Carol I

Here are some images from the recent UBS auction. Breast star

Gold Merit Medal for Saxe-Altenburg

Silver Merit Cross with swords

Knight 2nd class

Knight 1st class with swords

Commander with swords

Commander's cross

Breast star

Here are some images from the UBS auction. Grand Cross with swords

And her husband

The lady

Thanks for the update. I do not have the ring, so I cannot check its inner diametre (I only took the photos), but I guess it has somewhere around 16-17 mm. The only other piece of information I can bring right now is that the lady who owned it was married to an army officer. One more photo, with the inner markings: I can only make out GES.GESCH. and JW.

Can you give some more details about these rings? Would they be worn by a lady? Were they used as marks for the 'I gave gold for iron' campaigns?

The cross is completely vertical and the whole shape of the crown appears to be different from that of the Crown of St. Stephen.

Dumitru Dediu was born in Galaţi on 12 May 1942. He was a career officer in the Air Force. He retired in 1997 with the rank of Comandor (Colonel). Regarding the 1981 selection of Prunariu to fly into space, he declared "It was not easy, but this is faith - we knew from the very beginning that only one of us will fly".

Dumitru Prunariu was born on 27 September 1952 in Braşov. He graduated with a degree in aeronautical engineering before enrolling as a pilot in the Air Force. Following his flight into space in 1981, he remained involved in the Romanian space activities. He eventually rose to the rank of major general (in 2003). In 2004 he was named Ambassador to Russia, but was recalled in 2005 as the position (representing a NATO country in Russia) required a career diplomat. Following his 1981 flight he was awarded the titles of Hero of the Romanian Socialist Republic and Hero of the Soviet Union. In the year 2000 he received the Order of the Star of Romania with the rank of Grand Officer.

Romania is one of the countries that have participated to manned space flights within the Intercosmos program. The preliminary selection for the cosmonaut training began in September 1977 when more than 150 pilots and engineers applied for the job. Of these 17 were selected as potential candidates and following a rigorous selection program only five qualified for the next steps. Two of them renounced and the remaining three candidates that departed for the final selection in the Soviet Union were Major Dumitru Dediu, Captain Cristian Guran and Senior Lieutenant Dumitru Prunariu. Cristian Guran was eliminated during the testing performed in Moscow. The remaining two pilots started their training program in Romania and in 1978 they left for the Gagarin Space Center to complete their cosmonaut training. The Soyuz 40 flight took off on 14 May 1981 for the Salyut 6 space station with Dumitru Prunariu and Leonid Popov as crew. Only a few days before take off it was decided that Dumitru Prunariu will fly into space and that Dumitru Dediu will be the backup. During the mission, Prunariu performed studies of the Earth's magnetic field. Prunariu and Popov landed back on earth on 22 May 1981, 7 days 20 hours and 43 minutes after take off. The Soyuz 40 flight was the last flight of the original Intercosmos program. The Romanian cosmonaut badge was based on the pilot badge - an eagle with spread wings, a design dating back to the late 1920s. The eagle with a globe in its claws is placed on a rayed background edged by two wreaths and a ribbon with the inscription COSMONAUT. Several such badges appeared a couple of years ago on eBay (including the one above), but I doubt that they belonged to either Prunariu or Dediu.

There are two crowns on the two sides of the effigies. The one to the right appears to be the Imperial Crown of Austria, while the one to the left looks very much like the German State Crown. If the left portrait is not that of Wilhelm II, what is the meaning of the latter crown?

Thanks for the confirmation. Their donation was indeed described as "they gave their gold", without the "iron" part but understandable after so many years. Do you know if the 'gold for iron' campaigns were state organised or local initiatives? And were the trinkets and the jewellery official issues or only local design/manufacture?

It would certainly seem so from the portraits on the ring. However, the story told for three generations is that the ring was a mark of supporting the Austrian war effort during WWI. More specifically, the lady who wore it was said to have donated her jewelry to the state and in return she received or bought this ring. Does anyone have a similar story?

Did anyone see a similar ring before? Do you know what did it represent?

Knight with swords and war decoration

Officer with swords and war decoration