Medal Identification

Can anyone assist me in identifying this medal, I would think it is British WWII era.

 

I've had no luck yet finding the medal, sorry, but I think from the crown design it is not British. It most closely resembles a Romanian one that I have so far found, but is definitely not the same.

Do you have any information on where it might have come from or who had it and where they had been? I don't suppose you have a ribbon with it?

 

Certainly not British, that's for sure,

Other members may be able to id it for you.

 

Having searched a lot more I've found nothing better than the Romanian ones and a few from the German states or Sweden that are loosely similar. Is there anything at all on the back of the order?

 

A father gave it to his son just prior to his death, with no explanation. His father was a WWII infantry soldier. I am trying to find out more on his service, but that will take a little more time.
I am wondering if someone had taken an old military medal and modified it with a family crest?

 

From the photo, I would say it is all as it originally was - any details you can give such as the nationality of the soldier, his name may help, and anything you have about his service record so far.

The general styling of the medal/order make it more likely to be non-military or quasi-military, but there are some military awards which have similarities.

Again, is there anything at all on the back?

I am currently looking for the crest/shield, but no luck so far.

If you can give us a photo showing the crown in better detail, from directly in front, it may be easier to definitely identify the nationality.

 

I cant see the pic of it, can you repost it?

 

here you go;

 

Thank you Nigel.

It certainly looks European though. I dont think Polish and I have very limited knowledge on Polish stuff. It could be Romanian, Hungarian or soemthing in their area? I knew of a great site years ago that showed loads of militaria from other than the usual countries like the USA, Germany, England and such but, I no longer have their site info.

 

From what i can see of the crown, it could be Spanish, Romanian, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Swedish or Royal German. The style of the Maltese cross on this piece seems to be more common in the east than in Spain, and the Turkish influence in the Balkans would explain any Islamic influence perhaps.

I had no luck searching for any references to the devices in combination or even the ordinary of the shield.

There are a few Papal and Red Cross awards that are quite similar in style, although with quite different content.

Nice link Lou - I found nothing in there yet.

What's the general opinion about its age? To me it looks around a century old, but that is a guess - the sanding marks on the tails of the cross appear hand done or accidental.

Anyone know anything about South American awards?

How i kick myself for giving away my library years ago!!!!


Edit; I got up to 1200 on Lou's link. Found a few for doctors and lawyers etc which are a bit similar (I guess like a graduation award), but none have the Maltese cross behind. (incidentally I found one which I have to post somewhere, even though not related "The Order of the Great Cross to the Command to the Red Grouper" probably just poor translation, but I thought I'd share it anyway )


I'm not able to completely confirm without some more info/pictures, but my money is currently on Bulgarian. There are several Bulgarian awards with very similar features.