Vatican, City State. An Order Of Pope Pius Ix, Grand Cross Case, C.1885 Auction Archive and Defence Medal (unnamed)

and Defence Medal (unnamed)

suspended from a neatly folded period original lightly faded ribbon

in the centre of which sits a swastika surrounded by the inscription “Der Deutschen Mutter” (The German Mother) over stylized sun rays emanating from the background

The helmet itself exhibits a rough sandy texture and a dark green paint

of an unusual

Vatican, City State. An Order Of Pope Pius Ix, Grand Cross Case, C.1885 Auction Archive and Defence Medal (unnamed)(Ordo Pianus or Ordine Piano). Instituted in 1847. Hardshelled design on both the lid and base, wooden framed, with distinctive rounded corners, the exterior with a red leather covering on five sides, and a red pebbled paper bottom, the lid bearing the embossed Papal coat of arms of Pope Leo XIII (1878 1903) in the centre, the arms containing a pine tree within a large oval fronted by an arched band, a radiant star at the upper left, in addition to