Paul L Murphy

The Legion of Honour is a 5th class knight (chevalier) insignia, not a 4th class officer badge. The chevalier is in silver, the officer is in gilt or gold and has a rosette on the ribbon. Regards, Paul

All that lovely shiny metal and enamel work has damaged what little eyesight I had left after my visit to the Central Army Museum in Moscow ! Yummy !

Here we are, closer photos of the badge itself, obverse and reverse. I have double checked my records and I did indeed buy this from Detlev in 2001. It is one of my favourite Imperial German items in my collection, has a certain amount of romance attached to it.

Ed, I have found myself far more willing to sit down with a dictionary and slave my way through some gramata translations rather than make a serious effort at understanding the accusative case. My teacher is not impressed but I think it is perfectly reasonable behaviour ! Paul

Actually, that might be Tuzob, I cannot decide whether it is a cyrillic B or V. God I hate handwriting in foreign languages !

Ed, They are to Captain Mikhail Ivanovitch Tuzov (and if that is 100% correct I will be very pleased with the progress of my Russian lessons even though I never do my homework !) Cheers, Paul

Any views on the present market value of the group ? I have it down for insurance purposes at about US$7,000 but that may be a bit out of date (but it is not going to be for sale any time in the forseeable future). Cheers, Paul

Let me see if I can get some more for you, basically I resized the pictures to fit the size limitations for the post. I will see if I can crop away the watch chain and resize only the badge. If my memory is correct I bought this from Detlev a few years ago.

[Though are you sure that the Red CRoss HAS come off, and that is not simply a flaw in the gilding on the top arm? 458 were awrded on that ribbon WITHOUT a Red Cross.] I was not aware that it could be awarded with this ribbon but without the Geneva Cross, what were the criteria for it ? It looks as if there is a patch of tarnising which I always put down to the cross having fallen of but it could be a gilding flaw as you say since it is not worn badly. The more I hear about this bar the more interesting it appears, it is a great pity it cannot be attributed to a specific individual but the information I have been provided already is definitely worth a few litres of vodka ! Best regards, Paul

An interesting Pilots Badge on a watch chain inscribed on the reverse "Meinem Walter im August 1918 Erika". I am presuming this relates to either a pilot who died in August 1918 or for whom some other major event happened. The quality of the badge is excellent. If any of the more specialised collectors out there have an idea I would love to hear it. Regards, Paul

It is not a chop, it is actually his hand signed autograph with a brush. High grade certificates are about the only document that he hand signs which make it into the public domain, and even then they are seldom available to collectors. So far I have been able to get three of the four emperors since the order system came into existence. The only one I am missing is the present emperor but I will bide my time and one will come up eventually (probably a Rising Sun to a foreign ambassador being the most likely on the market any time soon).

Next up, Order of the Rising Sun 1st Class. This is a Meiji period award and was given to the Mexican Minister Plenipotentiary at the start of the 20th Century.

Here is the Order of the Pillars of State 3rd Class. A scarce award since it was only awarded 260 times.

This is a group that has been in my collection for a few years (I purchased it in August 2000 at FJP). It comprises the following : - 1870 IRON CROSS 2ND CLASS WITH 25 YEAR OAKLEAF ON NON COMBATANT RIBBON; HOHENZOLLERN HOUSE ORDER KNIGHTS BADGE IN GILT; RED EAGLE ORDER 3RD CLASS WITH CROWN IN GILT; PRUSSIAN ORDER OF THE CROWN 3RD CLASS; PRUSSIAN ORDER OF THE CROWN 4TH CLASS ON GENEVA CROSS RIBBON (cross missing from order); 1870 WAR MEDAL FOR NON COMBATANTS; CENTENARY MEDAL; SAXONY ERNESTINE HOUSE ORDER KNIGHT FIRST CLASS IN GILT; SAXONY ALBERT ORDER JEWELER MADE KNIGHT SECOND CLASS; OLDENBURG HOUSE AND MERIT ORDER OF DUKE PETER FRIEDRICH LUDWIG KNIGHT SECOND CLASS WITH SILVER CROWN I am pretty sure that this should be researchable for the specialists among you and would really appreciate your help in putting a name to the bar. I assume he was a medical officer but beyond that I am clueless. I have added scans of the obverse and reverse. It is by far the nicest Imperial German piece that I have in my humble collection and any help that you can give would be appreciated. I can reciprocate with help on Japanese or Irish items (or beers and vodka if you are passing through Moscow !). Regards, Paul Murphy

