Austria, Empire. An Imperial Order Of The Iron Crown, Iii Class Knight, C. 1830

(Orden der Eisernen Krone). Instituted on 7 April 1815 by Emperor Franz I. Type I (1816-1838). In silver, an early decoration presenting a double headed eagle sharing a single large crown with a sword and orb clutched in the talons, above a yellow, red and green enamelled Lombardy crown, with an internal iron ring, the obverse presents a blue enamelled shield inscribed F., the reverse shield bears the year 1815, measures 24.4mm (w) x 46.2mm (h), weighs 12.5 grams (including ribbon), worn on a correct replacement ribbon sewn around the ring, light enamel wear to crown, dark patina on silver, a very early and scarce decoration, in near extremely fine condition.

Footnote: The Order of the Iron Crown was originally established by Napoleon I on June 5, 1805, just a few days after his coronation as the King of Italy. This order was awarded for services to the crown in military, administration, arts and literature. The Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom joined the Austrian Empire in 1814 and was under control of the Emperor of Austria. The Napoleonic order of the Iron Crown became the Austrian ‘imperial’ dynastic order. The first induction ceremony occurred on February 12, 1816. Members of the ‘old’ Napoleonic order were allowed to hand in their decoration and receive a ‘replacement’ order of the equivalent class. These Type I decorations were also called “de Remplacement.” There were very few differences between the replacement decorations and the new order. One was the either lack of or grainy quality of the blue enamel in the central shield and another was that the embroidered star of the Grand Cross was altered to omit the medallion’s device and instead held a laurel wreath. No privileges were associated with this replacement order until 1823 when economic difficulties inspired the Emperor to grant a pension to the remaining knights of the old order.