One of rarest military decorations awarded by King Carol I is now in Braila City

One of the rarest Romanian military decorations - "Star of Romania in the rank of Commander" - awarded by King Carol I in 1877 to honour the merits of those who fought in the War of Independence, is now found in Braila City, belonging to Nelu Ivan, the owner of an impressive philatelic collection, which also has the famous Mauritius stamp, estimated to worth more than 1 million euros.

Nelu Ivan told AGERPRES that since 1977 he has had a personal collection inherited from his father, which includes stamps, coins and several medals, including the military decoration "Star of Romania in the rank of Commander," which dates from 1877.

''When I took over the collection, I didn't know anything about this medal, and for many years I didn't know how rare it was. In a discussion with another collector from Braila, Anton Paraschiv, who was the president of the Numismatic Society Braila branch until 1995 and has a catalogue with the most important Romanian medals, I found out that the medal had a circulation of 50 pieces and that it is a rarity, due to this extremely small circulation. It is important to mention that the military decoration "Star of Romania in the rank of Commander" is not found in any of the history museums in Romania," said Nelu Ivan.

According to the collector, the medal has on the obverse, in the middle, a monogram, a unique coat of arms, meaning King Carol I. Around the monogram, with the motto "In fide salus" and the year 1877 is represented on the reverse. The enameled cross on the obverse - reverse with the four eagles meant "Manhood and Faith," the two crossed swords speaking of honour and respect for the one who fought, and the crown meant the respect for the King. For these reasons, the medal is considered a complete distinction, as it has all the motifs of the time, explained Nelu Ivan.

According to Nelu Ivan's research, Carol I awarded only 14 "Star of Romania in the rank of Commander" medals, two of them being bestowed upon personalities of the time who were in charge of the Romanian Flotilla. Also, from the researches made by the passionate collector from Braila, it results that the medal that stood as a model for the military decoration "The Star of Romania", namely the "Order of the Union," was ordered by ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza, in 1864, in a thousand of copies.

By a law that came into force in 1999, the "Star of Romania" Order is granted "to reward the exceptional civil and military services provided to the Romanian state and people." The decoration can also be awarded to military units "for special deeds committed in peacetime or for acts of heroism in wartime," as well as to foreign nationals "for their special contribution to the development of collaborative and friendly relations with Romania or for deeds and exceptional services brought to the Romanian state and people."