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Gentlemen, Somewhat out of my field of Arabian awards and I am trying to research this order - see attached miniature - and the most concise online source (wawards.org) I have found states: Order instituted on 19 July 1931. Order awarded to Romanian citizens and foreigners for outstanding achievements in the field of culture, art and science. Order have 4 grades: Commander, Officer, Knight 1st Class, and Knight 2nd Class. Order divided into eight categories: literature; science; arts, music and theatre; general culture; religion; education; sports and scouting; civil guard. Each category have individual ribbon. On line I have seen blue/purple or red crosses (breast badges) with our without crowns and I have also seen gilt and silver medals - are these the knight grades? Is there list of the different ribbons applicable to each category? Is the Commander a neck badge? How scarce are these awards? Many thanks, Owain

Herr General, No, nice group, but 'no', not an Omani medal, but a Ras Al Khaima medal....see my notes below: Regards, Owain The Order of the Tower of Al Qasimi of Ras Al Khaima Owain Raw-Rees, OMRS 3088 OMSA 4978 The Emirate of Ras Al Khaima is the northernmost of the seven emirates which make up the United Arab Emirates which is situated at the southern end of the Arabian Gulf. The name of the Emirate comes from the Arabic word for peninsula - ras and tents - khaima, as it is traditionally held that the name of Ras Al Khaima was derived from a Saint Johasmi and the tents of his followers who resided on a headland where later a settlement of the same name was built. The Order was instituted by Emiri Decree No. 15/81 in 1981 and was instituted for and named after the ruling family of Ras Al Khaima. The Order is awarded for distinguished service to the Government of Ras Al Khaima. and is in four classes and is awarded as follows, First Class To Kings, Heads of State, Rulers and their Deputies. Second Class To Ministers, Ambassadors, members of the Armed Forces and Police above the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. Third Class Senior civil servants, officers of the Armed Forces and Police on the rank of Major and above. Fourth Class Civil Servant, officers and other members of the Armed Forces and Police of the rank of Captain or below. The medal was awarded to members of the Mobile Forces of Ras Al Khaima. (The Mobile Force merged with the Abu Dhabi Defence Force and the Dubai Defence Force to become the Federal Armed Forces in 1976.) The details of the Order are as follows, First Class Breast star and sash with badge. Second Class Breast star with neck badge. Third Class Neck badge. Fourth Class Medal. Obverse Star A five pointed multi-rayed star with each point separated by and alternating with a traditional jambiya or dagger within its scabbards, hilts to the centre. In the centre a gilt tower on a blue foreground surrounded by a gilt wreath. This in turn is surrounded by a concentric red enamelled circle bearing a pattern uppermost and lowermost the Arabic inscription, “Tower of Qasimi” Badge As the badge on the star but also surrounded by a wreath of green enamelled palm leaves tied at the base. This has an outer border consisting gilt entwined cord. Medal The head of the ruler, Sheikh Saqr Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, facing right above the Arabic inscription, "Ras al Khaima” Reverse Order Blank other than a serial number. Medal A tower surrounded by a wreath, and below which is the inscription, “Order of Qasimi” Size First Badge 70mm. Star 80mm. Second Badge 60mm. Star 80mm. Third Badge 60mm. Fourth Medal 36mm. Metal Gilded base metal. Ribbon Sash 110mm white with a 55mm red central stripe. Second 55mm white with a 25mm red central stripe. Third 40mm white with a 20mm red central stripe. Medal 32mm red with 8 mm white edge stripes. The medal ribbon bears a small circular device bearing the tower depicted on the obverse of the badge and the reverse of the medal. Suspension Star By a pin to the rear. Badge By a loop affixed to the top of the badge representing the top of an anchor, the remainder of which extends into the design of the badge and the flukes are set between the uppermost points of the palm wreath. Medal By a bar affixed to the top of the medal by a clasp. Designer Spink and Son Ltd. in conjunction with the Qasimi family. Manufacturer Spink and Son Ltd., who in November of 1980 manufactured the following numbers of awards, Numbers First Class - 10. Second Class - 20. Third Class - 40. Fourth Class (Medal) - 1000 The emirate of Ras Al Khaima, ruled by the Al Qasimi family which can trace its descent back to 1720, came under British influence in 1809 when the town of Ras Al Khaima was captured as the Qasimi Fleet were perceived as a threat to the trading activities of the British East India Company. The town was again recaptured in 1819 and on 5 February 1820 a general peace treaty was signed along with various other tribes in the region which became known as the Trucial States. The full title of this treaty was the “General Treaty for the Cessation of Plunder and Piracy by Land and Sea.” The treaty begins as follows, “In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate! Praise be to God, who hath ordained peace to be a blessing to his creatures. There is established a lasting peace between the British Government and the Arab tribes, who are parties to this contract, on the following conditions: Article 1 There shall be a cessation of plunder and piracy by land and sea on the part of the Arabs, who are party to this contract, for ever.” Later in the Treaty the flag of the Arabs is noted as being red with a border of white. This remains to this day the flag of Ras Al Khaima and its colours are those of the Order. The other Emirates have retained the red and white colour scheme but have adopted their own designs. The British formally left the region with the establishment of the United Arab Emirates in February 1972 and the current ruler of Ras Al Khaima, H.H. Sheikh Saqr Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi has done much to promote the development of the Emirate. Despite being located within the Arabian Gulf the Emirate has not been blessed with the oil wealth of its neighbours and has an economy which now includes such diverse activities as cement, pharmaceuticals, explosives, construction and agriculture. Moderator, Perhaps Herr General's post and my response can be taken out of this topic and re-started as a stand alone 'Ras Al Khaima' topic? Regards, Owain

