Medal bar with a not so common bulgarian medal

[JensF.]

I think this bulgarian medal, the "Bronze Merit Medal with ribbon of the Bravery Order" is not so common on german medal-bars.

[JensF.]

Back:

[Claudio]

Very nice Jens!

I found also this medal bar with a Bulgarian bronze medal of merit on Zeige's Actionhouse online catalogue. What do you think? It's a very nice array of Verdienstmedaillen for a civilian servant (Beamter).

Ciao,

Claudio

[JensF.]

Thanks Claudio. I prefer military awards, but the Anhalt medal on this medal-bar ist nice! I think I never saw it before.

Very nice Jens!

I found also this medal bar with a Bulgarian bronze medal of merit on Zeige's Actionhouse online catalogue. What do you think? It's a very nice array of Verdienstmedaillen for a civilian servant (Beamter).

Ciao,

Claudio

[Deruelle]

Hi,

You are right Jens, your medal is not common on german medal bar. The merit medal has been decerned for acts of bravery and merit.

Christophe

[Bob Hunter]

Interesting medal. That ribbon is used on more than one Bulgarian decoration, is it not?

Military or Civilian medal bar, no matter, I like 'em all!

[Guest Rick Research]

I agree-- the merit medal turns up far less on German groups than the Bravery Cross. But there is more of a "clue" with the medals, since they were awarded by rank-- privates the bronze, junior NCOs bronze with crown, NCOs the silver, and senior NCOs the silver with crown. But even then usually other awards were given.

I have yet to see an award document to a German for one of these medals, so I don't know WHY the Merit medal was chosen rather than another Bulgarian award. My late Imperial guru had a group with a bronze with crown to a German Duke's chauffeur--

so presumably (correctly) the Bulgarians felt a Bravery Cross was not appropriate. But that makes the "lesser" and more rear-area/staff type awards like this TO junior enlisted men harder to find.

[Claudio]

Hi Guys!

I like these combinations very much. As Rick said, sometimes you can find one of a kind combinations of awards... some of them are really interesting! I have seen some quite weird but beutiful array of medals given to Bandmasters, Meisterkutscher, etc...

Here's the back of above mentioned bar.

Ciao,

Claudio

[Dave Danner]

By a protocol of 23 July 1913, and a series of authorizing regulations thereafter, the Orders Council for the Bulgarian Army Staff decreed that the Medal "For Merit" ("За заслуга") "would also be given for meritorious contributions in wartime," by appropriating for it the ribbon of the Military Order "For Bravery". The award criteria were basically the same as in peacetime. It was not a bravery award.

For enlisted soldiers, the Soldier's Crosses for Bravery were the appropriate award for bravery before the enemy.

For merit, the awards were the Medals "For Merit" and, for more senior NCOs, the Silver Cross (6th Class) of the Order of St. Alexander with Swords (with and without crown) and in certain cases the Silver Cross (6th Class) of the Order of Military Merit, with and without crown. Wartime awards of the Silver Cross of the Order of Military Merit were on the ribbon of the Military Order "For Bravery", but wartime awards of the Order of St. Alexander remained on its statute ribbon (which was also the statute ribbon of the Medal "For Merit").

Edited October 4, 2005 by Dave Danner

[joe campbell]

beautiful bars, all!

claudio, would you be so kind as to

list the decorations on your bars? it

is a beauty, but i am not familiar with

some of them.

thanks!

joe

[Gerd Becker]

Nice Medalbars, guys

The Bronze Merit Medal is a first for me

Gerd

[Claudio]

Hi Joe,

The medals are:

W?rttemberg Wilhelmskreuz (Wilhelm's cross)

W?rttemberg Silberne Hochzeitsmedaille 1911 (silver wedding's medal 1911)

Anhalt Silberne Verdienstmedaille zum Hausorden Albrecht des B?ren (silver merit medal of the order of Albert the bear)

Silberne Verdienstmedaille Altenburg des Ernestinischen Hausordens (silver merit medal of the SEHO)

Silberne Verdienstmedaille Waldeck (silver merit medal)

K?nigreich Bulgarien Bronzene Verdienstmedaille mit Krone Zar Ferdinand (Kingdom Bulgaria, bronze medal with crown, king Ferdinand)

Ciao,

Claudio

beautiful bars, all!

claudio, would you be so kind as to

list the decorations on your bars? it

is a beauty, but i am not familiar with

some of them.

thanks!

joe

[joe campbell]

one could hardly ask for better examples, claudio!

is my assumption that the waldeck award is relatively rare

a correct one?

my thanks.

joe

Edited October 4, 2005 by joe campbell

[Claudio]

Yes Joe, all Waldeck's decoration are rare, since the principality of Waldeck was a very little state: by 1910 had only 60'000 inhabitants on 1'120 Km2 or 340 square miles.

The here shown Waldeck's silver merit medal seems to me to be the first model (altes Modell 1878). Accordingly Gert Efler's book (Die Orden & Ehrenzeichen des F?rstentums Waldeck und Pyrmont, ISBN 3-926621-31-1, published in 2004) between 1878-1918 these silver medals were awarded to meritous citizen, traders, commerciants and people working in the local industry. A silver medal costed in 1884 7,30 Reichsmark, in 1908 RM 6,75, in 1913 RM 6,00 and 1915 RM 8,50. Efler mention that about 5'422 silver medals were awarded in this period, of which 4'200 were issued with swords. The first medal was given to a Revierf?rster on 26.09.1878 (silb. VDM).

I hope this helped.

Ciao,

Claudio

[joe campbell]

claudio!

as we say here in the states...

"you da' MAN!!!"

very informative.

with my thanks,

joe