Imperial Russia Society of St. Elizabeth -- Two Attributed Jetons

[Chuck In Oregon]

I think that this was a nurse's society, one dedicated to caring for wounded veterans. Does anyone know for sure?

These simple jetons are dated 1901 and 1907 with their owner's names, A. G. Verkhovodov and B. S. Esadze, respectively, engraved on the backs. As an aside, names ending with -adze, -idze, -shvili and -shvali are very common in Georgia. All mean "child of". Yes, child and not son or daughter. There are no such distinctions in Georgian. Really.

Both jetons are silver with an intricate and distinctive pattern beneath high quality, transparent red enamel.

The imperial crowns seem quite different. Does anyone know why?

I don't really collect Imperial medical awards and jetons but I have accumulated a number of nice ones. It is an interesting field. When I find the time I'll post an engraved wedding platter from a 1914 military hospital wedding, plus a couple of the newlyweds' badges.

Feeling any better now, Rick?

Chuck

[GeorgeCL]

Two..

Two..You dont need two send me one..

Red Cross Society of Elizabeth under the Aucpices of Grand Duchess Elizabeth..

I think the crown differences are because of different designers.

Chuck do you know why these were given to nurses..?

Time service?

George

[Stogieman]

Beautiful little badges. Top quality!

[Chuck In Oregon]

I got the origin of these jetons wrong. GeorgeCL was on the right track.

This jeton was awarded by the Committee for Strengthening the St. Elizabeth Community of Sisters of Mercy, under the auspices of Princess Eliabeth Fedorovna. It appears that the good sisters, in addition to their acts of mercy, were a fund-raising part of the Imperial Red Cross.

I found out from Russian Medical Award Badges that this badge was the first level of recognition for donors to the Imperial Society of the Red Cross. It signified a donation of at least 10 rubles. The donor's name and the year of the donation are on the back. There were other levels of recognition, of course, including a gold version of this jeton for donating an additional 12 rubles and for a donation of no less than 60 rubles the donor was awarded the Badge of the Red Cross.

Sorry for the confusion, and thanks to George. Corrections and comments are always welcome.

Chuck

[Chuck In Oregon]

I've been meaning to post these for a couple of months now ... about as long as it usually takes me to do most anything. I bought these last May in Tbilisi.

What's odd here (it took me a while) is that the stylized "E" is missing from the jeton, maybe broken and later "fixed", with the neck of the jeton being turned down on the reverse to become the attaching point for the connecting ring. The crown is yet another variation from my other two.

The 1913 inscription is to D. R. Me__mariashvili. Even with a cursive alphabet here beside me I can't make out the third and fourth letters. At first I thought it might say something like "Meds." for Medsestra (nurse) and Mariashvili might be the last name, which sounds like a Georgian name. Now I just don't know.

The other two pins came along with the jeton. They may be too minor to even have been catalogued. Surely they are related to the Imperial Society of the Red Cross but I don't know their significance. Maybe as simple as a blood donor or maybe a membership or small cash donation acknowledgement. Do any of you know for sure?

[Ramblinfarms]

Chuck, thanks for posting these. They are quite beautiful.

[Chuck In Oregon]

Chuck, thanks for posting these. They are quite beautiful.

* * * * *

You're quite welcome, Chris. I picked up enough random Imperial medical stuff that one day I had to wonder, have I been collecting this these? I find the theme to be quite interesting and, as Paul R says in the Soviet Theater thread, a lot different from the other things I collect. So yes, I now say I'm a collector of Imperial medical items (and photos), even though my collection, as with my other themes, is really pretty small. I have a few quality pieces and they please me and what else matters?

I found a small album of assorted early (1923-1945) photos of men in various Soviet uniforms today. I had forgotten all about it and I was just as pleased with it as the day I bought it. I've just gotta get this stuff organized one of these days.

Chuck

[Chuck In Oregon]

A friend has suggested that my third jeton may not have been accidentally broken. Instead, he suggests that the Empress' stylized "E" may have been intentionally snapped off, say sometime in 1917 or so. He hypothethizes that this was a type of de-imperialization of the badge and its wearer while the society continued to exist, post-abdication, freed from its imperial association.

This never occurred to me and I have no idea if this ever took place at all. However, it is at least one explanation of how the E came to be removed from the jeton. In the absence of similar pieces, I suppose we may never know, but it isn't entirely unreasonable. Of course, we have seen other de-imperialized badges and awards, so there would be some consistency.

So, has anyone ever seen another of these pieces with the E removed or anything similar, or do any of you have any thoughts on this? If so, let's hear them.

Chuck

[REGAL UNIFORMA COLECTOR]

A friend has suggested that my third jeton may not have been accidentally broken. Instead, he suggests that the Empress' stylized "E" may have been intentionally snapped off, say sometime in 1917 or so. He hypothethizes that this was a type of de-imperialization of the badge and its wearer while the society continued to exist, post-abdication, freed from its imperial association.

This never occurred to me and I have no idea if this ever took place at all. However, it is at least one explanation of how the E came to be removed from the jeton. In the absence of similar pieces, I suppose we may never know, but it isn't entirely unreasonable. Of course, we have seen other de-imperialized badges and awards, so there would be some consistency.

So, has anyone ever seen another of these pieces with the E removed or anything similar, or do any of you have any thoughts on this? If so, let's hear them.

Chuck

If that where the case, the crown would have also been removed

[Chuck In Oregon]

If that where the case, the crown would have also been removed

* * * * *

Well, that's a good point.

Thank you for a lesson in common sense!

Chuck