Dear Karsten, Happy to be of assistance. As you note it is a relatively common piece. Perhaps some $15-$20 is all that it is worth. Kind regards, Owain

Dear Karsten, This is the Syrian Arab Army Medal and was awarded to all members of the Syrian Armed Forces serving on the First of August 1962, and commemorates the establishment of the Syrian Arab Army on the First of August 1946. (The date on the medal of 1945 appears to be a design error.) In 1965 the terms of award were amended to include all who had served at any time between First of August 1946 and the First of August 1962 and also to those who had re-enlisted between the Eighth of March 1963 (following the Ba’ath Coup D’Etat) and the Twenty-eighth of April 1965. Kind regards, Owain

Milukas, This is some manner of Haile Selassie I presentation medalet which comes in 3 classes - gilt, silver and bronze. There should be a 935 silver mark on it which indicates the purity of the silver and to my mind its European origin - the pin or 'epingle' may indicate French origin. To date I have been unable to ascertain is true purpose. The case should have the same monogram upon it. The ribbon is correct. If it is for sale please let me know. Kind regards, Owain

Aha, and the British flag is coming down on the left hand side. It is not a common medal, but the demand for Sudanese awards is not great. Finding the correct ribbon will be a challenge - 2nd row third from the left (red, white, black, white, black, white, red) - between the Long Service (black white black) and Independence (blue yellow green). Owain .....and the others, I think: Order of the Revolution, Order of Bravery, Order of Victory. Order of National Unity (?), Long & Distinguished Service, Evacuation, Independence. Merit 1st Class, ????, Egypt Military Star, Egypt 1973 War. Owain

Dear Angelok, This is the 'Medal of Evacuation' awarded to all serving during the evacuation of foreign (British) forces from Sudan. Kind regards, Owain

Gerald, Nice group - although perhaps for another thread. The Iraq ASM is a great medal and often the full size issue was awarded with a clasp however in very many years I have only ever seen once clasp in miniature. Should the TWM be before the GSM? Owain

Gerald, very nice - it is a handsome medal and whether Saeed issue, like this one or the Qaboos issue, represents a fascinating and critical period of Omani /Arabian peninsula history. Owain

Gerald, Nice group with a Sultan Saeed GSM. Are the Omani awards in the correct order of precedence? Should the Peace Medal come after the As Sumood (Endurance) Medal? Regards, Owain

Gerald, Your miniature image is not showing - can you repost? Owain

Excellent work - many thanks, Owain

Good afternoon gentlemen, I attach images of the full size example I have in my collection - enjoy. Kind regards, Owain

Chris, Great research work - well done. Just back from UK leave, and upon reviewing my collection I discovered that my badge of this order is: First type Order of the Republic - light blue enamel and arabesque suspension. The ribbon suspension loop is for a neck ribbon not a sash ribbon. Accordingly this piece, by Bichay (superb quality workmanship), predates your earliest date of 1964 and raises the possibility that it was briefly also awarded to individuals. Of course the suspension loop may be erroneous. Kind regards, Owain

