Item number: M557-10

Reference number: Borna Barac IV#225-231

Year: AD 1877-1932

Material: Gold and Enamel

Provenance:

1. Leu Numismatik 2025

2. Reza Najafi Collection

This is a miniature of the Order of the Star of Romania, instituted in AD 1877 by Carol I, the founder of the Romanian kingdom. From AD 1885 onwards, the order was further divided into a civil division and a military division distinguished by crossed swords.

The badge comprises a golden-edged, blue-enamelled cross set against radiating clusters of rays, surmounted by a royal crown. The central medallion cover on the obverse of this specimen is missing. Originally, the centre featured a red ground bearing a relief of the golden Romanian eagle holding a cross in its beak—an iconographical motif derived from the Principality of Wallachia, the historical predecessor to the Romanian state. This was encircled by a blue-enamelled ring inscribed in golden Latin characters with the motto “IN FIDE SALUS” (‘In Faith Lies Salvation’) and flanked by three five-pointed golden stars along its lower rim. The medallion’s perimeter is embellished with a laurel wreath. On the reverse, the red-enamelled central disc is impressed with the royal cypher of Carol I: the crowned monogram “CC I”, denoting Carol I.

In AD 1863, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, reigning Prince of the United Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, sought to demonstrate national cohesion by directing Romania’s diplomatic envoy in Paris to commission a first consignment of one thousand national decorations from the distinguished French jewellery house Krétly, intended to be designated the ‘Order of the Union’. Departing from the Maltese cross conventionally favoured in European phaleristics of the period, Krétly conceived a stepped cross potent coated in blue enamel, whose central medallion was engraved with the numerals ‘5’ and ’24’ to mark the dates of Cuza’s double election in Iași and Bucharest, surrounded by the Latin motto “GENERE ET CORDE FRATRES” (‘Brothers by Origin and Heart’). However, because Romania remained a de jure vassal of the Ottoman Empire, this attempt by a non-sovereign entity to institute a national order provoked severe diplomatic protests from both Constantinople and Vienna. Cuza was consequently compelled to abandon formal statutory investiture; he presented merely a handful of badges privately to close confidants as personal gifts, whilst the vast majority of the manufactured pieces remained locked in the palace cellars for years.

In the spring of AD 1877, Romania declared war on the Ottoman Empire and proclaimed its independence. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mihail Kogălniceanu, revived the legislative initiative for a national order in parliament. Although he initially proposed the title ‘Star of the Danube’ after a unionist gazette he had previously edited, it was resolved instead to utilise the surplus insignia preserved from Cuza’s reign, replacing the former princely cypher with that of Prince Carol I of the House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, updating the motto to “IN FIDE SALUS” to reinforce wartime resolve, and inserting radiating clusters between the arms of the cross. Approved by the Chamber of Deputies on 9 May AD 1877 and promulgated by princely decree the following day, the Order of the Star of Romania came into being as the inaugural legislative act of the fully sovereign Romanian state. The order was originally structured into three divisions—civil, peacetime military, and wartime military—with an aggregate statutory ceiling of one thousand members. During the War of Independence, however, over one thousand servicemen were decorated with swords for battlefield valour during the Siege of Plevna and the investment of Vidin alone, compelling the authorities to amend the regulations so that wartime awards with swords were exempted from statutory quota restrictions.

In AD 1906, reflecting the expansion of the state bureaucracy, a new statute markedly increased the peacetime quotas for recipients. Following Romania’s entry into the First World War in AD 1916, the wartime division with swords was restricted exclusively to commissioned officers, with those distinguished in direct combat permitted to suspend their badges from the ribbon of the Medal for Military Virtue—red with light blue border stripes—to denote conspicuous gallantry. In AD 1932, King Carol II issued a decree reorganising the national orders, effecting the most sweeping aesthetic transformation in the order’s history: the radiating rays between the arms were replaced by four heraldic eagles with outspread wings, the royal cypher of Carol I was moved to the obverse disc, and the foundation year ‘1877’ was inscribed upon the reverse. Furthermore, an approximate quota ratio of three civilians to one military recipient was formally established. In AD 1938, an intermediary class known as the ‘Cross 1st Class’, accompanied by a four-pointed breast star, was introduced between Grand Officer and Grand Cross, whilst gold side-stripes were added to the wartime ribbon. Throughout this period, Carol II’s deliberate prioritisation of orders of his own creation led to the Order of the Star of Romania being demoted several times in the national order of precedence.

