Linasl

Greetings. I have what appears to be an Imperial Russian-made Polish Order of the White Eagle Breast Star. Based on the photos alone, the leading expert on Polish-related medals believe it is genuine and valued between $10-$20,000 - but he will not do a formal appraisal because he is in the US and I am in France, and he does not want to take the risk of this Star getting lost in the postal system. As such, I cannot use his name for the appraisal. By the way, it tested positive for Silver by a reputable jeweler. Several statistics: a. the Star is 81 mm in diameter; b. it is approx. 19 mm wide from bottom of attachment pin to top of center ring at the top of the Star; c. it weighs 82 grams; d. it is in near perfect condition. I have several questions: 1. based on photo evaluation alone, is this an ORIGINAL Breast Star? 2. is this a pre-1917 Polish under Russian rule Star, or post 1917 Polan or Russia? 3. the Star has crossed swords - does this imply military and/or combat-related? 4. the mintmark is clearly the Imperial Russian double-headed eagle. Do you know which maker used htis hallmark? 5. for what would this been awarded for and to whom? 6. what value would you give this Star? I have two photos attached to this post, but you can see 16 very high resolution on ImageShack by following this link: http://img638.images...g/eagle101.jpg/ Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated. If you have any questions, please ask. Thank you in advance. Linas

Hello. Thanks for the input mm. Si is this the "Bukovinian Cross of Ukrainian Sechevy Riflemen - 1918 " dated 1914? I ask because you mention the "Ukrainian Legion". Is this a group that was formed and issued this medal? Who was the "Legion" aligned with? Please let me know. Thank you. Linas

Hello Owain and all, I had the Star checked by a competent jeweler. He determined it is 525/1000 purity Silver and Tin. Considering that this Star is made, in part, of silver, I would venture to guess that this is an actual Artisan-made Breast Star meant as a reward for someone, and not some phony display item. Thanks all of you for your help. Linas

Thanks for the advice Emanuel. I will check out those sites. Take care. Linas

Hello Emanuel. Thank you for your reply. I too would like to provide higher resolution photos, but I have a 150kb limit. The three photos I put up took 125kb. I would be very pleased to see your White Eagle. Take care. Linas

Greetings. Thank you for your input. But are you sure it is 1918? On the cross, at bottom, it states "1914". Please let me know. Take care. Linas

Hello Matt. There is evidence that there WAS a suspension ring, but it has been removed and carefully filed down so that you barely notice a ring once existed. Thank you for your input. Linas

Hello Kevin. Thank you for your rapid reply. I agree with you that better quality scans would help, but if I am not mistaken, I only have 150kb total for photos. These two photos took about 100kb. Any suggestions on how I can make higher quality photos, yet stay below the 150kb max? Take care. Linas

Greetings. I just received the Serbian Order of the White Eagle. The ribbon is a replacement and the medal itself looks to be in too Excellent condition to be original (see photos) - there is some slight spotting in some of the enamel, which I have seen in other enamelled medals that are older. Is there any way to discern if it is original or a copy? What should I be looking for? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance. Linas

Greetings. I just received the 1914/18 German Marine Korps medal. The top loop is missing, but its spot was very nicely shaved and smoothed down. But it looks to be in too Excellent condition to be original (see photos). Is there any way to discern if it is original or a copy? What should I be looking for? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance. Linas

Thank you Chris. I like learning new things. You're a great help. Linas

Hello Chris. Thank you for your quick reply. Does popping out of its frame occur often? Also, should this be magnetic? Clearly I do not know enough about the Iron Cross. I can use all the help I can get. Thanks again Chris. Linas

Hello. I have an Iron Cross dated 1813 on one side and 1914 on the other (see photos). It is small compared to the regular Iron Cross (39.5 mm x 39.5 mm). There is no suspension loop; nor was there (no shaved down portion at the top of the cross). Is this some type of sweatheart medallion or a patriotic medallion created at the onset of WWI? Any information at all would be useful. Thank you in advance. If you need higher resolution photos, please let me know and I will e-mail them to you. Linas

Greetings. I have a medal which I am quite sure is Ukrainian. It is dated 1914. Please see photos. Is this the FIRST version of the Galician Army Cross, or is this something else? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Linas PS: if you need higher resolution photos, please let me know and I will e-mail them to you.

Hello Lorenzo. I plan on putting this Breast Star on eBay this weekend, after I check if it is silver. I have received such a great response that I think I can create a good description. I do not know all the rules of this forum. Can I post a link to the eBay auction page or at least the Item Number on this topic string? Thanks in advance. Linas

Hello Owain. Thank you for all your assistance. Unfortunately, I do not have the capability to test if it is silver, but I may go to another collector I know who can check. I will let all you know. Thank you. Linas

Thank you Owain. Do you think it is Ottoman? If no, what country? By the way, you have been very helpful and I truly appreciate it. Take care. Linas

Hello Chris. Thanks for your input. No, I am not certain it is Arabic, but the script appears to be Arabic. As for a clearer view, not possible with this forum's very low allowance on kb's per photo. If you want, send me an email and I will send you a high resolution photo of the center. Please send to: linasliubinskas (at) hotmail.com Thanks again. Linas

Greetings Lorenzo. It was a gift, so I don't know what it cost (I am curious as well). Linas

Hello. I just received what appears to me to be an Arabic Military Breast Star. I know nothing about this. Do you know what country, what it's called, from what time period, what it was awarded for, etc? Any information you can provide would be helpful. I hope the photos are clear enough. If not, please send me an e-mail. Thank you. Linas

Thanks for the info. Linas

Thanks. I hope it is not as you say, but you may be right. I tried to post all three photos on one post, but I guess the file size was too big. Linas

Deleted because of photo file size.

Hello again. Here is a close-up photo of the eagle in the middle of the "Napoleonic"-type breast star. Linas