The Order of the Yugoslav Crown was established on April 5, 1930, as a decoration in „memory of the Liberation and Unification of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and as recognition for work for the King and the Fatherland, as well as state and national unity.“ It is the only order established in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, while practically all other decorations were inherited from the Kingdom of Serbia.
Order of the Legion of Honour (left) and Order of the Chrysanthemum (right).
This medal was created under the direct influence of the French one Order of the Legion of Honour with which it shares some conceptual similarities. It also shares some similarities with Japanese Order of the Chrysanthemum.
The visual design of the order was conceived by Đorđe Čarapić, at that time the chancellor of the royal orders.
The Order of the Yugoslav Crown has 5 classes (grades), and here today we present the 1st class order.
Order of the Yugoslav Crown, 1st Class, consists of two parts:
– of the insignia of the order on a ribbon and
– order stars.
Order insignia It is in the shape of a gilded cross measuring 55 x 55 mm. The arms of the cross each consist of five white-enameled fields and resemble flower petals, with a gilded ball at the tip of each central petal. The arms of the cross are connected by a green-enameled wreath of laurel leaves.
In the central part of the cross's obverse is a white-enameled medallion with a gilded border. The medallion has a diameter of 24 mm. In the center of the medallion is the enameled golden royal crown of the Karađorđević dynasty.
The reverse side of the cross is practically identical to the obverse, except for the appearance of the central medallion. It features the golden crowned monogram of King Alexander I Karađorđević and the date: October 3, 1929. This is the day the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was proclaimed.
This cross hangs from a green enameled wreath of oak sprigs 27 mm wide. The first version of this decoration did not include this wreath, but it was later added to make the decoration more decorative. Even the earliest versions of the decoration were retroactively modified to include the wreaths.
The insignia of the order hangs on a dark blue watered silk ribbon 105 mm wide.
Order star It is made of gilt silver. It is a four-pointed star with rounded and fluted rays. The diameter of the star is 90 mm.
In the central part of the star is placed the insignia of the order, the same as the one described earlier. On the reverse side of the star there is one wide fastening pin and two hook-shaped catches.
The Order of the Yugoslav Crown was made in the Swiss workshop of the Huguenin Brothers and the mint of Fran Sorlini in Varaždin. Between these orders, there are some minor differences in details.
Image gallery
Author: Zlatko Viščević
Photos: Coins, Banknotes & Militaria Store [www.cbm-store.com]; Wikipedia [www.wikipedia.org]
