The first model of the House Order of
Ernestine (1833-1864) always has the letter on the above
cross arm as a sign for the Duchy that awarded the order.
Haven't you always wondered how the letter "E" (Ernst,
Dutch of Coburg-Gotha), "F" (Friedrich, Dutch of
Altenburg), or "B" (Bernhard, Dutch of Meiningen) is
attached to the insignias of these 1st models - especially on original order decorations? Here is the answer.
Original pieces have little pipes integrated into the
enamel, as shown in the next picture. The letter has
two tinny wires attached on its back site, that are
stuck through the pipes.
You might not want to take these
orders apart to find out about this fact, but you can
still look at your piece from a certain angle to see if
the rim of the pipe is visible. If so, you got an
original. If not, well...
Below is a nice and exceedingly rare
commander set 1st class with swords:
