JimZ

Yep - Its almost the same thing that I had in mind when I mentioned jewelry boxes - Just that these would have a variety of fabrics etc which I would hope are mare of materials that do not damage the medals! My latest project has been to purchase a number of rectangular raised wooden frames for which I will probably commission an outer case! Each frame will lie horizontally and become a shelf.....covered in glass to seal the medals from contact with light, air and dust! But whether I do that or not will depend largely on the method of display I chose for them! The fact that I may be moving back to my home means that I may want to put them in a room where there is a fair bit of sun. If that happens, this way will be the best to preserve them - sadly there will be no display element but as always, its the lesser of the two evils any time! Jim

Very interesting! Thanks! Jim

If it cannot be seen I'd leave it alone as there is a chance that you cause some other damage or stains with water passing through the ribbon and showing on the front! The older the ribbon, the easier it is to damage it! Regards, Jim

Would help if you said something more about them I think most of us struggle with chinese! Looking forward to hearing what they are and what their stories may be especially that pretty silver cigarette case (?) Jim

Of course I ask that not knowing the format of the book! But mebbe some russian member having the book can enlighten us. That would be very very nice

Don't have that one! Any chance there is a table or something which can be scanned or duplicated and posted here for reference? Unless of course that breaches the copyright.... Or perhaps you could be so nice as to try to extract the information...somehow..... I guess I am pushing it Jim

Cool....what about other top "commander" awards?

Any chance you can post a pic red cross? Jim

Very nice! Jim

Aha!!! Someome please post Jim

Yep....and in that case the sword would actually have been longer than the soldier!! Sachaw, could you say soemthing more about that photo? I find it most intriguing! Jim

Good tip! Its something I should look out for as this never occurred to me! Its amazing how careful one must try to be as when one thinks he is doing the best for his medals, he may still be doing something very very wrong!! Jim

Very true indeed! It took 2 super powers to keep world peace, even at the time when they seemed to be at eachother's throat! Self preservation sometimes requires that!

If it isn't yet it will be soon!! Are you in the least bit surprised

When you consider, the historical aspect of the red army all the way from the civil war to the great patriotic war and through the cold war period, its about so much more than orders, medals and research! Think of the great loss of life, the devotion and dedication of men to their banners, to their motherland, to freedom from opression and to upholding the communist ideology, collecting orders and medals is not exactly one of the raisons d'etre for such a day! Especially when one considers the harsh reality that some red army veterans, who devoted their life to the red army only to be left with no other options but to sell their medals to put food on their plate..... I would hardly put that phrase together like that! Sorry to sound so sensitive - but some of the medals, apart from telling great stories of glory also tell very very sad stories! Jim

I found myself looking and admiting my orders as I often do! Still a sucker for their beauty!!! Of course with variations and classes side by side, I found myself asking a question I never really asked before (except for the Order of the Red Banner and HSU title!) Who are the the recipients of the highest number of multiple awards of the same order? In other words, who received say the most Lenins, OGPW's red stars etc etc and how many did he recieve? And of course, this extends to all those other orders where multiple awards of the same class of could be awarded. Anyone got the info from observed groups (museums, owned or researched)? Anyone got the pics of recipient or order group as well as the statistics? Jim

Is it heavy? Is it lead? Looking at it I'd go so far as to say that it was cast in some sort of plaster! Maybe a kid somewhere was preparing a scholl project about medals and his dad decided to take a plaster cast (or make a lead cast) of a few medals for the project! Just an idea anyways My dad always came up with bright ideas for my school projects when I was young ...... Jim

I cannot agree more about not cleaning medals! Polishing in my books = wear and tear! Jim

Why bother with the reverse for a film???

Had I seen it without the red star I'd have thought it was a French WW1 helmet! Confusing indeed! Do tell please! Jim

As far as I can see no major alarm bells going off here. My only question however concerns the obverse where I cannot make out if the darker areas on the silver are tarnished and worn or just scratched and revealing a non-silver base metal. I guess you can have a better idea of this hands on! Also if you have access to a black light you can also check if the enemal glows or not. It shouldn't!! Like the Borderguard medals on other threads, this is a widely faked medal and good quality copies exist. However, the ones I did come across in past seemed to always have a light red enamel (as opposed to a nice deep red one), small dot marks on the enamel, and less relief detail on the rays under the red star. Yet again.... these guys are getting better always. Anyone got more definite ideas on this one? Jim

Almost looks like the chap on the Donbass medal. Never imagined how good that representation of a miner really was! Jim

One of the prettiest IMHO!

From a young age, raised into the glory of the Soviet Red Army! Must admit they're cool! Jim

Ouch! Not a very encouraging fact!! Interesting though how gold keeps on being re-used and recyled. Makes me wonder if any of the gold ever used in the manufacture ever came from post war East Germany that was originally gathered during a darker period of German history! Just wondering of course - Not saying it did or it could have!!! Jim