Bulgaria Bulgaria military Order For Bravery 1879 model

[Igor Ostapenko]

prussian Red Eagle order 

[Yankee]

Thanks for the speedy reply and sharing the fotos.  To see a Saint George, Red Eagle & Saint Vladimir w/swds from the Russo/Turkis War is awesome.

[paja]

On 10/8/2016 at 00:14, Igor Ostapenko said:

From this medals group I take only order and serbian Mauzer bullet with discription 15/XI 1885

What an amazing piece of history! Thanks for sharing photos of the bullet pendant with us.
Based on the date the person to whom it originally belonged got wounded in the early stages of the short Serbo-Bulgarian War.

Edited October 13, 2016 by paja

[Igor Ostapenko]

Thank You, Paja !  

Another awards from this medals group 

[Igor Ostapenko]

On 10 באוקטובר 2016 at 03:21, Yankee said:

Thanks for the speedy reply and sharing the fotos.  To see a Saint George, Red Eagle & Saint Vladimir w/swds from the Russo/Turkis War is awesome.

we can see this medalsbar in Sofia 

[Yankee]

20 hours ago, Igor Ostapenko said:

we can see this medalsbar in Sofia 

Absolutely fantastic bar & super nice early Hessian awards. Any idea who the recipient was?

Any idea what the 3rd ( yellow black stripe ribbon ) &4th  (red ribbon)award are? Thanks for posting.

[ilieff]

Yankee,

The recipient was Prince Alexander I

The two badges you're enquiring are perhaps the Russian St. George and the Order of the Bath. 

[Graf]

Hi Yankee,

 

I have the answer of your questions regarding the rare 4th Class Orders you started the topic 10 years ago.

Both are French made Material Silver very likely maker according to an expert is Firm Kretly Paris

here are pictures you can see very clearly the French mark for Silver "boar head"\

On one of your pictures you posted with the other rare model of this $th Class you can see the same mark on exactly the same place- the mark is upside down but is clear "boar head" (Post #13)

igor Ostapenko was spot on with his guess that is French made

Edited October 5, 2017 by Graf

[Yankee]

8 hours ago, ilieff said:

Yankee,

The recipient was Prince Alexander I

The two badges you're enquiring are perhaps the Russian St. George and the Order of the Bath. 

Hi iliieff

Thanks for that.  Seeing the Hessian pieces should have figured the connection.  That is most unique to see a bath on a foreign bar. I wonder if the bar had been restored to some extent for the ribbon on the Saint George is not accurate.

[Yankee]

3 hours ago, Graf said:

Hi Yankee,

 

I have the answer of your questions regarding the rare 4th Class Orders you started the topic 10 years ago.

Both are French made Material Silver very likely maker according to an expert is Firm Kretly Paris

here are pictures you can see very clearly the French mark for Silver "boar head"\

On one of your pictures you posted with the other rare model of this $th Class you can see the same mark on exactly the same place- the mark is upside down but is clear "boar head" (Post #13)

igor Ostapenko was spot on with his guess that is French made

Hi Graf

Can't believe it's been ten years, glade were both around.  As I recall mine has a lozenge too. Mine is not made by Kretly. The jeweler is Chobillon did arts and craft as well. BTW your example is splendid.  Your lozenge looks to be on the lower right ring.

[ilieff]

Hi guys,

I wanted to share with you this photograph of Prime-minister Stoilov - one of the closest advisors to both Alexander I and Ferdinand I during the early years of New Bulgaria. 

Apart from 5 separate diamond decorations (St. Alexander 1st class set, 1st and 3rd class Civil merit, Osmanieh 1st class and the cross for Ferdinand's accession to the throne), please take a look at his order for bravery. It appears that he is wearing one of the above-mentioned  [French made] examples of the 4th class. We know for a fact that he was decorated for his deeds as a platoon commander during the war with Serbia in 1885. This might suggest that these solid silver crosses were being awarded only to people of a higher status [presumably by the Monarch himself], as the generic crosses for this war were silvered bronze with a few solid silver examples far between, yet different to this elaborate cross. 

Also, it appears that the stock of this [presumably] first issue of the 4th class order has not been exhausted by 1886. What are your thoughts? 

