Carol I

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

Commander

Here are some images from the UBS auction.

Commander 1st class with swords and war decoration

Romania and France (at least the Free French) were on the opposite sides in World War II.

Only up to the autumn of 1944.

1) do you know if there was a fourrgere to the orders of the Crown of Romania and of the Naval Merit too?

The Naval Merit was only a medal. Anyhow, only the fourrageres of the four orders above are described in the book.

2) most of major Romanian orders (with the exception of the Crown of Romania for obvious reasons) have been restored. Do you know if the fourageres for them have been provided as well?

I do not think so. For example the Guard Regiment has been decorated with the Order of the Star of Romania, but they do not wear any fourrageres.

A commander 1st class from the Coin Cabinet of the Dresden State Art Collections

I believe the fourragere was attached to the Order of Michael the Brave. Soldiers of the unit awarded with the order were entitled to wear it as long as they remained with the unit. The blue reflected the color of the order badge's enamel.

No Lukasz, the fourragere for the Order of Michael the Brave was dark red with gold stripes, thus reflecting the colour of the ribbon, not the badge. The only fourragere that reflected more the colours of the badge than those of the ribbon was that for the Order of the Star of Romania: blue with red stripes, while the ribbon was red with silver stripes.

The book by Safta et al on Romanian war decorations mentions only 4 fourrageres, for the following decorations:

- The Order of Michael the Brave: dark red with gold stripes

- Military Virtue Medal: red with blue tripes

- The Order for Aeronautical Virtue: light blue with silver stripes

- The Order of the Star of Romania: blue with red stripes

r11#1 Order of the Star of Romania

The ribbon is for the type I of the award (before 1932).

On some photos Lt. Col. Chiritescu with blue "furajera".

Igor, can you post a better image of the fouragere? Does it have some red stripes?

What is sure is this collar has been a gift of King Carol II to the Museum, in 1937. It is neither said in the book nor in the Museum that this Collar has been awarded. The Museum lapels indicate when an award has been attributed, so...

What is also sure is that the Museum opened its doors in 1925, only focusing on French Orders and Medals. It opened to foreign awards in 1932.

My guess : a gift to the Museum, but a gift of a new piece, unissued, unawarded, a few years after its opening.

The only way to check this : ask to the Museum.

Thanks again Christophe. I will try to contact the museum for details. However, it is quite possible that the awards were a donated as exhibits for the museum, since they started gathering foreign orders well before Carol II's visit. And this proved to be the one of the best ways to preserve a nice specimen of the order (as seen in the images in the other thread). Thanks again for the details and for the images.

As requested by Carol I (our Forum Member...) , plaque and insignia of Grand Cross, and Collar of the Order of Carol I. Gift of Carol II, King of Romania to france, in 1937.

Thank you very much Christophe for these images. It's great to see that this order has been preserved with such care.

Neither in the book nor in the museum is said anything about the awardees of these two collars.

It is said that these collars of the Order of Carol I and of Ferdinand I have been made by Resch, in Bucharest.

I'm not sure they have been awarded...

Thanks. The collar of the Order of Carol I was reserved for heads of state, so it would not be surprising if it was awarded to a French president. But of course it could also be possible that the orders were presented as a gift (Did the Mus?e National de la L?gion d'honneur exist in the late 1930s?).

Maybe the Grand Collar of the Order of Carol I, or the one of the Order of Ferdinand I, both gift of the King Carol II to France ?

Is there any information in the book on the awardees? The collar of the Order of Ferdinand might be that of General Berthelot as he is said to have been the only foreigner to receive this order.

No pb.

I have even some pics of these orders in the Museum.

PM your e-mail address for the pics of the book. I'll post the other pics I have taken here... but not before this week-end (some work to do on them) .

Thanks Christophe. I have sent you a PM with my e-mail address.

Maybe the Grand Collar of the Order of Carol I, or the one of the Order of Ferdinand I, both gift of the King Carol II to France ?

Right on spot, Christophe, thanks. If you can scan the images in the book (and the fragments describing them) I will send you my e-mail address where to send them.

No pb. I will have to check the next time.

Thank you very much Christophe. I am looking forward to seeing your post (when I have been to Paris some years ago the museum was closed for restoration).

And another question: Did anyone see the album below ("Grand Colliers" edited by the Mus?e National de la L?gion d'honneur and published in 1997 at the Imprimerie Facedim-Chatellerault - ISBN 2-910575-00-4)? I wrote to the Museum, but they said that they no longer have any copy available...

The place dedicated to the non-French awards has been considerably increased!!!

[...] I will go back there ...

May I please ask you about the Romanian orders in its collections? Thanks in advance.

Ruginoasa palace now:

Image source: Ruginoasa palace

One quite important loss following the failed soviet attack at T?rgu Frumos in 1944 has been the Cuza Palace in Ruginoasa. The Cuza mansion has been badly damaged as Ruginoasa changed hands several times during the fights. The palace remained in a derelict state for 25 years, the first restoration works beginning in 1969. The restoration has been finished only in 1982 when the reconstructed palace has been transformed into a museum.

Ruginoasa palace after the war ("THEN"):

Image source: Cuza la Ruginoasa by Theodor R?şcanu

When comparing the eagle above and the one on your piece it becomes pretty obvious that there is a big difference between those two. Since they used stenciles in the old days the eagles always look exactly the same within a certain time period.

The eagle shown here is the original one. There are more images at: Eagle Design

There are indeed many differences between the two eagles. Thanks. On the other hand, I could not find a match with any of the eagles on the page mentioned.

On 22 December 1944, King Mihai of Romania sanctioned the law no. 656 and the decree no. 2510 that authorised the issue of a gold medal commemorating the liberation of Northern Transylvania in the autumn of 1944. The medal was also issued as a political declaration since at that date Transylvania was still under soviet military occupation (the return of the Romanian administration was conditioned by the installation of a communist government, which took place in March 1945 when the Romanian politicians realised that the western allies completely abandoned Romania into the hands of the soviets).

The medal followed the general specifications of the traditional 20 lei gold coin of Romania, but with a small difference in weight. It thus conformed to an internationally recognised standard of coins. However, lacking a face value allowed the medal to be collected as a work of art, thus being exempted from the interdiction to hoard gold as circulating coins. The possession of these medals was however strictly forbidden during the communist regime.

On the obverse of the medal there are the effigies of Prince Michael the Brave, King Ferdinand and King Mihai surrounded by the text ARDEALUL NOSTRU ("OUR TRANSYLVANIA") and the key dates 1601, 1918 and 1944. On the reverse there is the crowned head of the Romanian eagle surrounded by the crests of the 11 counties in Northern Transylvania. The medal was minted in 1 million pieces. It is estimated that about 150000 pieces are still in the vaults of the Romanian National Bank.

Image source: Romanian Coins

I would not want to buy this particular one as orignal Wagner piece.

Do you mean that this is not an original Wagner piece or not an original Red Eagle badge?