Stogieman

This one is interesting... Second Class, Type 1... with an engraved number on the back!?

Had a little luck at the last local show. First Class, Type 1:

Can we see the cardstock too? Thanks!

"The one I can't resist...." Happens to me at least a dozen times a day.... Yes, a very, very rare medal.... but one that doesn't draw a lot of collector demand except for the specialist. (at least on this side of the pond). Generally speaking, my experience is that US collectors tend to value this type of medal much lower than a combat bar.... Germany however will be a very different story and the final price for this bar will be quite high, I am sure!

I think it's real. I think it's rare because of the Anhalt piece in last place. I think you probably just let a dozen other bidders know where this is

Hi Roman, best way to tell is size. What is height/width in mm.? Thanks!

... at the West Springfield, MA Gun & Militaria show today there was a well-known dealer from Connecticut displaying a rather large "collection" of Honored Employee Badges for sale..... Very high quality copy badges and documents. It was interesting as there was a NKVD, KGB, MVD and others.... each with a document. Every single document was the same universal "aged" brownish paper inside, same dull, brick-red covers, same printing/writing inside....... Now, I'm thinking the probability of that having happened way back when is pretty slim.... I fear for the novice collector. I'm sorry, no working camera with me.....

Hi Christer! Very nice document!

Hi Roman, is this a commander's cross? I cannot imagine this to be a copy as the detail is exquisite... but I have not seen that round Laurel leaf suspension loop before? (of course I have not seen a Commander's Cross before either!) Very beautiful and I will defer to a more-experienced member on authenticity... Wildcard!? out there??

My dearest Miguel.... please. you are NOT a thorn in anyone's side(s) at all ever... You will never be frowned upon for asking questions. It doesn't matter how long you have been collecting. The day any of us stop learning is the day we should stop collecting. There's always something new to discover, more knowledge to gain, more doors to open. I think you're feeling the frustration older members have when a newer collector makes mistakes. No one is perfect, we all make mistakes... I made one this morning at a show that cost me $50. My fault, not the seller's at all. Please, please, please...... NEVER stop asking questions! But for the sake of your own sanity (and maybe for your pocketbook too) ask many questions before you spend your hard-earned money. I have been doing this a very long time and guess what..... I always ask a fellow collector and/or friend their opinion. It is only when I am 101% positive of what I am doing that I buy.... doesn't happen all that often!! If anything... it's getting harder and harder as the fakers are working just as hard as us except they are working to steal and we are trying to learn how not to be stolen from. That doesn't mean people do not make honest mistakes... it happens. It's the resolution of the honest mistake that will demonstrate a fellow collector's character. Remember... none of us are perfect no matter how hard we try. But, some people here have more experience and many of us have lost thousands of dollars on bad pieces.... we just don't want to see someone else get hurt. (If I may be so bold as to speak for many of us?) Keep coming back, keep reading, keep learning. The only bad question........ ...... well, it will be the one you do not ask!

We will test reading skills when it arrives.... there seems to be much hand-writing on this one!

Interior of document!

Documented set for Excellent Artillery Badge. Better scans upon arrival!

And a 4X bar that has an interesting pair of orders in first place!

Here's a nice 7X bar with a Peoples' Liberty II and a Red Banner

Reverse:

Hoping that the Soviet model was followed completely.... this might actually be the ribbon bar of a General Officer!

Regulations with a nice image of the early coat of arms watermark!

Award/Date page:

Up close on his photo:

Photo Page, the glue is still tacky and is messing up his name a bit.

Here's an early document to what appears to be a Major named Todor Ivanov Stoikov. Document to Third Class Order in 1955.

The discoloration around the staples might be from when someone used a chemical wash to remove whatever was original to the book. The process is often called "washing", sometimes referred to as "scrubbing".... (they do it with checks you leave in your mailbox too BTW) Once they have removed the original writing, numbers whatever.... they fill in what they want!

All warm & fuzzy inside..... Yep! Meybauer! Yep! Gilded 800 silver! Yep! Some Yutz scuffed below the hinge to make sure there was silver underneath.... All warm & fuzzy nonetheless... This makes exactly TWO (2) gilded silver navy badges by Meybauer I have ever had the fortune to play with! I be most happy mon...

I have happy warm feelings tonight....