Tim B

Here's the reverse maker's mark. Not 100% sure here but, I think it's a diamond with the letters AA or AR and something else that I can't quite make out. Anyone??? Is it the AA for Aucoc? Tim

Okay, I see the Boar's Head and I know it's a boar and not an eagle as the piece is gilded silver and not 24k gold like some are. Still, the tiny purity mark is not easy to distingush and if turned around could be viewed as the eagle head gold mark if you didn't know better. So, I thought I would add a couple of reference points for those that might need help or more information like I usually do. Tim

I must say, these luxury pieces are the way to go. The enamel is fantastic and the red berries just make the whole piece "pop"! Tim

Well, thought I would bump this thread back up with a new addition. Finally picked up another very nice cased Officer's LoH. It's one of the so-called "luxury" examples with the laurel berries. Tim

Definately sharp looking if legit. I haven't seen many Belgian CdG with multiple ribbon devices for sale. Not as often as the French ones at least. Here was a beautiful medal group that sold a few months back for $862. Off topic a bit here, but it does have a CdG. Tim Beautiful!! :love:

Hi Demir, Yes, I personally would want a better conditioned one as well, but compared to all the ones recently being sold with chipped enamel, missing pins, etc., this one wasn't bad and you don't see the marked Godet ones that often. Still, IMHO, I don't think this one was worth much over $250. but that's me. As far as the bidders go, I often wonder about these guys that bid really high, or continually bid the item up and up and then never win any auctions. I bet some of these are just playing around and bid the prices up to then walk away happy to see someone else payed through the nose for an item. And, if they get the winning bid, then never pay. I imagine there are some proxy bidders as well. I have seen this in the area of Victory Medals a lot and as Brian pointed out, in the Japanese medal area as well. I know of one collector/dealer in Israel that bids prices up all the time and then walks away often. He does get stuff too, but I suspect he bids up as much as he can to increase the "value" of his collection by artificially inflating market prices. You just have to be able to control the urge to hit the bid button and know when to walk away. Tim

Looks nice!! I understand these are harder to find than the 1st class versions, congrats! Tim

Hi Brian, Well, I don't have mine (Godet) yet, and at that rate, I guess I won't either. I see dealers routinely asking +$350. for these and that's high enough IMO, but this... Tim

Thought I would bump this one back up with a ribbon bar for a change of pace. Tim

I just seen this sell for $665.00!! I understand it's a nice conditioned Godet but, are they really going for this amount these days? Tim

Here's a later made piece Knights Class (silver swords & crown) with the bi-lingual (French/Dutch) center and you can see the enamel is still nice, but not as fine as the earlier produced ones. Tim

Hi Timo, I think the actual production timeframe could be hard to nail down as I was told that they continue to manufacture these, even with the French only centers when requested. With that said, your piece is an Order of Leopold I, and with the gold crown and swords, I would say it's an Officer grade. The ribbon should have a large rosette on it and the crossed swords simply means it a military division piece. The workmanship quality of these medals go down a bit over time. Absolutely no offense meant here, just the quality is not what it was back in the early 1900's and you can compare the enamel quality between the eras for an idea when your piece might have been made (earlier vs later). There is another thread on Leopold Orders if you want to search for it that has several examples and a lot of valuable information. These can be quite nice, but be careful...they are addictive. Tim Here's an example of my two Officer Class Leopold I Orders.

Hi Jan, Okay, I am a bit confused here. First, what is meant by "entered the demand"? Second, in regards to the crossed swords; I thought these were just symbolic of WW1 service recognition and were authorized for those members that served in WWI. Are these actually tied to the promotion cycle?? Thanks again! Tim

I guess to clarify my questions on these, I'll include an excerpt from Wikipedia: "The classes of the National Orders are integrated in a combined hierarchy defined by law, whereby within one class the Order of Leopold is senior to the Order of the Crown, which is senior to the Order of Leopold II. Except in some specific cases, one cannot be awarded a National Order at a level below the highest that the recipient has already received (e.g. a commissioned officer who become a Commander of the Order of Leopold II because of meritorious personal service to the King before he became a Knight of the Order of Leopold may not be awarded the latter decoration or that of Officer of the Order of Leopold)." So, has he was awarded the Knights Class of the Leopold II in 1937, the next award would have been the Knights Class of the Crown Order, followed by the Knights Class of the Leopold (I) Order. This would keep the award level at the "Knight" level and still follow with an award higher in stature. Once he was awarded the Knights level of the Leo I, he could not be awarded anything else (for long service) without upgrading the level to the Officer Class (in this case, the Leopold II in 1963), even though he was never a commissioned officer?? Tim

Hi Jan, So, then by rights, he would have probably also has the Knights Class Order of the Crown sometime around the mid-40's and then the Knights Class of the Order of Leopold (I), probably in the mid-50's? I don't see or have anything supporting this document-wise, but according to the award hierarchy, it would make sense and explain why he received the Officer Class of the Order of Leopold II in the 60's. Many thanks!! Tim

And when I thought I found another one identical to Rob's, I noticed this one had only 21 bars on both sides same as the first one I showed above. All the other details are pretty identical and I think if both were taken under similar lighting conditions, we would see it easier. Any other examples??? Tim

Okay, so we see several different styles of the Type's 1 & 2 and I'll add the one posted by Rob earlier, here again for consistency. I want to point out that Rob's is very similar but note the number of bars on the left (29) and right (30) sides!

Jan, Many thanks for posting this information! I am trying to get as much of the details correct here, not only for this group, but also for knowledge on any future items I may get or help others on. Again, many thanks!! Tim

I still have only seen the one Type 3.

And yet another, with the larger narrower wheels.

Another one; again, note the minor detail differences in the areas pointed out with the Type 1's.

Now, for three variations of the 2nd type. Again, you can see minor differences. The first two have the small, fatter tires on the cannon.

And yet, another type 1 with 21 & 22 bars respectively. You can also see minor details differences in the bayonet and the width of the helmet flange near the bayonet on these.

Another type 1. This one has 20 bars on the left and 22 on the right. Notice the differences in the landscape between these on the front and crowns and lettering on the back.