hunyadi

Kedvenc Peter! Can you give us a quick tutorial on how to do this in Photoshop!

All titles of "Vitez" were banned in 1946 (as I recall?) But if your family name was Vitez - they did not want to take that away from you! (Unless you were of German decent in 1946 - then you were deported or you made a new last name and forgot that papa every spoke German to you!) Hungarian names are very interesting and hold much of the flavor of the mideival period. Gone from the language are the "the" before the family name, but the flavor is still thre. The fist passport is Vitez Pal (Pal the Brave) others like my friend Rozsa Viktor (Victor the Rose) Farkas Tibi (Tibi the Wolf) Hegedus Janos (John the Violinist) etc....not all family names hold over the past, but there is a percentage.

Rick - that would be Vitez Vitez Palne! "Vitez" is "Brave" So the name would be more like 'The Wife of Pal the Brave' if we were back in the 16th centruy... (Palne is 'Wife of Pal') - Vitez as a title given by Horhty after 1922 and to the end of the war was more like the Queen knighting someone Or - Sir Brave, Pal... As for bicycles - there are several "pedestrian" crossings at many places. Not all car friendly. So that stamp tells the next borderguard guy "Wehre did you get the nice Trabant? As it seems you came walking out of the woods? Camrade???"

Yes the ribbons are all the same for all grades. Here is one of the better web sites (Hungarian - sorry) on the ODMs of the Royal Hungarian Armed Forces http://www.akm.externet.hu/rendjel/adatok/vitez.htm

Here is what the ribbon should look like - I dont have any extra ribbons as original ribbon is scarce! (this post should be in the WW2 Axis Forum...)

Adding to the lot #6066 (short days make for short times to photograph!). I was also going through my minis and found #2888. Interstingly enough the number for that is also stamped above the pin. By making a rough scientific guess - the 2000 range numbers were stamped above the pin. Perhaps we have another variant?

Have her call me before she gets out the petrol and the mathces!

M?vel?desi = Cultural Otthon= At home the lower one is probably the community (?) these were and are put on all governemnt buildings, educational centers, etc.... my rough guess is that it was put on a cultural center meant to make people 'fell right at home' but that is just a slightly educated guess...

Heck - even better yet it looks like one of the Hungarian Produced Reproductions!

Picked up this badge it has a picture of two people with a pik axe and a rifle moving towards a factory (?) all within an enameled red star. Below the figures is 'PAZ'. The badge is 30mm in diameter (star point to star point) The back has a spring latched horizontal pin. Here is a scan of the front. Any idea of nationality and what it is for??? Thanks!

Not a badge - but almost just as good - the carrying document for # 2448. Unfortunatly they did not publish in the book when it was issued - just that it 'was' issued!

Finaly found one in the 2000 range - introducing #2228!

Closer front and reverse shot of the item. I found the medal homeless - but at the last auction I managed to find an empty box with the Order of Labor insert!

Early Gold Class of the "16" Ray variety - it could be a variant from the 1950 Order of Labor or one of the 1953 issue. Either way its a rare one.

There is also an 'M' for Master (Mester)

Gordon - Going off of my poor memory, it did strike me that when translating the list was not top to bottom. But just what can go there. Later if I recal it said that the largest badge should go in the middle and the smaller badges should flank it. AS this one was bigger than most it would have in most circumstances gone right over the button. Sorry about the confusion as I only had a copy of that section...

Pg 215 of your "Kitunteteek es Jelvenyek Viselesenek Rendje" says that this should be worn above the right pocket.

I have a yellow pages for my district that used to come out. The last time I saw one was about three years ago. It was a private affair and even came with a map. But I think the company went under. Its a cultural thing - the communists didnt wnat phonebooks as they figured that people could use it to network against the government. Same reason that shoping malls were outlawed as well - didnt want people gathering in one place at one time when the old woman started complaining that the bread had run out. Even with the change of political ideals, a phonebook doesnt seem a necessity, "didnt have one before, why need one now?". Plus everyone went over to cell phones as MATAV the Hungarian telephone company held the monopoly over the lines. T-Com moved in and said 'fine you charge them this much, I will charge them less and my customers can call from anywhere' captialism at its best...Should have won T-Com an Innovator Medal

OK Joe - that dates you a bit when I recal the conversation with my grandfather who said his fathers first car was $400 and gas was about .20 cents a gallon! It was a conversation we had about the price of gas and the price of vehicles - gas has not kept up, so $3 a gallon is not unreasonable by that rational. But its supply and demand - just like EK's The market is guided by supply and demand - no doubt about it. I remember when the E-Stand on the WAF was flodded with EK2's 7 years ago - no one thought much of them - average price was about $35-50. Detlev's site even had a going 'buy the EK2 from the bag' - they were not mint, but good condition EKs that you didnt have much to complain about. Got a nice orange ribboned one that way! The EK1's were what everyone wanted and they hovered about $100-150. Eveyone was livid when the Russian horde came out and delaers wanted $300 for them? Think of what people are willing to pay for one of those $1000? Now the EK2's are at a trickle, still listed for sale here and there, but not like they were so the supply to the open market is down. This is not saying that the global supply is low - all those millions are in collectors hands, family hands or the ground. Also - with the advent of more and more WW2 movies that hit the box office, more and more people seem to want to 'touch the stone' and get a real part of that history. So demand keeps rising. Its an interesting phenomenon. Even looking at the 'Sky Mall' magazines on airplanes you can impulsivly buy 'widows mites' from the time of Christ. I remember on the WAF years and years ago when there was a thread about the hobby as an investment and the guy took his broker to a show. The broker was apparently dismal about the prospects becasue he only saw old and overweight guys mulling around. His concensious was that the hobby would be dead very soon as there was no 'new blood' at the show. What he failed to look at was the impact of the internet. (this was back in the mid 90's when EBay was just getting going.) If the rise of price maintains a consistency, then I told my wife the other day 'look at all those EK's - its the kids education right there!' At leas it may pay for a semester...

I wonder also if this particualr badge was awarded to a foreigner? Family name is certainly not Hungarian, but there have been long standing historical ties with Poland.

I too find it hard to fathom the jump in prices - It was less than a decade ago when I thought $35 for an EK2 was absurd... Regradless - the market seems to demand that a maker marked EK2 in good shape (not mint) will run you about $100 for the ones with frosting on the bead probably about $150. Frightfuly they will probably continue to rise in price about $10-20 in price each year.

I have no idea on the badge on what should have gone there - not aware of badges that had a vertical pin like that until the 1960's. Prongs were the way to go - however I do have some badges that were converted with solder and safety pins. Perhaps this may have been the case as the prongs could only be bent so manu times. As for the uniforms - the slip on shoulderboards went to those above the rank of Sgt and above - from what I know, corporal and privates had the sew on type - the guy in the photo on the far right is a corporal with 2 stripes on his shoulder board.

The Book is 'A Magyar Nephadsereg Jelvenyei 1945-1970' will PM you with details

The signals badge was introduced in the 1960's (from what the guy in the Signals Musuem told me) What does fit perfectly for the 25mm loops is the Excelent Platoon Badge, but also the Haditorna Badge (sports badge). The other one that could go on there is the "Excelent Quartermaster Badge" but the examoplke that I have has avery wide prong on the back. The circular wreath type badges for 'Excelent' have about a 32-35mm spacing for the prongs. I would lean towards this being a Haditorna Badge as the platoon type are rare.

Here is my 'Excelent Light Machinegun'