Imperial Russia Imperial Red Cross and Medical Service Awards

[Chuck In Oregon]

There was some interest in my post on the Red Cross hero group and one other medical post. I promised yesterday that I would start a dedicated thread, so here goes.

I'll start with this one. It is an expensive high-quality variant of what would otherwise be an ordinary (but nonetheless impressive) badge of the Imperial Red Cross. This one must have belonged to a very senior member and/or a very wealthy one, maybe both.

It is solid gold, total weight is 15.60 grams and 3.5 x 3.5 cm (1.75") in size. Transparent red enamel over a pebbled pattern. The cross and pin are both proofed and maker marked. It came in this nice period case from a turn-of-the-century Tbilisi jeweler's shop. I can't know if it originally came in this case, but the case came with the badge when I bought it. Metal and enamel are in perfect condition.

Chuck

[Chuck In Oregon]

... And here is a silver frachnik of the same badge. The badge is silver, and proof-marked only. The screwback appears to be silver-plated bronze. Here again, both metal and enamel are in perfect condition. However, you can see the difference in the enamel in this one compared to the one in post #1. This enamel is not nearly as high quality and you can see the imperfections that have been there since day one. Plus, the crown in slightly tilted. I doubt if the maker of the first one would have let something like this out of his shop with his name on it if that tilt is original. Of course, this has probably been through a lot in the intervening 100+ years and this could have happened after it left the shop.

OK, I've got a couple more, but now it's time to post yours.

Chuck

Edited December 18, 2005 by Chuck In Oregon

[Chuck In Oregon]

I can't believe that it's been two years since I started this thread. I think I should have added a couple of my intervening threads to this one as reply posts rather than new threads. Live and learn.

I had more or less forgotten about this thread until I wanted to post this jeton that I brought back in November. I was reviewing old threads and found this one again and it seems an appropriate place to share this.

This WW I jeton is pretty self-explanatory. Dated 1916, it is from Field Hospital No. 14, Military Engineers, Tiflis (Tbilisi). The name on the reverse is P. R. Mandenov. I think.

It weighs 11.39 grams and is 25x45 mm. Appears to be solid silver but lacks proof and maker's marks. That seems to be typical of Tbilisi ateliers of the period. The enamel is perfect as-made but not high quality, showing some bubbly imperfections. There is no pattern under the enamel except for a "X" connecting the inside corners of the cross. Does not seem to have been cleaned recently but perhaps rubbed or cleaned sometime in the past.

Merry Christmas to all who respect it and Happy Holidays to all.

Chuck

[Chuck In Oregon]

Here's a numbered badge that I picked up last week. It's only 20.85 mm in diameter but it's thick (the disk alone is 2.45 mm thick) and heavy, 10.12 gr. There is a simple pattern in the silver under the red enamel. I guess it's Red Cross of some sort or another but what it represents, exactly, I don't know. I didn't think that membership badges were numbered and that's why I don't think that's what this is. Heck, maybe it's even a Soviet-era piece.

Edited May 18, 2008 by Chuck In Oregon