 

[922F]

Thank you for posting this precious image!!

[Graf]

HI ilieff,

Thank you for the photo.It is splendid

It really looks like that this cross was given in rare numbers and only to VIP

The 1st Class Decoration of Prince Ferdinand next to the Bravery Order, luxury model with Diamonds, is the first I ever seen so far. Amazing We keep discovering new facts every day.

I assume that he got the Bravery Order after he became PM, that suggests that the Braver Order could be a once off special order in very limited numbers by Ferdinand and was given to VIPs till runs out.

[new world]

About the diamond version of the Ferdinand accession award - we don't know if this was official award or privately made one. I wish there would be more information in the books.

Extra rare piece, seen for the 1st time!

 

[ilieff]

Thanks.

Presumably, Stoilov has been decorated with the Bravery order in late 1885 or in first half of 1886, i.e. a year prior to him becoming a PM. This suggests that it was Alexander I who awarded it. Actually, they were very close with Him - some historians say 'nearly friends' (Stoilov being the chief secretary of His court).

Yes, I think this diamond cross for the Prince's accession to the Throne is the sole example ever produced. Not even the Prince's mother - Clementine had the honour (like she usually did) of being presented with such a rare piece. My assumption is that it's a token of courtesy and gratitude due to the fact that it was Stoilov who received, evaluated and proposed Ferdinand's proposal for the Bulgarian Throne in 1887.

And no, I don't think it's a privately made cross, firstly because this will upgrade the  class of the cross (and this is done only upon the Monarch's good will), and secondly, Stoilov never spent money for shiny and unpractical things - this is clear by his detailed expense list which he kept for most of his life.

 

[new world]

Impressive!

Where are his awards today? I hope they are in some museum in Bulgaria.

 

[new world]

here are some photos of early Bulgarian awards, pics were taken in Military Museum in Sofia and posted on GMIC by a fellow member:

 

[ilieff]

Hi, 

I am reviving this forgotten thread by sharing with you a couple of quick snaps I managed to do with my phone while at the museum (I really hate the way the people working there chase you up along the corridors, preventing you from taking pictures - thankfully, nobody was around at that time, excluding cctv).

It's Prince Alexander's bar again - a slightly better quality image. Due to the interior lighting, there was an awful glare and the identification would have to mostly rely on the ribbons. The orders are easily distinguishable but not the medals. I've tried to minimise the negative effect of the glare but it wasn't enough...

Any suggestions as to what the medals might be? There are 9 in total. I do have a rough idea but would appreciate your opinions beforehand.

[Igor Ostapenko]

Thank you for very good pictures ! 

Bulgarian “For Bravery” orders 3rd and 4th class, order St. Alexander, russian St. Vladimir - prussian production . 

May be another awards from this bar from Berlin too, but orders with swords- 100%  

 

see preussian swords 

[Igor Ostapenko]

1- romanian virtue gold medal 

2- romanian transdanube cross 

3- bulgarian election 1879 medal 

4- bulgarian commemorative medal 1880 

5- for 1885 war medal 

6- bulgarian flag medal ? 

7- serbian gold for bravery 

8- serbian independence medal 

9- russian 1877-78 war medal 

10- hessian ? 

11- montenegro junak (?) medal 

[Igor Ostapenko]

and someone - hessian order was 44 mm, also  all orders and medals on this medalsbar - 25-30 mm, prinzensize ... 

[ilieff]

On 22/03/2019 at 16:44, Igor Ostapenko said:

1- romanian virtue gold medal 

2- romanian transdanube cross 

3- bulgarian election 1879 medal 

4- bulgarian commemorative medal 1880 

5- for 1885 war medal 

6- bulgarian flag medal ? 

7- serbian gold for bravery 

8- serbian independence medal 

9- russian 1877-78 war medal 

10- hessian ? 

11- montenegro junak (?) medal 

Yes, my assumptions were the same. I am unsure about no.6 and no.10, too

The ribbon for no.6 resembles the one for the so called 'railway medal' but this does not make any sense. The medal "For allocation of the military banners" is supposed to have a plain red ribbon, according to Pavlov.

[Igor Ostapenko]