Great Dane

Thanks Herr General Here is a picture of one of the missing Thai Royal Cypher medals (from a recent Thies auction) This one actually belonged to Prince Axel's wife. Not mine, unfortunately... /Michael

Here is the accompanying miniature bar. The Luxemburg Wedding Medal is missing. The 2 Thai decoration (with diamonds) were probably never made as miniatures. /Michael

The photo is dated approx. 1947 and on the bar Prince Axel is wearing the medals awarded to him at that time. They are: - Denmark, Order of Dannebrog, Silver Merit Cross - Denmark, Decoration for the Golden Ann. of King Christian IX and Queen Louise (in gold) - Denmark, King Christian IX's Centenary Medal - Denmark, King Frederik VIII's Centenary Medal - Denmark, Good service in the Navy - Sweden, King Gustav V's 70th birthday Decoration 1928 - Sweden, Centenary Medal for the Royal Swedish Sailing Society - Italy, Comm. Medal for the Calabria/Sicily earthquake 1908 - Italy, Merit Medal for the Calabria/Sicily earthquake 1908 (silver) - Thailand, The Royal Cypher Medal for King Rama VII - Thailand, Coronation Medal for King Rama VI 1911 Later he unmounted the Swedish Sailing Society Medal (and kept it as a single) and mounted the medals awarded to him after this. Around the neck, he is wearing the Grand Commander class (a special class above Grand Cross, reserved for royalty) of the Order of Dannebrog and on the breast the accompanying (Grand Cross) breast star. He is also wearing the Grand Cross breast stars for the Danish Order of the Elephant and the swedish Order of the Seraphim. The sash is probably for the swedish Order of the Seraphim. /Michael

Finally managed to get a picture of the bar It belonged to Prince Axel of Denmark (King Christian X's cousin) and consists of: - Denmark, Order of Dannebrog, Silver Merit Cross 1906 - Denmark, Decoration for the Golden Ann. of King Christian IX and Queen Louise 1892 (in gold) - Denmark, King Christian IX's Centenary Medal 1918 - Denmark, King Frederik VIII's Centenary Medal 1943 - Denmark, Good service in the Navy - Denmark, Galathea Medal (scientific expedition) 1953 - Sweden, King Gustav V's 90th birthday Decoration 1948 - Sweden, King Gustav V's 70th birthday Decoration 1928 - UK, Queen Elisabeth II's Coronation Medal 1953 - Netherlands, Queen Juliana's Inauguration Medal 1948 - Luxembourg, Wedding Medal 1953 - Italy, Comm. Medal for the Calabria/Sicily earthquake 1908 - Italy, Merit Medal for the Calabria/Sicily earthquake 1908 (silver) - Thailand, The Royal Cypher Medal for King Rama IX - Thailand, The Royal Cypher Medal for King Rama VII - Thailand, Coronation Medal for King Rama VI 1911 The two missing medals are - as listed above - the Royal Cypher Medals for King Rama VII and King Rama IX. Both were 1. class (all set with diamonds) and are probably sold off separately. The two swedish medals and the Dannebrog Silver Cross were remounted by me. Apart from these medals, he was also awarded numerous Grand Crosses and 3 single-class orders (Danish Order of the Elephant, Swedish Order of the Seraphim and Prussian Order of the Black Eagle). /Michael

There is a bit about it in this thread: GMIC thread /Michael

Having investigated this medal myself just recently (see this GMIC thread: Earthquake medal), I believe the ribbon on the bar is the correct one for the Commemorative Medal. Here is an interesting page (in Italian) about the earthquake and the medals related to it: Link /Michael

OK, that's quite interesting... First of all, I'm sure the State- and Court Handbook got it wrong, since these two medals were the ones he was actually wearing. He was an officer on board the danish cruiser 'Hejmdal' which just happened to be visiting while the earthquake took place, so I think he (they) was directly involved in the rescue operations. He may have been involved in raising funds too since he was a danish prince, so maybe he could pull some financial strings... Thanks for the info /Michael

I recently purchased a medal bar belonging to a Dane who participated in the rescue mission after the earthquake in Calabria/Sicily in 1908. According to the danish State- and Court Handbooks he was awarded the "Italian medal for the earthquake in Calabria/Sicily in 1908" in silver and in gold. Now, these handbooks normally got the orders right but were slightly inaccurate when it came to medals. On his medal bar he has two medals for the 1908 earthquake: One is 32mm in silver with this text on the reverse: "Medaglia Commemorativa - Terremoto Calabro-Siculo 28 Dicembre 1908" and this ribbon The other is 35mm in silver with this text on the reverse: "Terremoto 28 Dicembre 1908 in Calabria e in Sicilia" and this ribbon On photos of him wearing his medal bar, these two medals are definitely the ones he is wearing (although the photos are B/W so I can't tell if they're silver or gold, but the ribbons and the sizes are right). Can somebody shed a light on why there were two different medals for this earthquake? Then I might be able to deduct what he really was awarded... /Michael

PJMeincke, I noticed you put your medals on eBay like you said, but I'm just surprised that you ship to United States only? I'm not sure there's a big demand for the Jutlandia medal outside Denmark. The medal is popular here in Denmark because that Korea mission is sort of an historical event, redefining our identity in post-war Europe. Personally I'm not scared off by shipping conditions - I'll just ask the seller (before I bid), but you'll be surprised how many buyers will just cklick away (too many "Read the f.... conditions" replies from sellers I guess...) /Michael

Hi Demir, The words on the reverse of the danish UN Medal are in English too. There were never any with danish text. /Michael

Hi Kim, Well, at least a face to put on the name Thanks a lot for your effort /Michael

Very interesting indeed! So this was a single medal - not mounted in a group? Yes, I got the book, but it is very confusingly written - each chapter is just a memory of something he experienced without any real life story or connection between the chapters. It does however confirm that he was in Greece at the time frame for the Greek Red Cross 1946-49 medal. So all in all I'm pretty sure he is the man /Michael

First of all - please don't refurbish them! That would definitely lower their value among collectors. I don't think there is a big market for this medal outside Denmark (the price I stated is for a good specimen sold here in Denmark). If it was me I would sell it here in Denmark or alternatively on eBay and hoping some Danes were watching... P.S: Given the condition of the Jutlandia medal in your second photo, I would lower the estimated price to US$800-1000 for the trio. P.P.S: Putting a name on the trio - if you know it - would probably help the sale, but don't expect it to add value. People "buy the object not the story" and unfortunately these medals are not named. /Michael

Hello Pjmeincke, It's hard to judge the condition from the photo, but that Korea/Jutlandia trio would normally be sold for approx. US$1500. I don't think the 1939-45 Star and the War Medal will add much to that price. What matters the most for the price is the condition of the Jutlandia medal. /Michael

Kim, You have helped a lot already, thanks! And thanks to your collecting colleague. So you wouldn't wear the KVO as a miniature with a rosette with 'wings'? I'm in the process of buying his Red Cross book (quite cheap so it doesn't matter if I can use it or not...) Well, the bar was bought in Stockholm... /Michael

P.S: I did some research myself, but only found out that he was from a well-known swedish jewish family and that he had a lot to do with the Red Cross. He actually wrote a book about his Red Cross experiences. So the combined facts of having received the Göteborg medal, a lot of Red Cross work and participating in the Finnish winter war does point in his direction... /Michael

Now that would be really amazing! Any information you can find is appreciated highly, thanks. /Michael

Hello all, With the help of the GMIC gentlemen kimj, I have a suggested owner of my miniature bar shown in this thread: Swedish miniature bar There are a few discrepancies, but he had a long career in the Red Cross and participated in the Finnish winter war as well. The name is John F. Philipson (1902-1976). I don't know if the Swedish State- and Court calendars list recipients of the swedish orders with their other decorations, or if the recipients are listed in a special 'order calendar', but if a member with access to this type of books could please look him up? He received the Swedish Order of Vasa (unknown class), and the book should preferably be from around 1975 (or at least before he died). Any help is appreciated. /Michael

Thanks for keeping us updated... this was new to me /Michael

It is norwegian for sure... My guess is that it is one of the '17th May' medals (Norway's National Day), where medals are usually issued. The text on the obverse says "For freedom and country". /Michael

Hmm... good question... The 3 lions and 9 hearts is definitely danish,but I have never seen this one before. The 'flowery' outer decoration does make me think souvenir badge or lapel pin... /Michael

It is a Swedish medal from the Royal Patriotic Society - most likely for long service. In Sweden these societies has semi-official status when it comes to wearing the medals. This one comes in gold and silver and in different sizes (and obviously with different obverses depending on the reigning monarch). I'm sure our Swedish friends can tell you more... /Michael

Nice I remember the F35 Draken from when I was in the Air Force... terribly loud machines /Michael

Impressive! Let's hope the high bidder also pays... /Michael

Hmm... I never believe stories like this before I see the deal being settled. High bids always attracts lazy journalists, who then never follow up on the story to see if it was just hot air... and - in effect - a 'non-story'... Off the top of my head - stories that made it big in the media: Schumacher's Formula 1 car on eBay - high bidders cancelled their bid when the auction was about to end, leaving it unsold. Some rare beer bottle sold on eBay in US for a very high price - winning bidder never paid. Apparently these 'bidders' just want their 15 minutes of fame before going down in disgrace... Needless to say, the journalists behind the "Wow, look at this high price" articles never followed up on these... probably moved on to an article about a 4-headed cow... I have no idea if this coin will actually sell for the stated amount, but experience has taught me not to pay much attention to this kind of articles. /Michael