Item number: M557-3

Reference Number: Borna Barac I#71-77

Year: AD 1868-2025

Material: Silver-Gilt and Enamel 

Provenance:

1. Leu Numismatik 2025

2. Reza Najafi Collection

This is a Belgian Special Decoration (Décoration spéciale), instituted on 6 October AD 1868 to recognise founding promoters, directors, and senior administrative officers who have demonstrated enduring dedication and distinguished administrative competence within professional trade unions (Unions professionnelles), mutual aid societies (Mutualités), social provident and savings institutions (Prévoyance), cooperatives (Coopération), and agricultural associations.

The insignia takes the form of a four-armed, eight-pointed Maltese cross, surmounted by a three-dimensional, pierced-cast Belgian royal crown and an eyelet suspension ring; the First Class is executed in gilt metal, whereas the Second Class is crafted in silver. The obverse of the cross arms is inlaid with royal blue enamel, bordered along the outer edges by recessed, matt-finished metal bands. Green-enamelled foliage radiates from the angles between the arms—the full-sized decoration features laurel leaf clusters in the upper-right and lower-left angles and oak leaf clusters in the upper-left and lower-right angles, although this distinction is less discernible in this miniature version. The centre of the cross originally accommodated a circular centre disc, which has since become detached, exposing the underlying mastic resin bed. In the complete decoration, this disc consists of a dark blue enamelled field bearing gilt relief depictions of a beehive, a pair of compasses, a cogwheel, a spade, and a hammer, symbolising the workers across various Belgian trades. This central device is encircled by a red-enamelled ring with gilt lettering, the inscription of which varies according to the specific category of merit. The reverse is plain and unenamelled. The original ribbon consists of three equal vertical stripes of black, yellow, and red, representing the Belgian national colours; prior to AD 1902, the ribbon featured red on the left and black on the right, whereas after AD 1902, the arrangement was reversed, displaying black on the left and red on the right.

The establishment of this distinction arose from the rapid industrialisation of Belgium and the concurrent rise of the mutual aid movement from the mid-to-late nineteenth century through the early twentieth century. At the time, the Labour Decoration (Décoration du Travail), instituted under the royal decree of AD 1847, was primarily intended for frontline wage-earning workers and independent artisans, and thus failed to encompass the extensive leadership responsible for the governance of civic associations, mutual welfare societies, and trade union affairs. Beginning in AD 1868, the Belgian Government progressively enacted regulations to foster mutualist organisations; following the enactment of the Professional Unions Act of 31 March AD 1898, which granted legal personality to trade unions, the Special Decoration was comprehensively institutionalised in AD 1903, officially conferring royal recognition upon the key figures of public-interest associations for their enduring contributions to safeguarding workers’ rights and fostering social stability.

The Special Decoration is divided into two classes: the First Class (gilt) and the Second Class (silver). The qualification criteria are based on the effective tenure of executive office within eligible legal entities; typically, a minimum tenure of ten years in an administrative or executive capacity is required for the award of the Second Class, with a further ten years of service required for promotion to the First Class. Should recipients continue to accumulate qualifying tenure after receiving the First Class, their honours progression connects upwards to the National Orders, such as the Golden or Silver Palms of the Order of the Crown, or the Order of Leopold II. If a recipient already holds an equivalent or superior rank within the National Orders by virtue of other civil or military merits, tribute plaques (Plaquettes d’hommage), instituted in AD 1970, are conferred in lieu thereof.

Although this honours system underwent numerous revisions, it operated for decades exclusively under executive royal decrees. To satisfy the constitutional requirement that the statutory foundation for state honours must derive from formal parliamentary legislation, the Belgian Government, in accordance with the opinion of the Council of State, introduced a draft bill in AD 2023 to place the entire system on a comprehensive legislative footing. In addition to consolidating the statutory basis of the labour honours framework, the new legislation established a formal procedure authorising the competent administrative authority to consult the Central Criminal Register directly to verify the moral conduct of candidates, thereby ensuring that the honours are bestowed with rigorous propriety.

物件編號: M557-3

參考書目編號: Borna Barac I#71-77

年代: 公元 1868-2025 年

材質: 銀鍍金, 琺瑯 

來源:

1. Leu Numismatik 2025

2. 雷扎·納加菲舊藏

這是一枚比利時特殊飾章（Décorations spéciales），設立於公元1868年10月6日，用以表彰在各類職業工會（Unions professionnelles）、勞工互助會（Mutualités）、社會預防與儲蓄組織（Prévoyance）、合作社（Coopération）以及農業協會中，長期展現熱忱並具有卓越管理才幹的創辦發起人、理事與資深行政幹部。

該飾章主體為四臂八角馬爾他十字型，頂部連接立體鏤空雕鑄的比利時王冠與懸掛圓環，其中一等章為鍍金材質，二等章為銀質。十字四臂正面填嵌寶藍色琺瑯，琺瑯外側邊緣為金屬質的凹陷啞光條帶。四臂角隅處向外延展出綠葉雕飾，原章於右上與左下為月桂葉簇，左上與右下為橡葉簇，但在此迷你版中，差別不甚明顯。十字中央原嵌有圓蓋（Center Disc），但脫落而露出底膠。原章為深藍色琺瑯為底，金色浮雕的蜂巢、圓規、齒輪、圓鍬和鎚子，代表比利時各職業的勞動者。周圍則環繞以紅色琺瑯為底，鐫有金色銘文的環帶，銘文因受勳事由而有所不同。飾章背面光素，未施琺瑯。原章綬帶為代表比利時國旗的黑、黃、紅三等分色帶，於公元1902年前左側為紅色，右側為黑色；之後左側為黑色，右側為紅色。

該章的設立源於十九世紀中後期至二十世紀初比利時工業化的蓬勃發展與社會互助體系的崛起。當時依據公元1847年法令推行的「勞動勳章」（Décoration du Travail）主要面向基層受薪勞工與獨立工匠，無法充分涵蓋廣大致力於社團運作、互助福利與工會組織事務的領導與推動階層。自公元1868年起，比利時政府陸續透過法令引導社會互助組織發展，並隨著公元1898年3月31日通過《職業工會法》賦予各類工會正式法人地位，最終促成了公元1903年將特殊飾章全面制度化，以官方名義肯定各類公益結社骨幹在維護勞工權益與促進社會安定方面的長期奉獻。

特殊飾章分為一等（金質）與二等（銀質）兩個級別。其評選基準以在合格法人團體內擔任幹部職務的實質任期為準，通常須擔任主管職務滿十年方可獲頒二等飾章，續任滿十年後始得晉升一等飾章。若受勳者在一等章之後持續累積任期，其榮譽路徑將可向上銜接至國家級騎士勳章，如獲頒王冠勳章金銀棕櫚或利奧波德二世勳章；若受勳者因其他公職或軍功已持有同等或更高級別之國家勳章，則改頒公元1970年創設的「榮譽牌」（Plaquettes d’hommage）以作抵替。

該獎勳制度歷經十數次修訂，但長年均以皇家法令的形式運作。為了解決憲法上國家各類榮譽表彰須具備正式法律位階的法源要求，比利時政府依循最高行政法院的意見，於公元2023年正式推動法律草案予以全面法制化。新法除完備勞動榮譽體系的法律基礎外，亦確立了授權主管機關直接查驗中央犯罪紀錄以審查受勳人品行操守的程序，使授勳者更實至名歸。