Paraguay, Republic. A National Order Of Merit, Grand Cross, C.1960

Type III (post 1956) . In silver gilt with off-white (beige), blue and green enamels, unmarked, the arms having been re-enamelled, measuring 62 mm (w) x 97.5 mm (h) inclusive of its wreath and ball suspension, chipping evident in the off-white (beige) enamels on the obverse of the star point at 3 o'clock and the reverse star point at 9 o'clock, scattering chipping in the green enamels on both wreaths on both sides, very fine.

Footnote: The National Order of Merit was established on April 8, 1865 by Marshal Francisco Solano López (July 24, 1827 - March 1, 1870) who succeeded his father as president of Paraguay in 1862 and held the office until his death in combat in 1870. He is remembered above all for bringing upon Paraguay the catastrophic war against the Triple Alliance of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay but his reputation has recovered in recent years, driven by nationalist sentiment. Originally the Order was for military only but it was revised in 1939 and is nowParaguay’s highest order for military and civil merit. Type III version of the order was established on September 7, 1956.