Jump to content
News Ticker
  • I am now accepting the following payment methods: Card Payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal
  • Latest News

    Belgian Order of the Crown


    Recommended Posts

    • 5 weeks later...

    A Knight of the Order. If I am wrong with the levels of the medals would you let me know please. How do you tell which ones are pre or post 1950, does the crown size have any meaning? Why do some have the swords on the medal and some on the ribbon?

    Edited by Laurence Strong
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    A Knight of the Order. If I am wrong with the levels of the medals would you let me know please. How do you tell which ones are pre or post 1950, does the crown size have any meaning? Why do some have the swords on the medal and some on the ribbon?

    Hi Laurence,

    You have the pictures in the wrong order : the officer class is the gilt one with the rosette on its ribbon, the knight class is silver/silvered bronze and without the rosette.

    As far as I know, there's no way of dating the Crown Order accurately unless accompanying documents referring to the recipient receiving his award are present. The crown size is not really relevant as lots of varieties exist merely because different manufacturers over the course of time have produced these awards.

    I seem to spot the possibility of a silver marking on one of the suspension rings but it could be the place where the ring was soldered to close it ... you may need your magnifying glass :P

    I've never seen a crown order with swords on the cross/medal itself. The crossed swords on the ribbon signify an award to a veteran : simple crossed swords for WWI, same but with a small planchet "40-45" for WWII and same but with a small planchet "COREE - KOREA" (or the other way around) for the Korean War. Sorry to say but the ones on yours are non-regulation. The "correct" ones have a broader blade tip (see pics of officer and knight class below). Also to be noted : the crossed swords for the knight class are silver, the ones for officer class or above are gilt.

    In case you're wondering : the palm on the ribbon signifies an award for wartime merit or action. The crossed swords would then have been added on the ribbon later, years after the war, when the recipient became entitled to them as a veteran (in the late 1930's I believe).

    [attachmentid=18745] [attachmentid=18746]

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    I did not think that it was old, but I thought it would have had both languages on it.

    Would the swords be an add on by the owner or a dealer trying to enhance the medal? Should I remove them?

    The unilingual Flemish box in my opinion merely indicates the manufacturer came from Flanders rather than say Brussels ... being in Flemish only probably makes it 1980's or later rather than earlier but there's no way for me of accurately confirming this.

    I'd leave the swords on : manufacturers sometimes use these when they feel the rosette is an obstactle for placing the correct wider swords there ... it needs more ribbon to put the latter on ! Just saving on manufacturing costs I think. :mad:

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    • 3 months later...
    • 1 month later...
    • 2 weeks later...

    To Compare....

    Silver Palms Order of the Crown

    This one is quite old (found with an old group of WW2)

    Compare this one with the relatively new Gold Palms in the very beginning of this thread.

    I sold my Silver Palms a week ago, It was exactly the same as the relatively new Gold Palms,

    Considered it Ugly ;)

    So sold them and bought this example....

    Okay, a lot of patina, most of the shiny silver has gone, but it's just age innit???

    Just like most wines... They become better with age :D

    Edited by Jacky
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Knight of the Crown,

    An other example except for the 3 above, which aren't in my posession,

    This one has still the bright silver swords on it, also very very vibrant blue colors.

    Can't make a better scan of it....

    But one day.... I will buy a digital camera.....

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    • 2 weeks later...

    My newest addition to my collection with respect to this thread...

    Officer of the crown

    Obverse and reverse

    hope that the scans are clear enough???

    vibrant colours of the leaves and the blue!! WOnderfull :cool:

    love the colours :)

    Edited by Jacky
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    • 3 weeks later...
    • 4 weeks later...

    Create an account or sign in to comment

    You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

    Create an account

    Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

    Register a new account

    Sign in

    Already have an account? Sign in here.

    Sign In Now
    ×
    ×
    • Create New...

    Important Information

    We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.