Paul L Murphy

I would view the breaking up of a group of documents in the same way that you view the breaking up of a gun. Once a document group is split it becomes practically impossible to reunite what was a discreet piece of history, and to tell the full story of the person behind the certificates. It is in some ways ok with somebody who is historically significant since their story is probably in the public domain, however if it is a group to a mid ranking officer it becomes impossible to fully piece together their career and history once items are selectively removed.

A Japanese citizen received both documents. Unfortunately you seldom see them together due to the nasty habit that Japanese dealers and collectors have of splitting up groups.

:banger: I can't believe I missed these ! Even at these prices they were an absolute bargain given who they were awarded to.

This is a nice 2nd class sports parachutist badge from the 1950s. And I have no idea what this is, it seems to be some sort of crew made badge rather than an official item. A dembel badge for a submariner perhaps ? I hope you enjoyed these. I will not say how much they all cost since you will want to fly over to London and stick pencils into my eyeballs out of jealousy ! :lol:

Moving to the military and police side of things, this was in the collection. The best suggestion I have had so far is that it is a privately made version of the M36 aviation graduate badge. All other suggestions are welcome. It is well made and appears to be silver. http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2009/post-1487-124941595809.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2009/post-1487-124941596728.jpg I have got very few Border Guard pieces but this is the latest addition to my small collection. It is for the 50th anniversary of the Border Guards. This next one is for service on the supply convoys however it is made from solid silver and is of far better quality than the usual veterans badges that one sees. Next up is a badge that I have wanted to get for a long time, the Khasan badge for the fighting against Japan near Khasan on the China Mongolia border. http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2009/post-1487-124941615576.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2009/post-1487-124941616672.jpg

This is one of the nicer Soviet Red Cross badges that I have seen. It is numbered on the reverse. Now for some of the nicest items in the collection. First up is a 3rd class State Prize Medal. http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2009/post-1487-124941566893.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2009/post-1487-124941567897.jpg Closely followed by a nice example of the last type of Soviet State Prize Medal, and from the high number it was one of th elast awarded as well. http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2009/post-1487-124941569041.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2009/post-1487-124941580563.jpg

More of the same ...... but different. Followed on by the badge that was brought out to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the death of Lenin. Not sure on exactly what the next one is but it relates to the oil and gas industry. Where would we be without a few Udarnik badges so here are two nice ones, a Stalin era piece and a more recent example. http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2009/post-1487-124941552334.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2009/post-1487-124941553952.jpg

Next up a selection of Excellent Workers & Winners in Socialst Competition badges. The numbered piece for the Merchant Fleet is particularly hard to find. http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2009/post-1487-124941519521.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2009/post-1487-124941520628.jpg

Now to aviation, I was able to get two versions of the 1 million KM safe flying badge. The first is from the 1930s and the second is from the 1960s. From one type of transport to another, this is for delegates to a congress of railway workers held in Moscow.

I was able to purchase a large collection of Soviet badges recently at a very good price. I am disposing of the stuff that does not fit into my collection on ebay and keeping all the really nice pieces. Here are some pics for your enjoyment of the really nice stuff. The cultural related pieces such as People's Artist of the USSR have already been posted in another thread. First up a nice badge for the 24th Congress of the Communist Party. I do like these, but not at the prices they seem to fetch normally these days ! Next up, the 25th Congress of the Communist Party. Next up is the badge given to VIPs invited to the Kremlin to attend the celebrations for the 50th Anniversary of the Revolution. http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2009/post-1487-124941471318.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2009/post-1487-124941472463.jpg Next up is a super rare badge. It is a membership badge from 1923-24 for a voluntary committee that assisted war invalids. http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2009/post-1487-124941474538.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2009/post-1487-124941475872.jpg

Excellent, now if only someone could tell me about the first badge ..... Still, as Meat Loaf used to sing "Two out of three aint bad" ....

Which would presumably make this 300th anniversary of the Home Front Armed Forces ?

The hallmark is a Russian silver hallmark so I am pretty sure it is Soviet. I agree that the pin assembly is not typical. This is of far better quality than most of the tinnies you see for the 100th aniv. so I am presuming it was an awarded piece rather than a commerically available badge. Hopefully someone out there can pin it down.

Hi Andreas, Many thanks, that is a great help. I have seen the same badge with a 15 in place of the 10 so that would make sense. Best regards, Paul

That is helpful, however any idea what V S stands for ? I am assuming it is the name of an institution that was founded in 1700 ?

And the reverse with maker marks and the Russian hallmark for 84 quality silver (875).

Here is a super badge I picked up recently. It is a 1912 badge for the Voluntary Committee for the Russian Fleet Military Aviation. Rather rare and very nicely made. Enjoy

Here are a few recent acquisitions that I have not been able to fully identify / translate. If anyone can assist I would be grateful. First up is a very nice badge to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Lenin's birth. Lots of such items were produced but this one is made from silver and even has Soviet hallmarks on the reverse. It is a very high quality piece so was obviously not handed out to all n sundry or purchased for a few kopeks. Does anyone know who was the issuing authority ? http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2009/post-1487-124913467736.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2009/post-1487-124913468509.jpg Next up is some type of merchant fleet anniversary badge but my basic (and very rusty) Russian cannot work out what it all means. If any cunning linguists out there could help I would appreciate it. And the last is a modern Russian badge for the 300th anniversary of Tuilu VS. Can anyone tell me what Tuilu VS means ? Could VS be short for War College ?? http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2009/post-1487-124913483593.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2009/post-1487-124913484815.jpg

And finally for today we have a badge for excellent cultural work with the Soviet Army.

Next we have a badge to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Azerbaijan Opera and Ballet Theatre in Baku. By all accounts this is a very scarce badge.

Its been a while since we added anythign to this thread so here are a few more items I recently acquired. First up is the badge of the People's Artist of the USSR. A very scarce and highly regarded title.

The second ribbon is for the Pakistan Republic Medal of 1956. This is a bar for someone who served with a British Indian Army unit in Burma and then moved across to the Pakistani Army upon their foundation.

The armband is what was worn by 1916 veterans before the medal was instituted in 1941. Can you show a photo of the reverse of the medals so we can see the numbering and naming. Numbered medals were either awards where the recipient had died before 1941 or else late applications from next of kin. Seeing the number might help determine which is the case here.

Basically a highly stylised way of writing Order of the Sacred Treasure. This is the 5th class award but it is no longer called 5th class. I think they call it something like silver and gold rays class.

Aluminium medals were also used post war, in fact I think they were introduced during the 1940s and not the 1930s. The addition of the bow to the ribbon is purely a personal "fantasy" adaption and in no way official or common practice.