| Added by |
 Raisenauer Ovidiu
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| General Description : | Red enamel Maltese cross with white borders and silvered edges to the arms, with silvered metal crowns between the arms, with swivel crown suspension. The Order was instituted on 10 May 1881 to be awarded for meritorious service to the newly-declared Romanian kingdom. The significance of the years is as follows: In April 1866 Carol I was asked to become Domnitor of the Principality of Romania under Ottoman suzerainty and he arrived in Bucharest, welcomed by a huge crowd, on 10 May. The Romanian Principality declared its independence from Ottoman rule on 21 May 1877. Romania proclaimed itself a kingdom on 14 March 1881. This example, with crown but without crossed swords between the arms is a peacetime military award. Type II of the Order differs from the Type I in that the central crown and the monogram are reversed. That is the crown was moved and is between the arms of the cross, and the monogram of Carol II was moved to the central medallion. In 1938, a separate 'Military' division of the order was created. Awards of the military division contained the addition of a surmounted crown, and swords between the arms of the cross. The ribbon of the type II award is blue with a single central white stripe. On the Knight and Officer's badge, the ribbon is 40 mm wide with a 7 mm central stripe. During times of war gold stripes were added to the edges of the ribbon. In instances when the Order was awarded for bravery, the ribbon of the medal of 'Military Virtue' was substituted. This ribbon was red, bordered on each edge with 5 mm light blue stripes. The 'Military Virtue' ribbon was authorized only for the Knight and Officer grades of the order. |
| Front Description : | the face with a circular central red enamel medallion bearing the gilt cipher of King Carol I within a white enamel ring inscribed ‘PRIN NOI ÎNŞINE’ (by ourselves) and dated ’14 MARTIE 1881’ (14 March 1881). |
| Back Description : | the reverse with a circular central red enamel medallion bearing the date ’10.MAIU’ (10 May) in gilt letters within a white enamel ring with the dates ‘1866’, ‘1877’ and ‘1881’. |
| Material | Silver |
| Catalog prices | No catalog prices set yet |
