Imperial Russia Cross of St George bar

[grimble-nibitz]

This comes from a Vermont antique shop, and strikes me as highly unusual. They seem to have been unissued, as there are no issue #s. They are numbered at bottoms on back 1-4. All on a silver plated bar marked "depose". The central figures are all soldered (braised?) in place, like early French medals. I wonder about the year of them, and if the style of construction makes them museum displays, etc. I bet one of you knows more about this than me. HELP!

[grimble-nibitz]

Here is a shot of the whole bar. It came with German, US and Canadian/British stuff.

[Claudius]

Ick! I am far from being an expert in seperating legit from copies, especially the great copies. But this batch from what I can tell from the photos is really poor. We would all benefit from some close-ups. Even the order the crosses are displayed are incorrect. Such an obvious thing too. Probably never intended to be fakes, just passable copies for a museum somewhere.

Edited November 10, 2007 by Claudius

[Guest Rick Research]

I don't know. They slide on and they slide off, French-style, so somebody's switched the bowed 3rd ahead of the plain 2nd.

1920s-30s Russian exile duplicates, of the type famously worn by hotel doormen, waiters, and the other White refugees who settled--if they could--in France between the wars?

If the ribbons are SILK-- and they certaainly appear to be-- that and the sahpe (the old Tsarist proportions, not the smaller Soviet shape)... I'd say these are THAT old, anyway.