VERY RARE Order of the Crown of Romania, commander (Ordinul Coroana României, commander), 1881-1932 Large silver and white-enamel-edged red enamel Maltese cross with the cipher ‘C’ (for King Carol I) between the arms, with eyelet for ribbon suspension between the upper arms, the face with a circular central red enamel medallion bearing the silver crown of Romania within a white enamel ring inscribed in gilt letters ‘PRIN NOI ÎN?INE’ (by ourselves) and dated ’14 MARTIE 1881’ (14 March 1881); the reverse with a circular central red enamel medallion bearing the date ‘10.MAIU’ (10 May) in gilt letters within a white enamel ring with the dates ‘1866’, ‘1877’ and ‘1881’. The Order was instituted on 10 May 1881 to be awarded for meritorious service to the newly-declared Romanian kingdom. The significance of the years is as follows: In April 1866 Carol I was asked to become Dominator of the Principality of Romania under Ottoman suzerainty and he arrived in Bucharest, welcomed by a huge crowd, on 10 May. The Romanian Principality declared its independence from Ottoman rule on 21 May 1877. Romania proclaimed itself a kingdom on 14 March 1881. The Order is increasingly hard to find, especially in senior ranks.