KING FERDINAND I OF BULGARIA. Domed silver with hammered decoration, round silver matrix engraved with the interlaced monogram of King Ferdinand (FF) surrounded by the collar of the Order of Merit of the House of Ernestine of Saxony under a royal crown. This was the monogram the king used on his letterhead. Attached is a L.A.S. from King Ferdinand featuring the monogram visible on the seal. Wear from use, but overall good condition. Marked: 800. H.: 9 cm - Diam.: 4 cm. Weight: 55 g. History: This seal was used by the King for half a century, from 1900 until his death in 1948. After his abdication from 1918 to 1948, it was the only seal he used, and was kept on his desk at Coburg Palace. It was subsequently acquired and presented by a private institution in Munich, the ZAM (Zentrum für Aussergewöhnliche Museen), and put up for sale in the early 2000s. The order of the House of Ernestine of Saxony on this seal was presented in 1879 by the Duke of Saxony, first as Prince of Saxony-Coburg-Gotha, then a few years later when he became Sovereign Prince of Bulgaria. Text: "My dear niece, still under the impression of my visit to the Augen-Clinck and the warm welcome of the nuns, I beg you to give the oberin the sum of 300 goldens marks in memory of my visit. I can't tell you enough how much our good talks did my heart good and how happy I was to see you again and especially to have been able to see the cure (...). I give this letter to your son, bidding you farewell with God's help, your most affectionate uncle."