Gaffken

Ed, Great thread; thanks for posting. I have a silver-level badge myself, and seem to recall there being a third (maybe bronze?) class, but don't seem to have saved a scan, nor have one in my possession. What little I do know of the awards is that they appeared after the first war ('94-96), and were likely issued up into the second ('99 to present) by the nationalist faction that touched off the first war under Dudayev & Maskadov, rather than the foreign islamic extremists that dominated the second (hence the picture of nationalist Shamil in the center). I've never seen any other Chechen decorations except for these, though there's quite a prolific set of patches out there, as I understand. If anyone out there would happen to have a photo of these awards being worn, that would be gangbusters Gaffken

Sorry for not being able to post better pics--both me and my camera are limited in capability... Reverse: [attachmentid=60437] Rose & enamel: [attachmentid=60438]

Gents, I was away for a long weekend, so my apologies for a late addition; I believe I've posted this one before, so it will probably look familiar to some already, but below is my sole contribution to the thread (Steckkreuz of the Leopold Order with Crown): [attachmentid=60241] WC: as usual, Beautiful enamel! Gaffken

Dan, I've built the Tauro model that David mentions--it's an excellent kit, about 10 inches long, with a complete interior also. Great detail for the era in which the model was introduced (early 1990s), so I highly recommend it. I purchased it from Squadron Mail Order (squadron.com) in Texas. Gaffken

Jason--ditto on Douglas's comments...many thanks for sharing the pics, nearly all of which I hadn't seen before! Looks like there's still much to be uncovered out there on the A7Vs. Gaffken.

Well, I could never match Eitze's stellar collection, but I'll offer up my sole Waldeck award (a buck short and about 6 mos. late, as usual). The Verdiesntkreuz 2.Kl mit Schwertern: [attachmentid=56359]

Would anyone have pics of the old Aberdeen A7V? I never knew they [once] had one until it was mentioned in this thread. And on a similar note, does anyone know if others might have survived the war in addition to these two examples?

Actually, I think I recall reading somewhere that the Munster replica was actually based off of dimensions gathered from the captured Mephisto, currently interned Down Under...

Wild Card, I'm continually amazed by your rarities...granted, it has no enamel, but I'm still continually amazed. Yet, surely with such a low number awarded, this one's probably attributable? Best, Gaffken

Hi Dan, Great scans and thanks for following up--I was really curious to see what the third medal was from the earlier round of photos. So, here's what I deciphered; they're all service and/or campaign medals, so they read (in the order that you posted them): 'For service in Tajikistan' (think we already knew this one) 'For service on the border' (this is the one we couldn't make out before) 'For service in the Caucasus' So...my initial hunch was wrong on that second one, and it's not for service in a particular region. Not all sectors or border districts have their own campaign medals, so I'm pretty sure that the second medal is a semi-generic one for service in one of the other, 'quieter' districts like the Far East, Pacific or Northwest. In that regard, I did find it interesting that the second one had no swords (unlike the other two), and a wreath device instead, so I guess that would also tend to backup my 'quiet sector' service hunch. Either way--great trio! I can't imagine that there are too many more you're missing (if at all!) Gaffken

Hi guys--can anyone tell me what this is? Link to unknown cross Many thanks, Gaffken

No one's familiar with this award then? I'm surprised... I managed to salvage a scan off of the eBay site before the images disappeared, so let me know if this helps... [attachmentid=49622]

Dan, et al, I have some very extensive, but niche experience with the Border Troops, so just a couple of comments on those medals, in case anyone is interested... --the Chechnya medal is actually one for service in the entire Caucasus region (ie, 'Kavkaz'), and not necessarily just Chechnya. The Border Troops guard the entire southern Russian border that includes that stretching from the Black Sea to the Caspian (incl. the Chechen portion), so it could really be for service along any point on that long perimeter. Technically, there are Russian Border Troops stationed in Armenia also, so this could be for service there, too, since those forces are technically a component of the larger grouping of Border Troops in the Caucasus. --don't discount the forces in Tajikistan too quickly; true, they just pulled out, but were there for 70+ years, stretching back to Revolutionary times, guarding the southernmost reaches of the empire. In the post-Soviet era, the Group of Russian Border Troops in Tajikistan was considered one of the most elite units in the entire 200,000 strong force, and the largest stationed outside of Russia proper (divisional strength--12,000 men). It was a rare all volunteer unit within a primarily conscripted service, so it was consistently judged more capable than most other BT units, and consistently won some of the service's highest awards. It was also the southernmost 'speed bump' to the Taliban in Russia, so service there was nothing to be scoffed at. Dan: if you can get a better scan of the inscription on that 3rd medal, I can probably tell you a little about that respective medal's region, too. (looks almost like 'Kyrgyzstan' or possibly 'Kaliningrad', but is just too blurry for my to make out...) Hope this helps....

Amazing grouping and provenance, George! Any idea of what became of his Imperial badge?

Hi-- I recently saw something to this affect posted on eBay recently, described as being attributed to Adm. Kolchak's forces. Would anyone have any further details or scans of it? The cross was a beautiful translucent green design, and I think I would have almost gone for it if I simply had more knowledge of it... Many thanks!

Thanks Rick! Sage info, as always...

Well, as my first post to this forum, I'll throw out a (semi?) tough one: if the swords and oaks to these awards were unofficial, what exactly did they represent, and/or what were they attributed to/awarded for? Additional quartiles of service? (ie, 6 mos, 9 mos, etc?) Everything else aside, that's one impressive set of Adlers you guys have! Many thanks, Gaffken