Austria-Hungary Collecting medals in Vienna and Prague

[Archer]

Dear Forumites

I am thinking of visiting Vienna and Prague in the not too-distant future, and wondered whether you can recommend any dealers in (moderately priced) ODM.

Thank you

William

[Tim B]

Hi William!

I can't tell, but on that Mobilization Cross, does the center roundel have a plain background or is it stipled? I see it has the raised dates.

Tim

[Elmar Lang]

In Vienna, if you cross the Ringstrasse from the Oper, you'll find a very fine shop, specialized in AH orders & decorations. The owner is a true and deep expert in the subject. Besides that, a visit at the Dorotheum is an "uncontournable"!.

Best wishes,

Elmar Lang

[Archer]

Thanks Elmar - much appreciated!

Sorry Tim, cannot tell you - it has been well and truly mounted with nylon thread and I cannot lift or turn it now. Does it make a difference?

William

[Tim B]

Hi William,

No, I am referring to the front surface here, so you do not need to open the display or turn the medals.

Here's a composite of the different types I have seen. You'll note the ones on top have a sunken reverse, while the ones in the middle and the piece on the bottom have flat reverses. What I understand is, the raised date versions are the standard versions and the recessed date versions were awarded to officers. I don't have a reliable source for that claim but see it referred that way.

The example on the bottom has the raised dates, but you'll notice the background is actually stipled and not plain like all the other styles more commonly seen. So, I would like to know if the one you show on the medal bar is the same as the bottom example as I have not seen one of these mounted before and it would prove interesting for me.

Thank you,

Tim :cheers:

[Archer]

Mine is indeed beautifully stippled.

I have not seen one of these mounted before and it would prove interesting for me

The mounting is a post hoc display - I didn't have my great-uncle's medals, and had to assemble his group [verified by paperwork] - but I like my medals on "clean" riboons and I like them mounted for display.

William

[Tim B]

Hi William,

Okay, good to know and thank you for verifying this.

Tim

[Gordon Craig]

Hi William!

I can't tell, but on that Mobilization Cross, does the center roundel have a plain background or is it stipled? I see it has the raised dates.

Tim

Tim,

The shop Elmer has mentioned is well worth a visit. The owner is not usually in the shop during the week but his wife is always there. She speaks excellent English and is more than pleased to let you take pictures of anything in the shop. I always asked permission though. She never said no. Prices are not cheap. I never felt rushed in the shop and spent as much time as I wanted browsing and considering their prices. There is also a flea market not far from the shop on Saturday mornings.

I never found anything of collecting interest in Prague. If you are interested in Austro-Hungarian medals Budapest is a much better bet for availability and prices. I lived in Budapest from 2006 to 2009 so I can give you some address should you decide to go there. I enjoyed my vist to Prague, and I may be a bit biased here, but Budapest is a much prettier city and a much better place for a collector and a tourist.

Regards,

Gordon

[Archer]

Thanks Gordon.

I was in Budapest in 2003 and had a whale of a time. I remember a very pleasent medal dealership near the museum, where I put down a Forint note and said to the dealer, "cover that with medals until my money runs out." Eventually I had to tell him to stop because it was becoming unfair.

It was more fun than I'd had in ages.

I also got a copy of the beautiful Kereszt, Érem, Csillag

[Tim B]

"cover that with medals until my money runs out." I need to a vacation! Does that work with the women too!?

Tim

[Archer]

You need a bigger banknote :lol:

[Tim B]

You need a bigger banknote

I'm sure!

[Archer]

Well back I am ... and my collection is bigger!

Vienna

The shop Elmer has mentioned is well worth a visit. The owner is not usually in the shop during the week but his wife is always there. She speaks excellent English and is more than pleased to let you take pictures of anything in the shop. I always asked permission though. She never said no. Prices are not cheap. I never felt rushed in the shop and spent as much time as I wanted browsing and considering their prices.

Mrs. Rochowanski certainly is to my mind one of the nicest and most obliging medal dealers in the world - Her husband's shop is more or less opposite the State Opera House.

[Archer]

Prague

There is another dealer on a smart shopping street near Old Town Square - but for my purposes the best is the military antiques shop down a passageway at 58/32 Národní - just further down the pavement and on the same block and side of the road as Tesco.

It may be the same as "Antikvariát galerie Mùstek" (see google maps), but anyway here is a picture also taken from google maps.

[Elmar Lang]

Hello,

I've met Mr. Rochowanski and his wife the first time in 1979, during one of my first trips to Vienna. I can say that they've always been more than kind; everything I was curious about the history, details and data of a certain austrian decoration or order always had a proper and detailed answer. Any time I meet them it's a real pleasure.

Mr. Rochowanski is a true gentleman, beides being a living "archive" of Imperial austrian phaleristic.

Best wishes,

E.L.

[Tim B]

Congrats and thanks for posting the PIC's and details! I probably won't see it myself anytime soon, but a good reference to fall back on in case and you just never know.

So, what did you get, besides covering that youngun with funny money?!

Tim

[Carl]

Hi Guys, any more dealers to add to the list? Going to Wien on friday.

Carl

Edited September 3, 2012 by Carl