Gerd Becker

Well, no i am relieved, thanks, Ed. These came from a honest ebay-dealer and i paid a lot of money for them, so they must be real.

Yes, exactly and this discussion now really got me worried about these from my collection. Do you think, they are fake?

Great discussion unfortunately i don?t have anything to add.

Thanks guys. David, yes, there is more than enough space for the Medals. You can easily put even wider things in it like a dagger or similar... The Model is RIBBA and you get them in three colors and several different sizes. So there are enough options either for a single Medal or a complete group and anything in between. Here is another one, a little smaller, perfect for a small group of two or three Medals or Orders. This is the smallest, if i remember correctly, its 20x15 cm. The first one shown is 50x40 cm. all the best, Gerd

You?re welcome. There are two different variations of the Veteran of Labor Medals. One is a bit darker toned. I don?t remember, what was the particular difference, but i hope, another member will help us out here. Btw, this is the way, i display my Medals. These are simple picture frames. Like the others the background is covered with silk, but in this case the Medal, the ribbonbar and the document are pressed against the glass, which keeps them in place. If i have, i like to include a ribbonbar. Btw, another member here (Michael Riley) has another great way to display Medals, maybe he likes to post a picture. Gerd

and last for now is a smaller group. This and the first frame are IKEA-frames, but i don?t remember the name, but if anyone is interested, i?ll find out. I attach some silk on the background, drill holes in the pressed-wood backplate, if necessary and attach the Orders with suspension on the silk-layer and the screwbacks through the holes. Works great and looks good imo. Hope, you enjoyed. Gerd

This is a display with my single wartime Orders of the Great Patriotic War and Orders of the Red Star. Most of them are researched and you can find them in the Researched-Awards-Section. I often change this display, as its very easy to handle. You can see it on the background, which i have to reattach soon.

I never clean any medals and i recommend to avoid it, if possible. Some Medals have a small coat-layer, which will be removed, when you polish the Medals. Here is an example for a display. Its a group of mine with an Order of the October Revolution, an Order of the Red Star, a 1985 issue Order of the Great Patriotic War 1st class and some Medals. I mounted them like follows: 1st row: Orders 2nd row: Military Merit Medals, Victory over Germany, Campaign-Medals 3rd row: Victory Jubilee Medals 4th row: Armed Forces Jubilee Medals If i have a photo (like in this case), i?ll add a print of it somewhere in the display. These are behind glass and i avoid to hang them in direct sunlight, as the ribbons will bleach out with too much UV-radiation.

Tom, i wouldn?t worry yet, i still believe, your badge is fine. The second badge, you have posted, is the 50 years Anniversary badge of the Liberation of the Ukraine. Its not soviet era anymore, so no hammer&sickle. best, Gerd

I forgot, i am not aware of any fakes of the Engineering Institue badge, you show. Why do you think, yours is a fake? Can you post a picture?

Tom, many of the Soviet Medals are still affordable, some of the orders too. For a start, take a look on these websites: http://www.mondvor.narod.ru/ (its slow and in russian, but a lot of pictures and understandable also to a non-russian speaker) http://www.soviet-awards.com/ (Artur Bates did a great job in giving a good overview of soviet Orders and Medals) If your budget is limited, i would recommend to get the series of Victory Medals and the Anniversary Medals of the Armed Forces, for example, as well the cheaper ones of the Campaign-Medals like Leningrad, Berlin, and so on... Of course the Victory over Germany and Victory over Japan Medals too. Later orders of the Red Star are also still not too expensive, they start around 30 Dollar. Orders of the Red Banner start at about 125 Dollar now. These are just a few examples, but i am sure, you will find more, if you look around. I can recommend these two dealers for soviet awards: http://pweb.netcom.com/~merezhko/militaria.html (Alexei Merezhko, very friendly, great stuff for sale) http://collectrussia.com/ (also a very good dealer, although a bit pricy) Hope, i could help you. all the best, Gerd

Hello Torsten and welcome

Hi Tom, welcome to the forum. Seems like a lot of younger collectors get interested in soviet awards lately, great! Before i answer your question, i would like to ask a question: Are you only collecting soviet Medals only or do you want to collect the orders too? Thats a nice start, you have. all the best, Gerd

Thats a nice original. I would buy it in a minute. Gerd

Saxon Friedrich August Medal, Silver?

A little small, but here you go...

I agree, they definately look better in my collection. Still don?t have enough Hungarian Medals to do a decent display and i will need advice and sources soon. I?ll talk to you about this, as soon as i can afford it. Just got a fat research-bill, which means, no purchases the next months

Very nice, Paul. I definately need to get one with an Order of the Red Banner, as its my favourite order. If you have more to share, please go ahead. Thanks Gerd

Jim no problem, as long as i like them As far as i know, the 25 years Victory in GPW was an official Medal. I have also two groups with it and i have seen hundreds of photos, where this badge was proudly worn. I guess, the veterans just saw it like the other Jubilee Medals. Gerd

Great Collection What are these items? Especially the cross circled in on the right:

The wings form a "VW" so i assume, it has maybe something to do with Volkswagen? "Betriebs-Sport-Abteilung" means Company-sports-department, but the "Leichtmetall" (light metal) doesn?t make sense in this connection, although its not impossible, that VW had a seperate branch or factory for light metal in my opinion. I am curious, what other german speaking members think. Nice one, Robert. best, Gerd

Nice Medalbar, Don. I allways liked the combination Bavarian MMO and Austrian MVO

Thank you, Antti

Thanks, OoV. Well, i only realized it today, that the Medal(badge) for 25 years Victory was sometimes worn on the ribbonbar. Gerd

and the last one for now is a Medal for 250 years Leningrad with Document to a woman.