Belgium Gold Medal Of The Order Of Leopold Ii

[TacHel]

I have two Gold Medals of the Order of Leopold II with very striking differences.

Notice the difference in curvature between the cross arms, #2 is devoid of the "wave" seen on #1. Also, the suspension point is quite different.

#1 is a single piece rather thin medal. #2 on the other hand is almost twice as thick and of 3 piece construction as shown in the pic above.

Are we simply dealing with different makers?

Different eras? Which is the newer if that is the case?

[Vatjan]

Different makers definitely, and different era.

Although hard to see on the small picture, I think I can see the bilingual motto "eendracht maakt macht - l'Union fait la force" on the medal on the right.

Which would mean post-1952

Unilingual on the medal on the left, so (very) roughly dated between 1909 - 1952

Jan

PS: one could start a large collection by only collecting varitions of the order of Leopold II or the Order of the Crown =o)

[Tim B]

Yes, you have to be careful what you're looking at as there are so many types out there. I bought this one sometime back. Seller claimed it was WWI and obviously it's not as it has the bilingual language on it. Note the suspension is more rectangular than the round "ball" shape that would be accurate for an earlier piece. I believe this one is either a modern (current) issue or perhaps from the 60-70's. Live and learn--key emphasis on the learning part!

At least the seller made it right and sent me a WWI piece later, free of charge!

Tim

[TacHel]

Thanks! I hadn't even noticed the uni lingual and bilingual differences.

I must admit at being a little surprised that a recent piece would be so much superior to an older one. Tendencies in many countries are completely opposite.