Following the outbreak of the Second World War, Marshal Ion Antonescu reorganised the hierarchy of honours, returning the Order of the Star of Romania to second position, subordinate only to the Order of Michael the Brave. Emulating the German Iron Cross, Antonescu introduced an oak leaf clasp affixed to the ribbon of the first three classes for extraordinary battlefield gallantry, which front-line combatants once again wore on the ribbon of Military Virtue. During this conflict, the order was conferred extensively upon Romanian servicemen and Axis allies, and was awarded collectively to naval vessels distinguished during the evacuation of the Crimea in AD 1944. After Romania switched allegiance to the anti-Hitler coalition in August of that year, the decoration was similarly bestowed upon Soviet and other Allied personnel. Upon the proclamation of the Romanian People’s Republic and the abolition of the monarchy in AD 1948, all royal honours, including the Order of the Star of Romania, were suppressed, with the wearing or even retention of such insignia subject to criminal penalties.

In AD 1989, following the collapse of the Romanian Communist Party, the execution of General Secretary Nicolae Ceaușescu, and the democratisation of Romania, the new government sought to re-establish select decorations from the monarchical era to reaffirm historical traditions of national independence. Preparatory studies began in AD 1993, eventually settling on the AD 1932 model featuring the cross potent flanked by heraldic eagles, whilst removing the royal crown to align with republican principles. To address urgent diplomatic protocol requirements involving foreign heads of state, the Romanian government re-instituted the order by emergency ordinance in AD 1998, employing Cuza’s historic motto “GENERE ET CORDE FRATRES” on the Collar class presented to the first foreign recipients. In AD 1999, parliament formally ratified Law No. 77, establishing the definitive contemporary design, which was subsequently incorporated into Law No. 29/2000 governing the National System of Decorations. The modern reconstituted badge replaces the royal crown with an enamelled wreath of oak and laurel leaves and bears the national coat of arms of Romania at its centre. It comprises five conventional classes, from Knight to Grand Cross, alongside a sixth, supreme class—the Collar—reserved exclusively for heads of state. Today, the Order of the Star of Romania remains the oldest and highest honour of the Romanian state.

物件編號: M557-10

參考書目編號: Borna Barac IV#225-231

年代: 公元 1877-1932 年

材質: 黃金和琺瑯

來源:

1. Leu Numismatik 2025

2. 雷扎·納加菲舊藏

這是一枚「羅馬尼亞之星勳章」的迷你版。於公元1877年，由羅馬尼亞王國開創者卡羅爾一世所創立。自公元1885年起，勳章再次細分為民事版和佩劍裝飾的軍事版。

勳章章體為周圍以放射狀光芒襯托的鑲金藍色交叉十字，上方頂飾為王冠。勳章正面中央的圓蓋遺失。原章中央為紅底，浮雕著羅馬尼亞金鷹，喙銜十字架，圖像源於羅馬尼亞的前身瓦拉幾亞公國。周圍則是藍色琺瑯圓環，鐫有金字拉丁銘文「IN FIDE SALUS」意思是「唯有信仰方能得救」，下緣有三枚五角金星。圓盤邊緣以月桂葉冠為飾。背面的紅色圓盤打印卡羅爾一世的皇家花押，即頂端以王冠裝飾的「CC I」，指「卡羅爾一世」。

公元1863年，身兼瓦拉幾亞與摩爾多瓦兩公國大公的亞歷山德魯·伊萬·庫扎為彰顯民族統合，委託駐巴黎外交代表向法國著名珠寶商克雷特利工坊訂製首批一千枚國家勳章，擬命名為「統一勳章」。與當時歐洲勳獎慣用的馬爾他十字不同，克雷特利工坊設計出覆有藍色琺瑯的階梯狀重曲柄十字，中心圓牌鐫刻「5」與「24」象徵其當選雅西與布加勒斯特大公的紀念日，外圈圍繞「同胞同心，皆為兄弟」的拉丁箴言。然而，因當時羅馬尼亞在法理上仍隸屬於奧斯曼帝國，非完全主權實體設立國家勳章之舉引發了伊斯坦堡與維也納的外交抗議，庫扎被迫中止法定頒授程序，僅能將少數章體私下饋贈近臣，其餘絕大部分成品長年封存於宮廷地窖中。

