JimZ

Love the subs! With a passion!!! Jim

They're bound to turn up somewhere some day.... one can only hope that they do and that when (really if) they do, heads will roll. Till then this is a loss of such magnitude that one can hardly find words for. Jim

Things is if you polish you'll expose the surface which will react to the air and tarnish yet again. And polishing being abrasive in nature is why rick never heard of a polish that does not eat away at the material. Removing mud, soil and filth from a button is one thing - trying to restore its shine is another. Jim

Question Here I am in a photo taken of me when I was a soldier in the Imperial Army. From a young soldier boy I went on to great things and reached political and military rank. 1) Who am I? 2) Where and when was I born 3) What are my political and military achievements? 4) Name some of the orders that were conferred on me Enjoy! Jim

Guesswork does pay off indeed Dan With the person and the dates, all you needed to do was wiki Beria. And that is why at first I thought it was a much easier question than it turned out to be. Jim

Oh.. I was just speaking of various groups of medals belonging to an heir being sold off as GROUPS. If in anyway we are discussing an MBE which is part of a group of medals awarded to the same recipient, being split than this is indeed a massive NO NO!! I have seen (as well as many members) so much damage done to groups of medals being split for commercial profit alone especially with Russian and to a lesse extent, British groups that it is sad to even consider this. So much damage is indeed done to these relics of history of which we are indeed nothing more than guardians, and with which we have been entrusted for an odd number of years before passing them on to other guardians! Not my words of course but the thoughts of many other members of this club! Could this female pilot have only been awarded an MBE and nothing more? I somehow doubt it. Perhaps some researchers can help throw more light on this recepient and her decorations. Jim

Hi Dan, I did find several articles but none of them set out the date or reason for this present. Well after some thinking I said... why would some Polish workers give Stalin a present? He was either visiting them (in which case I could not suggest a date), or they were visiting him (somehow unlikely but still no clue of a date) OR, it was his birthday! The 70th Birthday seemed the only one I could suggest..... but its really and truly guess work. I'll come up with a question shortly. Question is.... on a scale of one to ten.... and I think my last one was a twelve , how tough do we want the questions to be? Jim

This was a telephone fashioned in the shape of a hammer and sickle telephone resting over a globe and given to Stalin as a gift from Polish workers. I have not found the year itself or the occassion for which it was given but until then I am going with 1949 as the year being the occasion of Stalin's 70th birthday! Regards Jim

Well done Christian! Like I said.... once you found the image it was not hard at all. It is unfortunate that people like Beria and Stalin (and many others) did what they did to Soviet Union in the form of the purges and the millions they eventually murdered but such is life under dictatorship and I guess our quiz sometimes touches on the less glorious characthers and incidents of the USSR. For those of you interested in finding out in more detail what this characther was all about do indeed check the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavrentiy_Beria. As for Ed's question - well I guess his links to NKVD and the subsequent purges would well merit the fact that the soviet version of big brother was watching. Then of course, Time wanted to sell and if it helped them sell, then why not. Regards, Jim

It is in the Southern European and Balkan States section now. Can you post reverse of orders too. Regards, Jim

RECAP LATER HINTS: ....our "eye" is associated with a person who is non russian by birth..... ...you must look West of the USSR to find where this eye was very prominently depicted... ...the eye (and the rest of the picture) and its heading was made 'public' 5 months before the official death of our mysterious person... ...look at the 1950's to try to find your answer... LAST HINT .... our person was a product of the Stalin era.... Remember.... its all questions or nothing so find that timeless image and you will inevitably find the key! Jim

I had a civilian MBE group which I sold last year as fuel for my Russian collection. If I remember it sold for approx $850 but a) its a mini group, b) its civilian and most importantly c) it was awarded to a Maltese man making it highly uncommon! On the other hand.... this is a military MBE awarded to a female pilot accompinied by all its docs, letters, cuttings etc. so its hard for me to say. I'd say similar levels would sound fair to me. Of course do listen to what other members may advise. My sale was over a year ago and if prices shifted..... As far as this particular MBE is concerned, tell your friend to keep and treasure his family's medals and not to sell any off. Of course, if he insists, then its a nice MBE to own if you're into British medals. But its a pity to see family groups and medals leave the relatives especially if the seller does so to buy something trivial. Regards, Jim

So another hint.... The eye (and the rest of the picture) and its heading was made 'public' 5 months before the official death of our mysterious person Look at the 1950's to try to find your answer Jim

No worries. The fact that the clerk responsible for filling in the form made a spelling mistake which he very crudely corrected does not help researchers so many years down the line! Like it was not hard enough already!!!! Jim

Name reads: "Demchin Baldan" That's what you wanted right? Jim

4 bravery medals does make you wonder..... Why?? Jim

Stay away from this one. Its a fairly common medal so your chance to get another one will come sooner than you think. What seems to be sloppy solder round the ring and what also seems to be lack of detailed relief is of some concern. Of course, when buying medals over the internet do ask for clear shots of the obverse, reverse, ring and suspension (front and back) so as to give it your best shot at assessing it. Always make sure that the seller has a returns policy as studying images and the medal itself is never the same thing! And feel free to ask as many questions as you need to the seller. His answers will sometimes tell you more about the medal than the pictures (and I am not referring to buying the story here!) Regards, Jim

For those of you who may be interested, Some of my OGPW1 and 2s live on: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=21230 Must admit there are some good quality pics there. Enjoy and (comments always welcome!) Jim

Myabe the next hints will comfirm your hunch.... or otherwise! Jim

And I'll also give another small hint (for now). You must look West of the USSR to find where this eye was very prominently depicted. Got more hints in mind but I'll wait some more. It only starts to get easier from this point onwards. Jim

Had a couple of nasty experiences myself with E-bayer's from China with Russian stuff in that after receiving payment, the medal was not forthcoming! Indeed I reported the sellers and did get a token refund in return. Of course I am not generalising as one cannot do that. But it does seem like a lot of fakes do come out of that part of the world. One of our fellow members who hails from the region has also shown us several medals asking whether they were rare when many a time, these turned out to be fake. Again not the general rule but something which occurs too often for comfort. And the English that comes with it all does not usually help much either!!!! And here I must stress that I speak about Soviet/Russian stuff! Let alone Ed's dream of a reference book for the real Chinese Mc Coy!! Jim

Ok.... I guess that you need some help. ....our "eye" is associated with a person who is non russian by birth..... Remember credit only for all four reply being correct. And a better hint next time round......! Jim

It will be great if we'll get to see some before and after pics in due course, particularly to show members what can and cannot be done with today's technology. Jim

So are your searches not churning up anything yet? Are you having fun? I realise this question was not as straightforward as I thought it would be..... good! (Is there no smug smiley) Should I start to drop small hints here and there? Jim (currently using the as opposed to the as it goes with the eye!)

Kudos......and a pint of guinness. To Danny!!! Jolly nice to see your offer. This is part of the stuff that makes GMIC a true gentleman's club! Well done! Jim