paul wood

Olivier, Truly amazing, I see the embryo of a publication "The French Ministerial Orders and their variations" could make a weighty tome. Paul

Just checked, not up yet. I was bidding on one lot (not Lundstrom), however I doubt if I got even though I bid well over the estimate. Paul

French monarchists will be disappointed. Paul

Dear All, A friend of mine is doing some research on Manfred von Richtofen and he has found that there are a lot of different answers as to the date of three of his awards 1 EK 1st 2 EK 2nd 3 Pour le Merite Is there a definitive date for these awards and what official sources give this info. Any help gratefully received. Paul

Chris, No need for photos apart from ascertaining the grade. It is commemorating the centenary of the establishment of Bremerhaven, for VF examples, nice nick but some signs of use about $100, very little sign of use $200 as minted $300. Hope this is of help. Paul

Try http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol044kg.html this gives a good account of the Battle of Gingindlovu and mentions the 57th a couple of times. Hope this is of help. Paul

Bab, Very nice, Small gold medal for Zeal on St. Anne Ribbon, not sure whether it is gold or gilt from the image. 3rd Class Order of St Stanislaus by Eduard, post 1908 but given the quality of the case probably no later than 1914. All the best, Paul

Simon, Medal looks like the 1887 Police Jubilee with the 1897 clasp. The 1887 was only issued to the Metropolitan and City of London Police forces so has to be from one of the two forces. Paul

Erik, Well done an excellent piece of research Paul

MM was gazetted 5 January 1917. Paul

I would have thought a general epidemics medal would be the right thing, I believe other countries have them, and could be used for future aid missions. Mind you ebola has the headlines whereas Malaria and water related diseased kills many times more people in Africa, perhaps the major killers don't have the same newsworthy appeal as they were there before and will be there long after ebola is forgotten. Paul

Extremely nice as it is so difficult to find a great war MM with a citation for award, usually one only gets the gazette dates by which one can usually work out the theatre and action of the award (but not always). Paul

Nice one Lars. Paul

Robel is indeed in eastern Mecklenburg. Paul

Miniature Golden Fleece do exist. In a certain prince of the Empire's collection I was fortunate amongst several full-sized pieces to see a miniature fleece in a Rothe case of issue. The quality was every bit as good as the full-sized original but yes miniature Fleeces are uncommon to say the least. Paul

Radmilo, Nice eye candy, thanks for sharing. Paul

http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/regional/zeppelin-raid-set-blitz-precedent-1-6529060 Paul

As he was not posted to any of the Dutch Colonies it is most unlikely that he would be eligible for war service. Paul

Tom, are any of the bronze medals named on the reverse? Paul

Dear All, I have come across this rather puzzling Hohenlohe Knight's badge, which has many features (including the motto) of the Order of the Phoenix. The bird however looks more like a pigeon than a phoenix and the monogram on the reverse appears to be different from that normally encountered. Any help gratefully received. All the best, Paul Paulhttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2015/post-3085-0-93510600-1421240928.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2015/post-3085-0-52092300-1421240950.jpg

Tom The three Olympic badges are NOK (National Olympic Committee), the other two are both Richter (Judge) badges. The other badges are various equestrian prizes, would suggest he was probably a member of the Dutch Olympic Committee and a judge in two of the equestrian events. Nice set Paul

I am sure one of our Swedish members would know if there is a list of Dutch recipients of the Order of the Sword, given that it is a military Order quite likely he was a military attaché to Sweden. The other group could have been awarded to a relative who happened to live over the border in Luxemburg (don't forget Luxemburg was ruled by the Dutch crown until 1890). Paul

They are particularly nice if you can get the first class with box of issue or envelopes of issue for the other classes but beware, the envelopes especially are faked. Paul

The Fourth Medal is the Swedish Order of the Sword, The bar to the right contains the Luxemburg Oaken Crown and the Waldeck Honour Cross, the miniature group below also contains the Luxemburg Order of the Golden Lion. Paul

I remember in the early to mid 90's turning away Soviet material as it was so plenteous. At the time you were better off scrapping late Lenins than trying to sell them. Paul