Bulgaria Medal for Merit and Order for Merit

[Igor Ostapenko]

Hi Ilieff, 

thank you for great photo !!! 

I will post your photo of some medal ( from another topic ) 

p.s. May be you have photos of Order of Merit from museum ? 

[ilieff]

Hi, Igor. Here are two of the images I've taken at the museum. I'd suggest we stick to the topic though (which is the medal, not the order). 

PS: If you're asking about 'golden' Orders of merit - I don't think they have any on display at the museum. I might be wrong though. 

 

 

 

[Igor Ostapenko]

Hi Ilieff, 

Thank you for great pictures ! 

New for me - little orders  

May be you make photo of Orders after 1908 y. ? 

[Yankee]

YOUNG FERDINAND

[Igor Ostapenko]

13 hours ago, Yankee said:

YOUNG FERDINAND

Very good medal , rare variant !!! 

But ... you must clean this Item  

 

I find in web picture of  "gold" Order 

[ilieff]

16 hours ago, Yankee said:

YOUNG FERDINAND

Yankee, is this your medal? It's a very rare one indeed. I haven't seen such an example in person but by the photos I came across, all the silver medals of this type are really worn out and/or with lots of patina on them. This makes me think that the material is not pure silver (if silver at all). Are you able to prove this? Are there any markings on the medal? 

[Yankee]

4 hours ago, Igor Ostapenko said:

Very good medal , rare variant !!! 

But ... you must clean this Item  

 

I find in web picture of  "gold" Order 

Hi Igor

I too noticed the dirt for the first time.  I can only think of the high humidity that I live in that would cause this build up.  I don't like to disturb medals in trying to clean them, perhaps make it worse. I had no idea that it was rare. 

1 hour ago, ilieff said:

Yankee, is this your medal? It's a very rare one indeed. I haven't seen such an example in person but by the photos I came across, all the silver medals of this type are really worn out and/or with lots of patina on them. This makes me think that the material is not pure silver (if silver at all). Are you able to prove this? Are there any markings on the medal? 

Hi ilieff

I bought it about a decade ago,  from a Bulgarian dealer.  The reason why I purchased it was the high relief and crisp details that struck me.  I believe it is silver and appeared to be in mint condition. Now it is heavily tarnished which I suspect must be from the humidity. I did not see any hallmarks.  Any idea how many were awarded?

[Igor Ostapenko]

wash soap with a brush, place a copper medal in a Coca-Cola for 25-30 minutes, silver for an hour, then rinse with water and dry with a napkin

 

 

( you can try with simple medals ) 

[Yankee]

1 hour ago, Igor Ostapenko said:

wash soap with a brush, place a copper medal in a Coca-Cola for 25-30 minutes, silver for an hour, then rinse with water and dry with a napkin

 

 

( you can try with simple medals ) 

I thought Coca Cola was only used to clean car engines and pizza restaurants.  Good idea to experiment on something of less value.

[new world]

I would leave it alone, patina adds character.

[ilieff]

9 hours ago, Yankee said:

Any idea how many were awarded?

I cannot quote any figures, but certainly not that many were decorated. This is one of the rarest emissions in general, and I have only seen photographs of 5 or 6 medals (both bronze and silver) in total. We are still waiting for a 'golden' medal of this issue to be discovered (in case it existed at all).

[Yankee]

9 hours ago, new world said:

I would leave it alone, patina adds character.

Right you are. Used cotton swabs a much safer route with excellent results

[Igor Ostapenko]

10 hours ago, new world said:

I would leave it alone, patina adds character.

http://bulgarianorders.com/i-425-1899-bulgaria-royal-merit-ag-medal-cyl-hook-2.html

[new world]

Thee only cleaning method that I use if soft brush with mild soap and warm water. This will get rid of the dirt, but patina will stay intact. 

[Igor Ostapenko]

[Yankee]

17 minutes ago, Igor Ostapenko said:

http://bulgarianorders.com/i-425-1899-bulgaria-royal-merit-ag-medal-cyl-hook-2.html

Good idea the before and after results.  I could have sworn when first purchased my example looked exactly like yours.

[Yankee]

5 hours ago, ilieff said:

I cannot quote any figures, but certainly not that many were decorated. This is one of the rarest emissions in general, and I have only seen photographs of 5 or 6 medals (both bronze and silver) in total. We are still waiting for a 'golden' medal of this issue to be discovered (in case it existed at all).

I was wrong after removing the dust clouds from Ferdinand did discover a maker below the bust. - l  NCR only those four letters were available to my loop.  Any idea who the engraver is?  Perhaps Igor's example just posted has same engraver.

[ilieff]

18 hours ago, Yankee said:

I could have sworn when first purchased my example looked exactly like yours.

Are you sure that these are not photographs of the same medal? The ribbons look identical and this can hardly be achieved as these are hand-stitched. The photograph Igor posted is from the archives of the website, so it's older than [perhaps] 10 years - it might be your medal prior to you purchasing it. 

Edited October 26, 2017 by ilieff

[Yankee]

6 hours ago, ilieff said:

Are you sure that these are not photographs of the same medal? The ribbons look identical and this can hardly be achieved as these are hand-stitched. The photograph Igor posted is from the archives of the website, so it's older than [perhaps] 10 years - it might be your medal prior to you purchasing it. 

It had never occurred to me looking at the medal posted by Igor being being the same as mine.  The ribbon just faded out after all this time,  and as you quite clearly point out the stitching is an exact match.  I had hoped it was a different medal that Igor posted to get confirmation of the engraver.  BTW just recently found your site and found it very informative and easy to navigate. Thanks for that

[new world]

On 10/24/2017 at 13:28, Igor Ostapenko said:

I find in web picture of  "gold" Order 

I wish there would be good way to tell real gold grade awards from conversions.

Edited October 29, 2017 by new world

[Igor Ostapenko]

How many gold grade orders were awarded ? 

##############################

 

two variation of order “ForMerit” with signature of P. Telge -

first “little head” and  “big head” 

Signature. differents

[Igor Ostapenko]

gold grade “little head” P.TELGE sold by Victor 

http://bulgarianorders.com/i-166-1908-bulgaria-royal-merit-order-gold-1c-yelge.html 

 

I think- this is original order first class ! 

[Igor Ostapenko]

picture  

[Yankee]

On 10/29/2017 at 10:21, Igor Ostapenko said:

How many gold grade orders were awarded ? 

##############################

 

two variation of order “ForMerit” with signature of P. Telge -

first “little head” and  “big head” 

Signature. differents

Hi Igor

Is the big head type more rare?  Never encountered YELOE engraver or a gold merit order. They must be very rare. Thanks for making me aware.

 

[Igor Ostapenko]

Hi Yankee, 

Type TELGE little head - early and very rare  

( little head - little signature )