公元1877年春，羅馬尼亞向奧斯曼帝國宣戰並宣告獨立。外交部長米哈伊爾·科格爾尼恰努在議會重啟勳位法案，起初曾動議以統一時期的宣傳刊物命名為「多瑙河之星」，但最終決議直接起用庫扎留存在地窖中的章體，改以霍亨索倫-錫格馬林根王朝卡羅爾一世親王的花押覆蓋舊主記號，將箴言更替為順應戰時信心的「救贖在於信仰」，並在十字四臂間飾以放射狀光芒。公元1877年5月9日眾議院表決通過，翌日大公正式簽署法令，「羅馬尼亞之星勳章」就此誕生，成為羅馬尼亞作為完全主權國家所頒布的第一部正式法令。勳章初始分為文職、平時軍職及戰時軍事三類，總定額上限原為一千人；然而在獨立戰爭期間，僅普列文戰役與維丁圍城戰中因戰功獲頒帶劍勳章的將士便突破千人，迫使官方隨後修法，明定戰時佩劍版本不受法定員額限制。

公元1906年，因應國家官僚擴張，新章程將平時受勳員額大幅提升；公元1916年，羅馬尼亞加入第一次世界大戰，當局明令戰時佩劍版專門授予軍官，並准予在戰場直接交火立功者改配「軍事勇氣獎章」的紅底雙藍邊綬帶以彰顯殊勳。公元1932年卡羅爾二世國王頒布勳章重組法令，使勳章形態迎來最重大的改版：十字臂間象徵星芒的光束被替換為四隻展翅金鷹，卡羅爾一世花押移至正面圓盤，背面則鐫刻象徵創立與獨立年份的「1877」；同時正式規範文武受勳名額比例約為三比一。公元1938年，該章在大軍官級與大十字級之間增設了配有四角佩星的「一等十字級」，並為戰時綬帶兩側織入金色飾邊。這段時期因卡羅爾二世刻意尊崇其個人設立的勳獎，使得「羅馬尼亞之星」在國家位階中數度降級。

第二次世界大戰爆發後，主政的安東內斯庫元帥重新調整榮譽階序，「羅馬尼亞之星」位階重回第二，僅次於戰場最高榮譽「勇敢的米哈伊勳章」。安東內斯庫借鑑德國鐵十字勳章的慣例，為戰場立功的前三等勳章綬帶引入了象徵非凡英勇的「橡葉飾」，前線立功者再度配掛於軍事勇氣綬帶之上。此期間該章不僅頻繁授予國防軍將士與軸心國盟軍，亦在公元1944年克里米亞撤離行動後集體表彰戰功艦艇；而當羅馬尼亞在同年八月倒戈轉向反法西斯同盟後，勳章亦頒授予蘇聯及其他新盟軍官兵。隨著公元1948年羅馬尼亞人民共和國宣告成立，君主制覆滅，包括「羅馬尼亞之星」在內的所有王國勳章全數遭到廢除，配戴甚至私藏舊章更一度面臨刑事處罰。

公元1989年，羅馬尼亞共產黨崩潰，總書記西奧塞古被處決，羅馬尼亞民主化。因此，新政府考慮重建君主治時期的部分勳賞制度，以體現民族獨立傳統。公元1993年起著手研擬，最終決定承襲公元1932年版的展翅金鷹曲柄十字架構，並移除王冠以順應共和體制。為應對國家元首間的重大外事禮賓需求，羅馬尼亞政府先於公元1998年以緊急政令形式恢復該勳章，並依循庫扎時期的「同胞同心」箴言製作大鏈章級勳章授予首批外國元首；公元1999年國會正式通過第77號復設法律，進一步確立了當代定型版本，並由隨後的第29/2000號國家勳賞架構法予以確立。現代復設版以綠色琺瑯橡葉月桂花環取代頂部王冠，中心置入羅馬尼亞國徽，設有自騎士級至大十字級共五等，並專為國家元首特設大鏈章級，為第六個級別。如今，「羅馬尼亞之星」仍是羅馬尼亞歷史最悠久、位階最高的國家級榮譽。