Medalia pentru Devotament şi Curagiu (Medal for Loyalty and Courage), was created in 1864 and awarded to policemen and civilians in recognition of distinguished activity during the catastrophic floods that hit Romania during that year. The establishment of the medal was however not finalised during Prince Alexandru Ioan's regin and subsequently it was not included in the national system of awards. More details about it can be found here.

Here is more information on the official and unofficial awards of the 1989 Revolution: Order of Victory of the Romanian Revolution of December 1989.

The central element on the badge is a representation of the Monument for the Heroes of the Country placed near the National Defence University in Bucharest. Image from the National Office for the Memory of Heroes

A.V.S.A.P. cold be the acronym of Asociaţia Voluntară pentru Sprijinirea Apărării Patriei (Voluntary Association for Supporting the Defence of the Motherland), a paramilitary organisation modelled after the soviet DOSAAF. It was established in 1952 and disbanded in 1962.