Kevin, If you carry medals through customs and get caught you could have an unpleasant problem, same as in Russia. Badges and uniforms etc. should not be a problem. Ukraine, however, is well known here in Moscow as the source of many of the better repro Soviet decorations so there is a very high chance she will get ripped off. Cheers, Paul

Ed, Many thanks, I never noticed the entry in the Red Bible despite the fact that it should have been the most obvious place for me to look, duh ! I like the end note about "militant Japan", I'll see what happens if I use that line with my wife the next time I have a domestic argument ! Cheers, Paul

Hi Dan, I have been an avid collector of Legion insignia for almost 20 years now. A few books that I would recommend are as follows : - For the History of the Legion Legionnaire by Simon Murray (still a classic account of the Legion during the Algerian conflict) Life in the French Foreign Legion by Evan McGorman (strips away a lot of the BS about what it is like to serve in the Legion nowadays) The French Foreign Legion, A Complete History by Douglas Porsch (a good standard Legion history) Le Livre D'Or de la Legion Etrangere (A good idea of how the Legion sees itself and its history) Insignia etc. La Legion Etrangere et ses insignes, published by S&T in 1990 Le Grand Livre des Insignes de la Legion Etrangere by Tibor Szecsko If you want a good book on the French involvement in Indochina I would recommend Street Without Joy by Bernard Fall. For Dien Bien Phu, Fall's "Hell in a Very Small Place" is still unbeatable. Best regards, Paul

Ed, Same sentiments here. I am pretty hard nosed about begging after the accumulation of countries in which I have lived but something sticks in the throat when you see pensioners and veterans having to beg because their state has effectively thrown them to one side.

What were the requirements to qualify for a OGPW 1985 award ? Was it awarded to all veterans still alive, those who had been wounded, those who had a bravery award or some other criteria ? I would be grateful if someone could explain it to me. Paul

I was wandering past those exact same steps only three days ago. As usual there was an accumulation of die hard party members present. My Russian teacher is one of those who insists that it was all much better in the good old days. Sadly, for many people it was since Russia has gone through more than its fair share of trauma over the past 15 years.

Ed, I have been to the Museum of the GPW at Park Pobedi but I was disappointed with it. Many of the Soviet medal groups on display are obvious copies. I asked some Russian collector friends about this and they said that it is infamous for showing replica groups, they keep the originals in the vaults. While nice for security it is not good for the likes of you or me. When do you plan to visit Moscow again ? Regards, Paul

Oliver, It may have escaped your notice but this is an English language forum. I do not speak German but I have translated your comments using an online translator which yielded the following : - "In what for a dream world live does you? first one should times clarify whether it orginale from the time is, then one should that worth. Interesant how much people announce themselves at one time, although the contribution is from last year" Even taking into account the way in which the translator mangles things I find your comments offensive. I know enough about Foreign Legion material to know that these are from the Indochina time period, however without any documentation to link them to an individual the only scarce items are the 1 GA badge and the shoulder straps and diamond badges if they have numerals. The other items, while nice to look at, are common and easy to obtain. Hence my values are based on the individual values of the single items. I would be very interested to hear your views since you obviously disagree with mine. Regards, Paul

Chris Dixon of dixonsmedals.co.uk is also a very good source for anything to do with UK medals and awards.

Isonzo, Can you post a closeup photo of the three diamond badges and the shoulder straps. Basically I want to see if they have a number in the centre of the grenade, in which case they are very desirable indeed. Over 40% of the people who served in the Legion in the late 40's and early 50's were German. Most of these were not fleeing war criminals but were young men with no job prospects in a country with a destroyed economy. I have a number of interesting medal and document groups in my own collection to such former Legionnaires. I would agree with the previous comment that this should be kept together. The unit badges which he has are the 1st Regiment Etrangere de Cavalrie (oval shaped), the 2nd Regiment Etrangere de Cavalrie (round badge) and a badge for one of the Amphibious Groups of the 1 REC (the crab shaped badge). If the shoulder straps and the diamond shaped cloth badges have numerals in the grenade then this group is worth at least EUR350. If there are no numerals in the grenades it is worth about EUR300 or so. Best regards, Paul

Last one for today, the Order of the Pillars of State 2nd class from Manchuria. This was only awarded 97 times.