Valter

Dammm, I was looking that auctiion but missed it finally ... At least it went into good hands. This is Military merit order 5th class, war wariant (laurel wreath and white central ring enammel; peacetime order has green enammeled ring and no laurel wreath), Ferdinand I. (WW1) issue. About the originality I'm not an expert, but personally I like this piece. As you can see, it's a tremendous amount of craftsmanship and very complicated construction - that makes it very hard to fake, and also expensive to fake in this quality. Godet copies are nowhere near to the quality of original. These pieces, although one of the most beautiful orders in the world, do not command really high prices (you got this whole bar for the price of single "humble" iron cross 1st class, and not even a silver one ), what is another reason against fake. You can check some pieces in my labum for comparation, but the pictures are really bad.... I'll try to make better ones of my (peacetime) cross. http://s1027.photobucket.com/albums/y339/FreyaSiegfried/Bolgarija%202010/Vojaski%20muzeji%20-%20Military%20museums/ What do experienced Bulgarian guys think?

Excellent pieces, gentlemen!!! I didn't even know there are so many variants!

The title says "awarded with orders". When you post bigger pic, we'll try to translete the rest. :cool:

Wellcome to forum! I also started with Bulgaria this summer and I can only share your opinion about the beauty of these awards. You already have some nice pieces there, the numbered red banner and Peshev grouping - can you post a bigger picture of newspaper clipping?

Christer, Agresto, thank you very much for good news! I'm glad I've found this early piece with original case. These are becomming harder and harder to find...

A quick update - I tried the above mentioned store, and everything went well. It took 2-3 weeks to ship the items, but this is more or less normal for bulgarian post (postcards also needed 10-15 days). I was also satisdfied with this dealer: http://stores.ebay.de/357-art-Shop/ Of course, you have to be a bit critical about remark "very rare". And making offer works. :jumping:

Unfortumately not, it's para badge from 60-70's. Here's a better pic.

Thank you, Tim! I can really recommend vacations in Bulgaria, for collecting as well as other reasons. :rolleyes:

case interior ... Should the case had some kind of recess for the order? :speechless:

... the case ...

another ...

reverse view ...

Sorry for stealing this topic, but I'd like to share my new piece - 9th september, 2nd emission (type!!!) 3rd class with swords. I'm concerned about the case - is this the case for this award or for some later (3rd) type? And is it original? (I didn't hear yet about these orders being faked, but you never know ...) Thank you for any opinions! Valter

This year, we spent holidays in Bulgaria and - I found new collecting topic. We were also very pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the country, kindness of the people, great beaches and low prices (2 liters beer for 1 € ) - in short, we'll gladly come back again. Here's a pic of my small humble collection. It's a mix of imperial and communist items, so I posted it also in Communist section. More bigger pictures in my album: http://s1027.photobu...tary%20museums/ In addition, I really liked the fact that many even smaller museums in Bulgaria have military collections - you can see some of these in the album above. Sorry for bad pictures, I had only old digital photo and cell phone, and due to many family obligations, I had very little time to take pictures. (What is also prohibited in many museums); for these reasons I also took some videos - not good, but I hope informative enough. There's also a very good marine museum in Varna - when we visited it, it was closed, but we could see the open air part of exhibition, which was worth to visit in its own. http://s1027.photobu...0muzej%20Varna/ Any comments wellcome. Regards, Valter

