Gordon Craig

I also mentioned in an earlier post the problems with the polystyrene coating on some of the medals coming off and if treated gently it could glued back into place. On the Aktivist der Socialistschen Arbeit that arrived had both pieces of polystyrene had come off. Here is a picture of the award without the polystyrene in place.

Gents, I said on my post on the Faschismus medal yesterday that I would show pictures of the award lot I received that this medal was part of so I will start with that first. I'd like to use this lot of awards to show some different case designs and the three main catches used on awards in the life of the DDR.

Zsolt covered the medal pretty well but I have a few more things to add. 1-The medal was founded in October of 1969 at the VIIth Congress of the Hungarian National Peace Council. 2-Those presented with this award were given a one time cash payment of 2000 Fts. The Hungarian National Peace Council would have represented Hungary at the meetings of the World Peace Council. This organization was formed in 1949 in order to promote peaceful coexistance and nuclear disarmament. From the start it was alleged to be a front organization of Communist parties due to its advocacy of unilateral disarmament in western countries and the active participation and funding of the Council by the Soviet bloc. The WPC admitted in 1989 that 90% of its funding came from the Soviet Union. By 1971 the WPC consisted of members from 104 countries with approximately 600 delegates. The covert support of the Council by the Soviet and Communist Bloc was matched by the covert operations directed against it by the CIA and other Western Agencies. I think we can safely say that these medals probably continued to be awarded in Hungary until the change of regime in 1989. By this time, the Soviet Union was on the brink of collapse and the WPC went with it. I do not have the date of the founding of the Hungarian National Peace Council but for arguments sake we could say it came into existance the same year as the WPC-1949. Since the medal was founded in October of 1969 and was to be awarded annually on the 9th of May the first year of the award would have been 1970. The number of medals to be warded each year was to have been between 120 and 200. To make a rough estimate of the number awarded over the life of the medal lets say that an average of 160 would have been awarded each year. I have arbitrarily decided that 1997 would probabaly be last year it could have been awarded. This means 160x27=4320 as a probable number awarded. Regards, Gordon

Charles, Interesting stuff. Makes me feel better about buying the unnumbered badge last weekend. Makes them much more plausible. Be nice to see a cased set. Looking forward to more info on the badges and the association. Regards, Gordon

A close up of the back of the medal.

A closer view of the front of the medal.

Gents, Some weeks ago I put in a bid on a groups of DDR medals because the reserve bid price was low. I didn't bother looking at this auction again. When I received a notice that a parcel was at the post office I had not idea what it was and was surprised that when I opened the box it was this group I had bid on. Most of the medals were ones I already but the Faschismus looked interesting. I was surprised to see that all of the medals were cased because the was no mention of cases in the listing. I was especially interested in the case of the Faschismus. It was a very early wooden case with a brass latch. When I examined it I suspected that it was one of the first issue medals. Measuring the bandspange proved it. These medals were authorized on 22.02.1958. The first issue medals were bronze and silver plated. They had a 28mm bandspange and this one measured 28mm and was silver plated. My forgotten bid certainly paid off. Here are some photos.

Zsolt, Thanks for the pictures of the back of the suspensions bar. I can see the mark now where the original loop was on my suspension bar. It was very faint and obviouslt not soldered into place as well as the one you pictured. So I have a "personalized" piece which to me is just as interesting as a completely original one. The original owner could not have soldered the loose piece back into place without damaging the enamel on the front so what he/she did was probably for the best. Regards, Gordon

coinguy89, Thanks for the additional pictures. Especially of the time in service stripes on the lower left sleeve. One of the common problems with buying DDR tunics is having previous owners "adding" items. This is often done with Time in Service stripes. I have rarely seen these tunic where these stripes are original to the tunic. One way to check this is to see if they are sewn through the lining. As a general rule, they should not be sewn through the lining if they were applied correctly. I say general rule because we can never be 100% sure of anything in collecting unless we wore the uniform in service ourselves. The Time in Service stripes were implimented in 1965 and discontinued a few years later but I can not remember exactly when. Perhaps someone else can fill in that info. Regards, Gordon

Zsolt, Anything is possible. Would you send me a picture of the back of the blue suspension piece please. If the loop that attaches to the medal is glued onto the suspension piece that would make sense. Regards, Gordon

Zsolt, Thanks for the great info. I'll read up on it in the blue book. Great photos. I was aware of the medal with the blue suspension piece but I had never seen one with the ribbon until I bought one. Are the two different suspensions mentioned in the book and the time period each was used? If not, do you know anything about the two different suspensions? Regards, Gordon

Ulsterman, Thanks for the post. Regards, Gordon

We have answered USAIRFORCES question about price yet? ebay price would probable cost you about $30.00. Anyone else have any other ideas? Regards, Gordon

This one could be what it says it is but I am not familiar with this era so can not say for sure. It is listed as "Order of the Foederatio Emericana, Commanders Cross" - 1921-46. Anyone familiar with this organization? Regards, Gordon

Here are some more "unusual" pieces from the same vendor. The first one is supposed to a Knights Cross Commander Neck Order. Still, a nice order even if they got it wrong.

Alfred, Thanks for your comments. I am familiar with Meissen, more for their very collectable WWII items than anything else, and I was aware of their high prices. I'll have to see if I can compare some of the current Meissen prices, as you supplied, this piece and some of the Third Reich Meissen stuff. I don't know if I brought my Third Reich Meissen catalogue with me or not but it should make an interesting comparison project. Maybe the price for this piece, even with the damage, wasn't too far off the mark after all! Regards, Gordon

Charles, Exactly my thoughts as well. Didn't want to prejudice the answers though. I'll look for one the next time I am at Balaton provided I am focusing on the right thing. Regards, Gordon

Grant, No to the price. It didn't sell and didn't appear in the next auction. Who really knows what things like this are worth? Regards, Gordon

Richard S, It figures you would have a copy of that book. Can not be many of us who do. Charles and I refer to this book as "The Blue Bible". Regards, Gordon

You will note that there is some enamle damage around the bottom on the vase. This would detract from the overall value of any piece but probably not a lot from this specific one because I doubt that there were many made since I have only seen this one. Regards, Gordon

#6, the makers mark

#5,

#4,

#3,

#2