JimZ

Wow.. As Ed says - RESEARCH this one. And if the research supports the order, then its a keeper! Very impressive. No - VERY VERY IMPRESSIVE if the research comes back with the name of Col. Sexton

Dear Lilo, It is simply a combination of the fact that the Bersaglieri tend to trot/jog rather than march coupled with an older saying frequently applied by the allies to the Italians in WW2 - "Coraggio Fuggiamo". There was no more to the comment than some light humour intent based on the above two points and no offence was meant . I hope that this clarifies. I have no intention of entering into the argument of Italian courage during the war - Like many others, such an exercise would be futile and I prefer to let history be the judge. Regards, Jim

Translated the obverse reads: "Union of Workers Umberto I - Naples" Reverse reads: "Always forward (stright ahead) Savoy" and below it: " To member Giuseppe Opalka" Cannot add much more to that!

Not so sure about stitching ribbons or mounting medals. That is an issue that other "obsessive/compulisve anal retentive" collectors may find objection to for other very obvious reasons. My observation is that the stitching does indeed damage ribbons as once stitches are removed, the natural line of the silk moire threads is usually damaged and retains holes where the needle pierced the ribbon. Its therefore a definite No No! to anything with an original ribbon. Cotton gloves are great for handling medals. Perhaps easier to simply wear such gloves when handling the medal than mounting them. After all, how often do you actually handle the medals once on display? And if rarely is the answer, how effective is the 'court mounting process' vs the cotton glove solution? Regards Jim

Always good to point these things out. Thanks Milan. Jim

$179 + frieght for an obsolete book can be considered expensive!! Yes - obsolete because it has been OUTDATED by later "comprehensive" and very lovely Russian publications. On the plus side though it is still good reading and is still informative. But buy it only if you are starting out and want basic general information. Its just obsolete as a real useful collecting tool and will anyways need to be supported by other publications. Iit worth having in your library? - YES!! Just maybe not at that price!

Between rising ODM prices and Putin's medal watchdogs they've come close to killing our hobby! What will be next....? :speechless1:

Ha ha - estimates.... Some of those prices are from three years back.... That's all they are.... estimates.... alas. Jim

Marc, it was more of a rhetorical question when I said that the mind boggles.... ...it is indeed rather clear that given the award's number, and the dates of award and death of hero 4107, that this would not, could not be his wearer's copy. A rather simple case of buying the medal and not the story. Of course its ok here as no major money seems to have changed hands..... Right? Jim :cheers:

Dear Kay, I have deleted the link as it does not seem to allow viewing and requires members to sign up to another unrelated forum. Moreover, the page itself seemed to be full of commercial listings. Should you want to portray the image in question I would suggect that you upload it onto this forum after having ensured that there is no breach of any copyright. Regards, Jim

Abit more clear now! Well done ..... Gentlemen... your comments.....

Interesting indeed - but as Rick asked - how does a 'wearer's copy' get so worn down in so little time as award and death dates are not so far away! The mind boggles......... Jim

Christian, Stop being so defensive if you want to have proper discussion with fellow collectors - just submit a proper clear focussed shot of the reverse. At the moment your arguments seem too petulent and are hardly conducive to a serious dicussion between collectors. Keeping an open mind is what helps people move on in collecting, and when needs be, learning from others who at times may know better. If you do want real constructive feedback then please try to listen to what other collectors are trying to point out or ask for instead of trying to convince them of your arguments when you have not even posted the most important picture of the reverse! Regards, Jim

10.10.44 is the date he "perished" as I can see it..... Some confusion here? Jim

Because I like you Ed..... http://ilpilot.narod.ru/man/hsu_r/l/nikulin_de.html But regretfully the story does not seem to add up as ... Order was awarded 19.8.1944 But he passed away 10.10.44 So....? Jim

I should not pass ask this until Ed somehow manages to confirm the dates as I do not want to throw any doubts or strange conspiracy theories ... ...But I find myself asking ... ... what, if any, was the likelihood of a case of "Stolen Valour" in the USSR?... and what was the punishment for that? Looking forward to how this HSU story will develop... Jim

Around 1 year ago the range for the foreigners V3 was USD1200-1500. Today I have not got a clue! Good indeed to see that Ed has one in his collection. I always stayed away from that medal even when it was at circa USD500-600 when I first came across it! I just could never get myself to pay that much for an undocumented and unresearchable medal when I could get say, a Glory 2 at much less (at the time!!) Regards Jim :cheers:

Please note that pins and staples rust over time and stain the ribbons. That's an old lesson I learnt long long ago! Jim :regards:

Gentlemen..... .... a word of caution not to overstep the bounds of decency which I think we are fast approaching .... Jim

I kept scrolling down almost thinking to myself - NO WAY THAT THIS IS A MODEL! BRAVO INDEED!!! Jim

Lovely and very VERY interesting groups on this thread Ed! Jim :cheers:

Same old... same old!!! Be astonished when the prices go down not up! Till then rising prices are the nature of the game - and regrettably no amount of attempted rationalisation will bring the price down Jim

"Coraggio fuggiamo" .... and the Bersaglieri would do it at a trot! Badge looks rather shiny no? Got a close up pls?

Moved! I suggest that any threads concerning fakes or identification of medals are started in the fakes forum in so far as one is trying to establish or otherwise the veracity of any ODM. At best they will be moved out if the content deserves that. As Marc said, fakers have used their own initiative and are not waiting for us. However, I still believe that certain threads may serve to educate them in certain aspects so yes, a proetcted part of the forum is always better for these discussion. Best regards Jim

Is it a Spanish or a Brazilian order?