China, Republic, Order of Merit, First Class breast badge, 56mm x 54mm, silver and enamel, with ‘normal’ width script at centre, minor enamel damage to tip of one arm, very fine, scarce £300-£400

The Order of Merit of the Chinese Republic comes in two versions, with the script in the central medallion either ‘normal’ width size or, as more commonly encountered, elongated in width so as to fill the entire central medallion roundall.