Theodor

Another interesting, ca 1915 Bulgarian dress bayonet. Some say for Sergeants, some - for Generals. Probably the second.

This is one rare. Mannlicher M88, but made in Gabrovo, Bulgaria. Missing the grips, but so rare!

the other photo

Back i the naval belt, here is some navy ceremony, with the Commander, admiral Variklechkov. He wears such belt, but the photos are too small to show good details.

In what climate do these bugs live? Unless they are tropical creatures, they'd survive the cold. Even if the adults die, probably the eggs are designed to survive winter temperatures.

Many medals are hollow, made of halves - but this one is a jeweller's nightmare Each arm is made of two parts, then the 4 two-part arms are attached to a central cylinder part, then the two medallions are put at each side of the central cylinder, not to mention the parts of the medallions, or the tiny wreath with the XX and the rings.... So much work for something, that could be cast or pressed in a single piece :cheers:

These may be bedbugs, caught by accident in the bag off medals. They do not eat wood, but closed in the bag, they were probably starving and tried to eat what is available. I have seen that on the TV - an old documentary about gold diggers back in the 19th century, who remained without food. They were so hungry, that they tried to eat whatever was available - they boiled one shoe and tried to eat it. In fact, one of them tried to eat the other one, he was seeing him like a big chicken. Can't remember the name of that documentary, but remember that it was black and white, and very realistic made :cheers:

complex construction, lots of bits joined together!

maker sign or just a scar? :Cat-Scratch:

bigger difference on the back side. Red instead of white, lion instead of date

letter B on this one /the box belongs to the other medal/

That's right, the location may have a little significance However another reason is the value - for some reason, I never see these under 200 - 300 $, without the box! Crazy, IMO, but holds that level!

Here is its son, though it has no box.

Difficult to say from the photos, but these could be bedbugs. Have you ever detected tiny bite holes on your skin? May be itchy, may be not, many people are allergic to those and react more, but many people are not.

Anyway, probably it's a good idea to show the corpses to some pest specialists and maybe have them spray the house. IF that's bedbugs, it's not safe for the human health.

The rank is Kapitan-Leitenant. This is equal to the army rank of Major. Nowadays it is Kapitan 3rd Rank, but in royal times /until 1951/ it was Kapitan-Leitenant.

The next ranks were called Kapitan 2nd rank and Kapitan 1st rank.

Do not know how it compares to the Russian and the German ranks

For the belts, these were introduced in 1936, with the Order that described the new uniforms. The lion belt was for most branches. The gold plated was the most common - infantry, artillery, doctors, labour forces, etc. etc. The silver plated lion was for cavalry, engineers and probably some other smaller branch.

The airmen got their own belt, with propeller. The seamen got their own belt, with anchor.

The belt with the royal letter B is still a mystery to me. Many people call it "general's belt". And probably that's what it is - a dress belt for Generals. The Silver belt is known as scarcer than the Gold belt. There's some logic in that - if it is really a General's belt, then indeed there would be much less generals from Cavalry, Engineers and etc, compared to Infantry, Artillery and etc. Whatever the truth, I have seen only my silver belt and one collector has a golden B belt. Haven't seen more so far!

Finally, in my photos there are four golden belts with lions - they are all the same, same purpose, but there is difference in detail. For example, on one of the belts, the lion is riveted to the background plate - two piece belt. And the other belts are one piece. And among the one-piece belts, there is minor difference in the background pattern, the shape and details of the lion, foliage and etc - different workshops, slightly different details.

And that's not all - the belt quite completed my Dress Belt Series :cheers: All main types present, only one variation missing - I think from this collection only a golden B is missing /the belt with the silver letter B is more rare, but I already have it, now hunting for the golden one/! Aren't they nice :cheers:

It came with the officer's board. Sadly only a single.

Hi guys, finally got a complete one, scarce Naval officer dress belt! :cheers: The Bulgarian Royal fleet was small, the officers were few, so the naval uniforms and stuff are not easy to find. Still have not managed to find a visor, it's on my wish list, lets hope!!!

For now - a nice dress belt! :cheers: :cheers:

mark on the ring, unfortunately the ring s very thin and only part of the mark is stamped on the surface

back

I like it :cheers:

Inside

This is the 20 years medal. Just like the 10 years, it is not that difficult to find, but most often less the box. This one is complete:

Great information!!! Lets try again - any better?

hi Rick, I do not know. Mabe one is for silver and one of the maker, or both are from the maker... don't know

and just to make it nicer - a couple of hallmarks :rolleyes: