DutchBoy

I just returned from the Netherlands, and I visited the Museum Het Loo again. Last year I promised to post pics and never took any. This time I took some with my cell phone, so the pics are not always sharp. Nevertheless, they do show some of the amazing pieces they have there. I got shooed away when a security guard saw me taking pictures, but returned and continued with the picture taking...

I bought almost all my Soviet and Mongolian pieces from him over the years. With all due respect to the other "big" dealers of soviet and Mongolian awards, Alexei was the best. I had bad experiences with all those others...some minor, others not so minor. It ranged from pieces not as described or overpriced, to just plain arrogance and extreme rudeness...None of that with Alexei! As Ed just posted, this may well end my collecting days in Soviet items...

Please tell me you're kidding!!!???

The Order of the Garter is the sole gift of the Queen, so she doesn't have to consult the government about its awarding. One can only be awarded if there is a vacancy in the number of 25 knights. There is one vacancy at the moment, so he could get his in a hurry unless the Queen already has that spot earmarked for another deserving Brit. He won't be offered the Thistle because that is invariably awarded to people with a Scottish background. A life peerage is a definite possibility (hereditary ones are no longer awarded except to Royals) but that is up to the (new) government to decide. I know Major has so far declined to accept one, but Tony might be more keen and be "kicked upstairs." Perhaps Lord Blair of Basra has a nice ring to it....?

Claudio, thanks for the info. Again, a splendid group! Ed, as usual European bureaucracy at its finest!

A truly beautiful group! My knowledge of Imperial is not great, but is this a bar made up in a civilian style where the most important order is on the RIGHT and descends to the left? That would make this a Prussian bar and not a British one right?

Great find Laurence! Just out of curiosity, how much would this piece cost? I'm sure it's a heck of a lot more than the $5 you paid...

William and Mary made Het Loo mostly what it is today... It also has an awesome collection of ODM from around the world, for those of you who are ever in the area.

Excellent piece! I didn't think there were any solid gold pieces out there, but I stand corrected!

Hi Mravery, Interesting the solid gold one. There was a discussion on this very topic not long ago in the thread for this order. At least now we have proof that a solid gold one exists. If you like, please post this info in that thread too: Oranje-Nassau thread Thanks, Matt.

Stunning bar Yankee! Congrats on this one.

His 1939-1945 Star has the "Battle of Britain" bar, and the Air Crew Europe star has the "France and Germany" bar. Even though there was a separate "France and Germany" star, if you already had one specific star, you'd only get a bar instead of the second star medal. Although there were 8 star medals for WW2, the maximum anyone could earn was 5 because of this "bar instead of star" rule. p.s. The listing mentions that the Dutch insignia are silver-gilt (as per our discussion above), so we know that about WW2 era pieces at least.

Here a huge British group to an Air Chief Marshal, including the order of Oranje-Nassau 2nd class with swords....That is one amazing group! For sale right now in the latest Spink auction, estimate GBP 150,000 - 180,000. eBay Spink auction

I think the Soyombo in post #46 shows clear signs of casting, especially near the top, both front and reverse.

Mike, you're right what he says about the points...that makes little sense otherwise. The Dannebrog is an amazing order...way older and much more prestigious than this Dutch one! My friend has a Dannebrog 2nd class...fantastic order! It deserves to still be issued in solid gold!

Thanks Marco! I like the homelands pieces too...quite hard to find! I've got several more SA and homelands pieces that I haven't posted. I'm getting around to those, including a Gazankulu Police Distinguished Service Star (neck badge, cool but quite ugly with black enamel!). here's a preview:

Hi Mike, I think the seller is saying that only some parts are gold ("center and points"). I think there are very few orders out there from any country TODAY that would be solid gold. Several British orders were initially solid gold, but were later switched to gold-plated silver (e.g. Order of the Bath, D.S.O., and others). The Order of Canada was initially solid gold, but they switched very quickly to silver-gilt as well. I think the same applies to German States pieces. That's an AWFUL lot of gold to tie up in one piece! The temptation is simply to melt the piece down for the gold content (which happens alot). The higher Dutch orders (Militaire Willemsorde, Nederlandse Leeuw, Gouden Leeuw van Nassau) are similarly silver-gilt. In fact, some lower grade MWO's are not even silver but an alloy I've been told.

Yes, I like the police man theory. Either way, very interesting.

Herr General, Very cool bar (WW1). A diplomat perhaps? Jacky, Thanks for the info.

Thanks Mike! I have never heard of a solid gold version. Considering it is the 3rd highest Dutch order, a solid gold variation would seem unlikely. The badges are always gold-plated silver as far as I'm aware. I know the lion on the front of both the badge and the star are solid gold, as is the "W" monogram and crown on the badge, and are separately attached. Hope this helps, Matthijs.

Case for the Grand Cross set. Some time after WW2, there was a switch from an orange case with the full Royal Arms in gold, to a blue case with only the Royal Crown. I'm not sure when this switch occurred.

Grand Officer star reverse, manufactured by Roelof Citroen.

Grand Officer breast star ca. 1930s.

Reverse GC breast star. The Dutch silver hallmark (an upraised sword) on the pin. "Rijksmunt Utrecht."