Some Rare Foreign Orders of the Dukes of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

[Dave Danner]

In the Imperial German Orders forum, I recently posted some pictures of the orders of Dukes Ernst I, Ernst II, and Alfred of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. They included quite a few rarities, such as the Prussian Order of the Black Eagle with the Garter of the Order of the Garter. But there were also quite a few nice and rare orders from other countries besides the Imperial German states, so I thought to start a thread here in case you missed them.

Here are the main images of all the decorations:

Duke Alfred:

http://home.att.net/~david.danner/militaria/coburg02.jpg

http://home.att.net/~david.danner/militaria/coburg01.jpg

http://home.att.net/~david.danner/militaria/coburg03.jpg

Dukes Ernst I and Ernst II:

http://home.att.net/~david.danner/militaria/coburg04.jpg

http://home.att.net/~david.danner/militaria/coburg05.jpg

http://home.att.net/~david.danner/militaria/coburg06.jpg

First is possibly the rarest - the Royal Order of Kamehameha I of the Kingdom of Hawaii, founded in 1865 and only awarded until 1886:

Edited February 27, 2008 by Dave Danner

[Dave Danner]

From the Empire of Brazil, the Order of Pedro I:

[Dave Danner]

And the star of the Order of Pedro I:

[Dave Danner]

Also from the Empire of Brazil, the Imperial Order of the Southern Cross. This decoration was redesigned and continued by the Republic of Brazil.

[Dave Danner]

From the Empire of Japan, the Order of the Chrysanthemum:

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From Portugal, the Order of the Tower and Sword:

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Also from Portugal, the Order of Christ:

[Dave Danner]

One of the rarest Portuguese decorations, the United Badge of Order of Christ and the Order of St. Benedict of Aviz, awarded to those who had already received the Order of Christ and the Order of St. Benedict of Aviz.

[Dave Danner]

Partially obscured by Duke Alfred's fleet admiral's baton, the Order of the Seraphim, Sweden's highest order:

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Also partially obscured by Duke Alfred's fleet admiral's baton, the Order of the Netherlands Lion:

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A beautiful Grand Cross in gold and enamel of the Belgian Order of Leopold. Note the crown, which is different from the royal crown normally seen on the order.

[Carol I]

Here are the main images of all the decorations:

Where are these displayed, Dave?

Do you have close-ups for each and every badge?

[Dave Danner]

Where are these displayed, Dave?

Do you have close-ups for each and every badge?

They are on display at the Veste Coburg, the castle above Coburg, the former capital of the duchy.

I can crop a close-up from the full pictures I took, though some are better than others. Too large and they are too fuzzy.

Here is the Order of the Star of Romania, Grand Cross badge with swords on ring, from Duke Alfred's decorations:

[Dave Danner]

Here is one view of the breast star with swords from Duke Ernst's awards:

[Dave Danner]

And another view:

[Dave Danner]

Let me know if there are any others you want to see.

The museum in the castle also has a large collection of arms and armor, as well as hunting weapons.

[Dave Danner]

More:

[Dave Danner]

More:

[Carol I]

They are on display at the Veste Coburg, the castle above Coburg, the former capital of the duchy.

I can crop a close-up from the full pictures I took, though some are better than others. Too large and they are too fuzzy.

Thanks, Dave, for the reply and for the images. It is interesting to see examples of the higher classes of the orders.

[James Hoard]

Thanks for the wonderful set of pictures.

http://home.att.net/~david.danner/militaria/coburg02.jpg

The rarest item of the lot. Duke Alfred's baton as Admiral of the Fleet, Royal Navy.

I believe that only two such baton's were ever conferred on Admirals of the Fleet in the history of the RN.

[Dave Danner]

Thanks for the wonderful set of pictures.

http://home.att.net/~david.danner/militaria/coburg02.jpg" target="_blank">http://home.att.net/~david.danner/militaria/coburg02.jpg

The rarest item of the lot. Duke Alfred's baton as Admiral of the Fleet, Royal Navy.

I believe that only two such baton's were ever conferred on Admirals of the Fleet in the history of the RN.

Indeed. Some detail of the baton:

[James Hoard]

Thanks for the closeups.

What surprised me is that the only concession to the navy one can see is the blue velvet. One would have expected something like Britannia instead of St George, or little anchors instead of lions.

[lilo]

Hello Dave,

Many thanks for the spendid photos you have posted and for sharing them with us.

I think that the Duke Alfred of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (2nd son of Queen Victoria) received also some 'medals' that are not represented in your splendid photos : are these 'medals' present in the museum you visited or Not ??

Awaiting to hear from you

All the Best

Lilo

Edited May 4, 2008 by lilo

[Dave Danner]

No. none of the medals were displayed. Only the orders, and even these were incomplete.

[lilo]

No. none of the medals were displayed. Only the orders, and even these were incomplete.

Hi Dave

how do you know that the Orders of the Duke Alfred of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (2nd son of Queen Victoria) on show at the museum are incomplete ?

Do you know which are the Orders of the Duke Alfred of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha that are missing from the display ?

Have you a complete list of His Orders entitlement ?

I'm asking this because I'm very interested on this matter : I'm trying to re-search what is His (of the Duke Alfred) Full Medal/Order entitlement.

Awaiting to hear from you

Regards

Lilo