Eric Schena

Artan, Thank you very much for your kind words - I am honored. I received my copy this past weekend through an extraordinarily generous gift of a fellow Forum member (a Gentleman among Gentlemen) and I cannot endorse this book highly enough - it is simply wonderful. I spent most of Sunday reading it. I'll be the first in line when the volume on badges and foreign awards is out! Cheers, Eric

Just saw that on eBay and the postings here - next paycheck, I'm putting in my order! I am absolutely thrilled to see such a comprehensive work on these decorations. I can now retire my modest book to the archives :-)

Once again, another superb photo, Artan - faleminderit! I was unaware he was awarded a Suvorov, so that's a particularly informative photo. Thanks again!

Hi Bob: That certainly looks to be the case here: the Bulgarian order around his neck and the two old style hero decorations. As a side note, I am very amused Hoxha has a Facebook page :whistle:

Hi Artan: Bob and I were just discussing this yesterday in the Albanian Links thread: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=42222. The attribution to Paul Telge came from an incorrect listing in a commonly used reference that has since been confirmed as incorrect. Willibald Kluge was the principle maker as you note. I have heard that Wilhelm awarded medals in exile and apparently Bertrand was contracted to make some of them, but most weren't delivered. It would be great to assemble all the experts here at GMIC and elsewhere and create an encyclopedia of Albanian phaleristics! Check out the Albanian Links thread Bob started - your input would be invaluable! Cheers, Eric

I am not 100% sure myself to be honest. My understanding is that there are very minor differences with regards to attachment ring size and the edge beveling. What little I have heard about these is that it seems that the Kluge pieces were the ones awarded when he was in Albania and the Bertrand pieces are the exile pieces (Wilhelm supposedly continued to award decorations for a few years after he was forced into exile). Again, this is not documented, but is included here for discussion...

How detailed into a typology do you want to get? Down to makers? I should note that Leka awarded Skanderbegs and Besa Orders in exile and there's quite a bit of discussion and controversy about those pieces. Here are some notes off the top of my head: WILHELM ERA: Medal of the Order of the Black Eagle a. Made by Willibald Kluge b. Made by Arthus Bertrand ZOG ERA: Commemorative Medal of 24 December 1924 a. Gold (does that even exist?) b. Silver c. Bronze

Hi Bob: Been a while - hope you're doing well! Here are two additional threads on Italian era badges: Albanian Fascist Party badge: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=38748 Albanian Badge for Operations in Yugoslavia and Greece: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=16967 Cheers, Eric

Hi Lars: I can't really help with the dating of those two pieces, but I can say that the letter "E" is actually not an "E". It's an omega: the one on the left is a capital omega (Ω) and the one on the right is the lower-case omega (ω). It's part of the expression "I am the Alpha and the Omega", which appears in the Book of Revelation. You'll see it a lot in old Chi-Rho Christograms. Just thought I'd share... Cheers, Eric

Hi Artan: As always, another wonderful thing that is almost never seen outside of Albania! Thank you very much for sharing it. As for the correct forum, I would argue that this could be in either this forum or the Fascist forum as well since it fits in both categories. I'll let someone else be the arbiter there Cheers, Eric

Peter: The price range I have seen for the first type Medal "Remembrance 1942-1943" (the kind suspended from the blue ribbon) has been between $300 and $600 when I have seen them. I paid $450 for mine. Now, for the screwback IKOM Medal of Remembrance, I have seen anywhere from $50 to $150, though probably $75 would be a solid price in my opinion. The Mennica Panstwowa made examples - like Bob's in the very first post in this thread - are rarer. I don't have one, but I imagine those are $150 to $300 or so. Hope that helps! /Been an age and a half since I posted here :)

Faleminderit, Malion! I have never seen anything from that conflict myself, so I have nothing to add. It is very valuable to see these pictures! Cheers, Eric

Hi Rick: Indeed, the RPR decorations are fantastic in quality, the later RSR stuff less so. The Order of the Star is my favorite Romanian order, so I have made it a small specialty. Here are the cases I have. The 3rd class one has a push clasp, while the 5th class one does not. The interiors of both are this cream colored terry cloth-like material - very soft, actually. Cheers, Eric

Here are the reverses of the four stars in my collection. Notice that the 3rd class star has 4 rivets...

Hi all: Since there's a dedicated thread to the first type (1947-1964) Order of the Star, I figure I'd start up a second type thread. This type was awarded from 1964 to 1966 and like the normal practice for communist era Romania decorations, they came in different metals depending on rank/status. Below are my four examples of this type. The gems on the 1st and 3rd class are paste stones (some of the gold examples had real diamonds from what I understand). The 3rd and 5th class stars below are cased. There seems to be a plethora of types based on metal, hallmarks, and number of rivets. I hope someday someone will do up a comprehensive guide to these wonderful decorations (Anatoly's site so far is the best going ) Enjoy!

It's been a while since this thread had any activity, but I recently got a small size first type second class star and thought I would share. It's silver and unmarked and it is of really high quality and quite massive, even if it is a small size star. I am pretty happy to have this in my collection now. I also have a 5th class first pattern badge that is actually numbered on the suspension ring. These early Romanian decorations are really something else... I would love to know if there are any figures on roughly how many of these were awarded.

Oh, and I think the "bookend" ribbons on the bottom row are actually the Bulgarian Order of Civil Merit (officer I presume) and the Romanian Order of the Crown.

Hi Bob: What a great ribbon bar! Have a look here: http://www.saintjohn.nbcc.nb.ca/host/itali...edals/index.htm and barring that, try http://www.comandosupremo.com/. Hope that helps! Ciao! Eric

Hello all: Last year, a movie came out called "Time of the Comet" (Koha e Kometes) that was set during Wilhelm's reign and is even portrayed in it. In the movie's beginning, there are a couple of segments of original footage recording Wilhelm on his ship and his arrival. It's amazing seeing him in film!

Hi Bob: That's a fantastic mini set you have there. The Skanderbeg with the maker's plaque makes it all the better! Thanks for sharing! As a side note, where are Skanderbeg's arms/helmet displayed? Faleminderit, Artan! That list is very useful - thank you for sharing with us. Do you have any of those medals or photos of them in wear? Cheers, Eric

Here's a better detailed view of the 9th Army medal:

The Albanian government awarded a small campaign badge to Italian troops who participated in the Greek & Yugoslav campaigns. Examples of that badge as well as authorization to wear documents can be found here: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=16967

The next medal I have to share is the commemorative medal for the Greek & Yugoslav campaigns for the 9th Army. In 1940 and 1941, Italy used Albania as a staging ground for several campaigns against Greece and Yugoslavia. The two major components were the 9th and the 11th Army, both of which spent much time in southern and eastern Albania. The 9th Army medal is fantastic: it's in high relief, the places on the map side are named in tiny letters, and most interestingly, it's bilingual (Italian and Albanian). The 11th Army issued a commemorative cross, however, I do not have one of those.

Hi all: There are numerous medals that relate to Albania that were issued by Italy, both at the national level on down the line. So, I am starting this thread in the hopes folks will share some of what they have in their collections; the medals, the documents, and even photos of medals in wear. So, open up your archives and share them! First up is an example of the Italian campaign medal that commemorates Albania's annexation in April of 1939, which ousted King Zog and installed Vittorio Emanuele III as king. There are several varieties, this version, the "Albania Redenta" medal, and the "Spedizione in Albania" medal, all of which share the same black and red striped ribbon.

Hi Richard: That's an unusual decoration, so thanks for sharing it with us. How big is it - is it the size of an Order of the Star? Cheers, Eric