"Plaque de Grand Aigle", Legion d'Hoonneur, silverplated metal - 85 X 85 mm

It is the most prestigious of military decorations, but it is also a civilian decoration!
This Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor was worn by marshals in particular.
The Emperor wore it on his uniform, along with a metal Knight's Cross, which he sometimes awarded on the battlefield to the most deserving soldiers.
The all-metal cross made a late appearance during the First Empire; the embroidered cross was generally used.
During the Second Empire, the embroidered cross disappeared and was definitively replaced by the metal one.
This is the type that you can see on the breast of Napoleon III.

Silver plated metal.
Size 85 mm.
The Order of the Legion of Honor was instituted on July 11, 1804. The first awards took place during a grandiose ceremony in the Chapel of the Invalides, then on August 16, 1804, at the Boulogne camp. Among the first recipients was a certain Coignet, who left us with irreplaceable memories.
The Legion of Honor survived the Empire and continues to be awarded today. The eagle and the profile of the Emperor have been replaced by the lily, the profile of Henry IV, Marianne, and the tricolor flags.
Its major innovation was that it could be awarded to both civilians and military personnel, without distinction of social rank, whereas certain decorations under the ancien régime could only be awarded to nobles, and Christians at that, in most cases.