Hendrik

Continuing with a Knight class in the Order of the Oak Crown ... [attachmentid=24869] [attachmentid=24870]

Gorgeous !!! Thanks for posting them The workmanship of those 19th century manufacturers/jewellers is simply fabulous !

My small collection of officer class ones ... The miniature has a silver mark in the suspension ring, the full size one on the right has a double maker's mark in the rim of the lower left branch - nothing visible in that respect on the one in the middle. [attachmentid=24406]

A marvellous result of many long hours of in-depth research ! Many thanks indeed for letting us enjoy the fruit of your labours !!!

Hi Rich, Always nice to see some bars on the WW2 medals ! But an Albania/Ethiopia medal ? I think that's Albania only ... a larger picture of the reverse would help here. Cheers, Hendrik

Great and rare ones ! Thanks for posting those Jeff

1000 apologies Christophe ! Maybe it was too early in the morning for me ? I need an Armagnac now to swallow this down

Here's one that arrived the other day : the WW I Volunteers Medal [attachmentid=24195] [attachmentid=24197]

Latest arrival with respect to this order : Commander's neck badge, civil division, bilingual. Belonged to the same chap as the breast star of the Leopold II Order in another thread and was also manufactured in '950' silver by Fisch of Brussels. [attachmentid=24187] [attachmentid=24189]

My latest with respect to this order : a Grand Officer breast star made by Fisch in Brussels and marked '950' silver ... used to belong to a high ranking official in the Belgian Finance Ministry. [attachmentid=24186]

and reverse ... [attachmentid=24185]

Paratroopes' medals for 10, 15 and 25 years of active service (obverse) [attachmentid=24183]

The Public Security Guards Corps Long Command Medal ... [attachmentid=24181] [attachmentid=24182]

The Guardia Finanzia's Long Service Cross [attachmentid=24179] [attachmentid=24180]

The Guardia Finanzia's Long Command Medal [attachmentid=24177] [attachmentid=24178]

Some long service awards were begging for a new home and arrived here ... Starting off with the Army's 40 Years Long Service Cross, present day model [attachmentid=24175] [attachmentid=24176]

Jacques, I think you deciphered the location where the document was made up ... Shouldn't the place where he was killed be something like Letricourt (???) in the Meurthe & Moselle Department ? Cheers, Hendrik

Nice Italian Crown Order with its book !!! I guess a few medals to the esteemed doctor have gone missing : with 25 years of service and a 4th Army Cross, one would expect to see a few more medals, especially WWI related ones.

Hi Rich, For the sake of completion : the Military Order of Savoy was created in 1815 by King Victor Emmanuel II upon his return to the throne of the then Kingdom of Sardinia after the fall of Napoleon I. Modifications to the original regulations were made over the years and since 1857 the order was awarded in 5 classes (Knight Grand Cross, Knight Commander, Commander, Officer and Knight) up till Italy became a republic. At that time, this order became the 'Order of Military Merit of Italy' with the main difference being the replacement of the cross on the obverse by the letters 'R.I.' (Republica Italiana). The Military Order of Savoy was awarded to the armed forces for acts of bravery, for special distinguished services in war or for very exceptional service in peacetime and was primarily intended for officers. However, the knight class could be awarded to non-officers.

Welcome to the forum ! Very nice Savoia order you have there ! Any chance of a close up picture of that one ? It's not an award one sees very often !

Indeed an excellent and very useful comparison ! Can we have a similar post on the Siam Victory Medal, that other rare and much copied one ? Having neither an original nor a copy, I for one, would like to see the differences.

No, not quite : the badge is actually an official Italian decoration (albeit with a few changes - see below). The badge was first manufactured on behalf of the Italian 8th Army Command by the Lorioli firm in 1943 for distribution among its units as a commemorative of their presence in Russia. Later that year it seems that Mussolini acknowledged its existence and broadened its scope to all units that had served or were still serving on the Eastern Front. Finally, the Italian Defence Ministry authorized the badge for wearing in 1967 but only as a 15.5 mm reduction and with the top knot removed (the latter indicating the Savoia Royal House). The Lorioli made badges are the only genuine WW2 ones. They can be recognized by the "Fronte Russo" on the obverse being in a blueish varnish and having the firm's name and address as well as the "Modello Desposito No 38" on the reverse. Also noteworthy is the presence of 'slots" for a vertical pin which was never used as a diagonal suspension pin was put in place instead. Postwar types do exist but these don't have the blue varnsih on the obverse nor the manufacturer's markings on the reverse.

Hello Pete, As this cross is not an official Italian government award, there aren't - to my knowledge - any fixed rules or regulations as to its manufacture or indeed its distribution. The first types to see the light of day came from the Lorioli firm in 1942. These all had the manufacturer's name (Lorioli Milano-Roma / A. Picozzi Milano) in two lines on the reverse bottom cross arm. When in silver they have an '800' mark to the left of that but they also exist in silvered bronze and silvered zinc. The obverse was either enamelled or painted/varnished white. A second type, to one unit only, also marked as the above ones, was manufactured in 1943 and bears the added text '1a COMPAGNIA / MOTOCICLISTA / BERSAGLIERI / E. DI SAVOIA' on the reverse, surrounding the C.S.I.R. centre. These are the only types to have been made during WW2, all others are post-war (at the very least 5 different variations but quite probably more exist) and at least one of those even has other Russian locations on it e.g. 'CARPAZI', 'PRUT', etc. Obviously the silver and enameled ones would have been more expensive in manufacturing (and purchasing) but I see no reason why a non-officer would not be able to acquire one as with non-official medals, there would hardly be any rules governing their issue. Unofficial as they were, these crosses were nevertheless proudly worn on the uniform at the time and were considered a distinction for bravery not unlike the German Iron Cross 2nd class. Below : pictures of a Lorioli silvered zinc reverse (no '800' mark) and a postwar reverse. [attachmentid=22789] [attachmentid=22790]

Great ! Many thanks for another little puzzle solved

Yes please ! Thanks Stijn