Legion of Honor Monarchy of July question

[Garth Thompson]

I recently acquired these to Legions of Honor which appear to be variations of the Monarchy of July version. Any comments much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Garth

[Bison]

Garth,

The right hand side one has a crown from the Restauration period. The lilies have their branches cut off to comply with the Monarchie de Juillet regulation which forbid them.

I see some hallmarks on the ribbon at 6 o'clock. You should maybe find a head of hare:

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This is the official mark for silver between 1819-1838. This may prove that the star with the modified crown may have been made during the Restauration period too.

But you may also find a head of boar which is the mark for silver between 1838 - 1962 which is a quite large period but prove that the star was made during the Monarchie de Juillet.

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It is very common to find this kind of changes on the Légion d'honneur, during a period where the political changes were frequent...

Regards

Bison

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[Garth Thompson]

Bison,

Thank you for taking the time to answer. It clears things up.

Garth

 

 

[Bison]

Here is an example of a Restauration model with its intact lilies and original centres. 

Observe was "Henri IV Roi de France et de Navarre", reverse was with 3 lilies. This was probably the original design of yours. This model is stamped with a head of hare.

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Regards

Bison

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[paul wood]

Garth the second piece is a variation which I have never encountered before most interesting, as well as the explanations provided.

Paul

 

[bazsi]

I am a beginner in collecting Legion of Honor. I found some books about this order, but I do not know which is the best source if I would like to learn about the types, maufacturers and characteristics of the award. Which is the for a collector?

Can you please give me some advise?

Thanks,

Balazs

[Bison]

Well... this an infinite topic.

However, there are some foundations in documentation. According to me:

- "Ordres français de chevalerie : contribution à l'histoire des Ordres de mérite", Comte Michel de Pierredon, Rodez 1923. This book describes all types of the Légion d'honneur, without illustrations. This book is very scarce to find but constitutes the first serious study.

- "Les Ordres français et les récompenses nationales", C. Bourdier, Paris, 1977 2nd edition. The very basic for all collector of French orders.

- "L'Insigne de l'honneur, de la Légion à l'étoile 1802 - 1815", Société des amis du musée national de la Légion d'honneur et des ordres de chevalerie, Paris, 2005, ISBN 2-901644-14-7. The best about the 1st Empire models.

Regards

Bison

 

 

[bazsi]

Bison,

Thank you for your great help.

I have found an interesting book, which is available online, maybe it will useful to someone:" Histoire générale des ordres de chevalerie, civils et militaires, existant en Europe ; Empire français ; Légion d'honneur" from 1811, by Nicolas Viton de Saint Allais

https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_L04MAQAAMAAJ

Regards,

Balazs