AMERICAN NUMISMATIC SOCIETY TO SELL FOREIGN ORDERS, MEDALS, AND DECORATIONS TO BENEFIT ACQUISITIONS Landmark sales in London in May and October will offer a unique $2 million collection of historic military medals, orders and decorations from a variety of nations at every price level.
not suppress it. Instead he altered the design, replacing the portrait of Napoleon with that of Henry IV, the first French king of the Bourbon dynasty, and the Imperial eagle with three fleurs-de-lis. Following the revolution of 1830, the new monarch, Louis Philippe, as a sign that his rule was constitutional, replaced the fleurs-de-lis with two tricolours. The Order is still awarded by the French government and is still held in high esteem. Some of the more recent awards of the Order were to the few surviving veterans of the Great War, including some British recipients (Estimate £3,000-4,000, $6,000-7,000)
* Germany, Saxony, Order of Sidonia, Sash Badge, in gold and enamels. Saxony's first female order, the Order of Sidonia, was founded by King John in 1871, in honour of Sidonia of Münsterberg, wife of Duke Albert, founder of the ruling Albertine line. It came in one class and was reserved for exceptional works of charity. It was normally worn from the breast on a bow but when it was awarded to royalty it was suspended from a full length sash. It is one of the scarcest female orders. From its institution in 1871 until the end of the Kingdom in 1918 it was only awarded 97 times (Estimate £4,000-5,000, $7,000-9,000)
* Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy (1805-14), Order of the Iron Crown, Grand Dignitary's Neck Badge, in gold and enamels. The Order of the Iron Crown was established in 1805 by Napoleon Bonaparte. The original crown, set with gold and precious stones, was allegedly forged from a nail of the Holy Cross. It was first used for the Coronation of Agiluph, King of the Lombards, in AD 591. The Order was awarded in two classes, Grand Dignitary and Knight. The Order was abolished in 1814, following the end of the Napoleonic Kingdom. It was revived in a different form by the Emperor Francis I on the annexation of Lombardy in February 1816 and was subsequently absorbed in to the mainstream of Austrian Orders and continued to be awarded until the end of the Habsburg monarchy in 1918 (Estimate £6,000-8,000, $10,000-14,000)
* Serbia, Order of Milosh the Great, Breast Star, by Karl Fischmeister of Vienna, in silver with gilt and enamelled centre and crown. This short lived order was founded in December 1898 by King Alexander I Obrenovich in honour of his great, great uncle Milosh Obrenovich. Milosh had fought alongside Kara (Black) George in the rebellion against the Turks in 1804. In 1813 The Turks regained control of the rebellious province and Kara George was forced to flee to Austria. Two years later, in 1815, Milosh lead a new and successful insurrection. When Kara George returned from exile in 1817 he claimed leadership of the Serbian people, but shortly afterwards he was assassinated, probably at the instigation of Milosh. Milosh's great, great nephew Alexander succeeded to the throne in 1889 following the abdication of his father, Milan IV. As Alexander I was only 13 at the time, the country was governed