This year, we spent holidays in Bulgaria and - I found new collecting topic. We were also very pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the country, kindness of the people, great beaches and low prices (2 liters beer for 1 € ) - in short, we'll gladly come back again. Here's a pic of my small humble collection. More bigger pictures in my album: http://s1027.photobu...tary%20museums/ In addition, I really liked the fact that many even smaller museums in Bulgaria have military collections - you can see some of these in the album above. Sorry for bad pictures, I had only old digital photo and cell phone, and due to many family obligations, I had very little time to take pictures. (What is also prohibited in many museums); for these reasons I also took some videos - not good, but I hope informative enough. There's also a very good marine museum in Varna - when we visited it, it was closed, but we could see the open air part of exhibition, which was worth to visit in its own. http://s1027.photobu...0muzej%20Varna/ You might also want to see a HUGE monument errected for 1300 years of Bulgaria in Šumen (Shumen) - the keeper claims it's the biggest monument in Europe, but I think Mother Homeland in Stalingrad is taller (but maybe not wider). Surprisingly, there's no evident communist simbols on this monument, but instead several simbols of christianity. Quite strange for year 1981. http://s1027.photobu...nt=DSC01181.jpg Any comments wellcome. Regards, Valter

Beautiful and outstanding collection :love: Several real gems here. It is really nice and also educational to see these groupings. Thanks alot!!!!

Theodor, thank you for great explanation. I'm slowly learning about Bulgarian decorations. One question I have: on many Bulgarian medals, I noticed this thin "connecting" ring between the medal and suspension, like the silver ring on Noor's bronze medal. Are these connecting rings original part of medals or later repair/modification?

Too big and elaborated for a mistake - maybe a stilized initials of engraver?

Theodor, many thanks for explanations. I also thought there were no Bulgarian troops on italian front. Trient is definitely Trento, capital of South Tirol, but other pictures could be taken both in Tirol Alps as well as Slovenia. Unfortunately I couldn't find what abbreviation 5.O.A.K. stands for; KuK Kraftfahrstruppe means "Imperial and Royal automobile troops", 5. o.a.k is probably 5th Company (Kompanie), but O.A. is a mistery for me; maybe Ordonanz. or Offiziers- Automobil kompanie? Aufklaerung (scouts) Kompanie?

Excellent archive and many great photos!!! Theodor and other Bulgarians, do you know any details about Bulgarian soldiers/officers on south-western front (between AH and Italy)? There are series of pics: http://www.lostbulgaria.com/?cat=210&paged=21 and I wonder if some of these are taken in Slovenia (main part of Austrian front with Italy was in nowdays Slovenia until the breaktrough at Kobarid, when it moved to Piava). Were there any Bulgarian troops on this front (I've never heard of any), or was that just a visit from a group of officers? Regards, Valter

Teodor, thanks for explanation! I assumed he should get at least commemorative medal for Balkan wars and WW1, but you're right. There were many soldiers in all armies in world wars who didn't get any medal.

Beuatiful group and display indeed! It'se interesting he doesn't wear any imperial time orders/medals, although he probably got some. And he's wearing his old imperial fur cap, with big cross, despite socialist orders and medals. :beer:

Not humble at all! A great collection and thanks for showing us! And sorry, a bit : which book (in English) do you recommend about imperial decorations? I'm a very beginner in imperial field, so I'm looking for some basic introduction guide. I have Niemann's and Nimmerguts catalogs, but that's not it. Thanks in advance for any tips, Valter

I don't see anything wrong with this bar... About the KVK - there were many manufacturers hence the difference in swastikas; and this decoration is so common it's not realy worth faking in good quality. What do the others think?

Dan, try this link: http://books.google.si/books?id=p9c6DKvAyn4C&pg=PA570&lpg=PA570&dq=forensics+stamped+serial&source=bl&ots=N5j1NeZrzZ&sig=APFxHCIqsJHh-1IPzeB5_yOILOA&hl=sl&ei=jFeDTNLsCYOHOLbRrYUO&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CCkQ6AEwBA page 570 and next It is mentioned that acid metod will dissolve the metal and ultimately destroy the number for ever, so may the other methods be more appropriate. Also, as I remember from my legal studies, the numbers investigated are usually in steel or iron, which are hard metals, so more pressure is needed to stamp a number, and hence more stress to the surrounding metzal tissue. I'm not sure how it works with silver, which is softer and more mouldable. Good luck and please let us know if you succeed. Valter