Espagne - Médaille militaire - Médaille de mérite dAlphonse

Spain, 19th century, King Alphonse XII merit medal, first class, gold category, with the Bourbon royal crown of the King's Carabinieri Corps. Beautiful medal of merit with the Fernandino-Elizabethan coat of arms of Spain from around 1874, the time of the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy after the First Republic. It has a reclining lion at its feet and, at the sides, the columns of the empire with the inscription "Plus Ultra". Below "TO MERIT". Above, Bourbon royal crown. Ribbon with the Spanish flag, which must be later, a replacement. Made in die. Very good condition, see photos. The Carabineros crown with rays is jewelry with excellent quality. Mint. Cejalvo box is later. The Carabinieri Corps was an armed gendarmerie whose mission was to monitor coasts and borders, and to suppress tax fraud and smuggling. It was founded under the name of the Royal Corps of Coastal and Border Carabinieri by Royal Decree of Ferdinand VII on March 9, 1829, and after the Civil War, it was integrated into the Civil Guard in 1940. The motto of the Carabinieri was "Morality, loyalty, courage, and discipline," and its insignia was a sun rising with all its rays on the horizon (army military police security war battle uniform insignia emblem shield distinctive decoration gendarme surveillance).