Miniature silvered bronze Maltese cross with stippled arms, with crossed swords between the arms, on scroll and loop suspension; the face with a circular central medallion bearing the crowned Bulgarian lion rampant within a ring inscribed ‘?? ?????????’ (for Bravery) and dated ‘1912’; the reverse plain; diameter 17.74mm (0.7 inch); on original wartime ribbon. The Order for Bravery was instituted on 1 January 1880 (although the date of its foundation was 29 April 1879) for those who had distinguished themselves in the War of Liberation (1877-1878) and to encourage future acts of bravery in the face of the enemy. The Soldiers’ Crosses were for other ranks. Professor Petko Pavlov points out (Bulgarian Orders and Medals, Sofia, 2002, p.12) that full-size insignia were supplied with corresponding miniatures for everyday use but that the inscriptions on the two do not always correspond and that the date ‘1912’ appears often on miniatures but never on full-size insignia. He also states that, but for some rare exceptions, all miniatures are uniface, as in this example
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