Hi, In summary Republic of Lebanon, National Order of the Cedar, From the President of the Lebanese Republic, In accordance with Decree No. 720 dated 20/3/1970, Mr. Miroslav Laznovski, The National Order of the Cedar, Fifth Class...........dated 23/3 1970. Kind regards, Owain

Jonas, Yes having the UN badge on both sides seems strange so I am inclined to believe this to be a workshop piece which should not have escaped! Owain

Jonas, As it came directly from Bichay I am 99% certain it is from the 1950's /1960's and thus not a UNEF II period piece. Of course it may be a trial piece combining the obverse and reverse from two different medals - neither of which was ever formally commissioned. Regards, Owain P.S. Can the moderator for this forum amend the title to read "Finland /Sweden - UNEF Medal"?

Jonas, Thanks - I had assumed it was Swedish because of the obverse inscription. If it is 'wives' is it a souvenir to be sent home? I am assuming such tours of UN duty were unaccompanied. I note that Finland was present 1956-57 and on this basis the shooting medal is not related. Is "Swed. Bn." also a Finnish abbreviation? Perhaps is was a prize medal? Regards, Owain

Gentlemen, Some years ago I obtained direct from Bichay, late of Cairo, various medals and these included a UNEF medal - the reverse has the inscription "YK-VAIMOT KAIRO". What does "YK-VAIMOT" mean? Would this be an official Swedish medal for wear or a only a souvenir piece? Also included was Shooting Medal, also by Bichay, with the inscription "UNEF SEP. 65 RIFLE". Sweden supplied troops for the UNEF mission for the whole period of 1956-1967 - see below. Regards, Owain https://archives.un.org/sites/archives.un.org/files/files/Finding Aids/Missions/ag-034 UNEF 1.pdf The first Untied Nations peacekeeping force – was established by the first emergency special session of the General Assembly which was held from 1 to 10 November 1956. The mandate of the Force was to secure and supervise the cessation of hostilities, including the withdrawal of the armed forces of France, Israel and the United Kingdom from Egyptian territory and, after the withdrawal, to serve as a buffer between the Egyptian and Israeli forces and to provide impartial supervision of the ceasefire. UNEF was withdrawn in May-June 1967, at Egypt's request. Participating Countries: Brazil (1957-67), Canada (1956-67), Colombia (1956-58), Denmark (1956-67), Finland (1956-57), India (1956-67), Indonesia (1957), Norway (1956-67), Sweden (1956-67), Yugoslavia (1956-67), UNTSO Military Observers (1956-67).

Many thanks Gelerija - useful translation. Regards, Owain

Ilja, Great links - thank you for sharing. As to when and if any of these will ever appear on the market I have no idea. Regards, Owain

Dear Ulsterman, The lower award is the Victory Decoration (Neshan Fateh) which comes in three classes, and is awarded to personnel who have had a role in the 'victories' of the Islamic Republic. The medal's design incorporates a date palm and a mosque. The three date palms are symbolic of the Third Anniversary of the Liberation of Khorramshar during the Iran Iraq war, and are also symbolic of bayonets or swords. The mosque is in green - symbolic of Islam. The red is symbolic of the blood of martyrs, and white is for purity. These are also the three colours of the Iranian flag. The award was initially awarded to those liberating Khorramshahr or subsequently in other victories. The liberation of Khorramshar was on 24 May 1982, thus the institution of this award would appear to date from this period. Kind regards, Owain Ulsterman, The second image is of, I believe, a Bravery Medal or Order of Courage - but no other details. Regards, Owain Dear Ulsterman, The ribbons in the first image are, provisionally: 1st Row - Order of Merit (see attached image) & Order of Sacrifice. 2nd Row- Order of Sport, Order (Ribbon) of Strategic Science & Order (Ribbon) of General Staff College. 3rd Row - Ribbons of Post Graduate, Preliminary Studies & Officer College. I am unsure as to whether the ribbons representing academic advancement are representative of actual medals. Kind regards, Owain

Dear Ulsterman, I have a sneaking feeling this is a French award - Order of Art and Letters. Regards, Owain

Tin Hat, The top two shoulder titles read - left, "Union Guard" (Possibly UAE) & right, "Arab Army" (Jordan) and the bottom left reads, "General Security" (Jordan) Kind regards, Owain

Andreas, Many thanks indeed for your assistance - much appreciated. I attach an image of the two Long Service badges. Kind regards, Owain