Carol I

One more question, a bit off the topic of the thread. What are the implications of an order being listed as a dynastic order by the International Commission on Orders of Chivalry? ICOC lists the Romanian Order of Michael the Brave as a dynastic order of the Romanian Hohenzollern House. At the same time, the same order has been reinstituted in 2000/2003 as the highest military order of Romania, its traditional position in the national system of orders up until 1947. Furthermore, the Romanian government considers the surviving knights of the order from WWII as full members of the new order, King Michael included among them.

The person to the left of the photo above is not Simeon of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, but Georgi Parvanov, the President of Bulgaria. And the order appears to have been presented in the Presidential Palace. This suggests that the order is now part of the system of orders of the Republic of Bulgaria. Here is another photo from the awarding ceremony in the summer of 2006 (from flickr).

Browsing on the net I have come upon a site with the photo below: Vint Cerf receiving the Bulgarian Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius with insignia resembling that of the old (1909) order with the same name. Does anyone know when did Bulgaria re-establish this order and/or other details about it?

Thanks Dave. The letter to the left of the rabbit's head does not seem to be a "P". It looks more like an "A", but as with the head I am not completely sure. It's a nice type I cross, of a very careful manufacture (the enamel looks rather dark in the photo, but it is the usual red colour).

Thanks Dave for the ID and for the reply. Based on the image in post #2 I thought it might be a dog's head, but after taking the image in post #8 I was no longer sure. Can you also decipher the other markings? I presume "AF" is the mark of the jeweller. Do you happen to know who was he? What does "A" stand for? Is it a mark for the location of the jeweller? In front of the rabbit's head there seems to be another letter or figure. What does it mean?

One more image of the mark I could not make out

One more image of the mark I could not make out

It is on a Commander's badge of the Order of the Crown of Romania that is paired with a J. Resch case. The hallmarks may therefore indicate either a mismatch between the two pieces or a jeweller that worked for Resch. I have asked the same question in Austria-Hungary: Militaria & History as it is said that some early badges were made by Austrian jewellers.

"A" hallmark

Same as above, but rotated 180 degrees

Same as above but from a different angle

I cannot make this one out

Can you please help me identify the markings below from a Romanian badge? Some Austrian jewellers did indeed make Romanian orders in the end of the 1800s and beginning of the 1900s, so it is worth asking the question here as well. Thanks. "AF" hallmark

"A" hallmark

Same as above, but rotated 180 degrees

Same as above but from a different angle

I cannot make this one out

Can you please help me identify the hallmarks below (jeweller, place, period)? Thanks. "AF" hallmark

The capsule of Soyuz 40 now in the collections of the National Military Museum.

Thanks, Gordon. Here is some information from Wikipedia: Intercosmos.

Silver Merit Cross with swords

Honour cross

Knight 2nd class with swords

Knight 1st class

Commander's cross with swords