Yugoslavia Order of National Merit (Orden Zasluge za Narod), III class

Order of National Merit (Orden Zasluge za Narod), III class, screwback, numbered 41050, by IKOM of Zagreb Circular silver and silver-gilt rayed order; the face with a five-pointed silver-gilt star with long and short doubly bifurcated radiant rays between the arms, the full length silver figure of a soldier centrally, a rifle over his right shoulder, a standard in his left hand; the reverse plain, marked 'III' and with maker's mark and silver hallmark, numbered 41050 with backplate marked 'IKOM ZAGREB'. The Order of National Merit was instituted on 12 June 1945 in three classes by the A.V.N.O.J. (Antifašistièko Vijeæe Narodnog Osloboðenja Jugoslavije = Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia), de facto government of Yugoslavia at the end of World War II, to be awarded to those who distinguished themselves in the struggle for liberation and for merit in securing and organising the Yugoslav government and army. A decree of 1955 extended its award for achievement in the economic, cultural and social spheres. A very good, early example. Purchased in Sarajevo 1997