Ferdinand

In my opinion they are all original.

Hi Gerd, 1. Private Pavel Nikandrovich Kotsyuba 2. Junior Sergeant Semyon Ilyich Radchenkov 3. Guards Senior Sergeant Ivan Petrovich Alekseyev 4. Guards Sergeant Aleksei Fyodorovich Derevyanko 5. Anatoly Alekseyevich Nikishkov 6. Anna Grigoryevna Yakimets 7. Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Kudryavtsev 8. Galina Konstantinovna Migal

I assume Marc referred to the five-digit OPW2 (12541?) in post #93. The reverse does look a bit suspicious... Could you post better photos?

He's a full Colonel, possibly of Signals. Nice photo!

They are a bit scarce, although definitely not rare. Right now I have 4 posthumous OPWs in my collection. I was able to locate the records for quite a large number of posthumous awards (see this topic). My guess is that thousands of OPWs were awarded posthumously (much more than any other award, for the obvious reason, as Volovonok stated, that before to 1977 most decorations had to be returned to the state once the recipient had died).

Here's a recent addition. It was awarded posthumously to infantry Captain Aleksei Dubrovin, days after he was killed in action east of Stalino, Ukraine, in September 1943. That warning turned out to be quite warranted Here's another one from my breeding ground, a beautiful Fisheye / Baby variation:

Here's another Red Star that was quite easy to link to the battle of Kursk. The citation was written on or shortly before July 22, 1943, just a few days after the 5th Guards Tank Army had fought in the famous battle of Prokhorovka.

Another aspect might be that most collectors simply don't care about these certificates. I own a few awards that came with a McDaniel certificate, and the only reason I don't throw the certificates in the garbage is that some future buyer might find them useful. As mentioned above, McDaniel has been known to make mistakes (I believe one of his completely erroneous conclusions about a Red Banner 6th award was illustrated in this very forum) and there are several flaws in the way he drew up his certificates. For the most part his information is either unclear, for example: "type 2" of a certain order - which one of the classifications in existence did he use? Or "this medal ranks in the top 95% for condition", as he decribed one of my HSU stars - what does this mean? Are 95 percent of all HSU stars out there in the same or in better condition? How is that useful information? And did he really examine all HSU stars in existence? Moreover, his analysis is way too subjective (how he describes damage) or only relevant at that specific point in time (again, damage, and in particular the amount of patina or gold plating remaining, which is subject to change over the years).

Alexei Merezhko does authentications: http://home.netcom.com/~merezhko/authentications.html It's true that fakes are getting better and better and even some of the simple campaign medals have been copied. Nowadays you either have to study the field of Soviet phaleristics exceptionally thoroughly to make an informed decision with regard to originality before venturing into eBay territory, or you have to decide not to bother with recognizing fakes at all and only buy from trusted dealers and fellow collectors. Once you have established a network of honest fellow collectors this is actually a pretty efficient way to build up a collection.

Yes, it's a release paper. в/пл = prisoner of war.

The photo shows Nikolai Kuznetsov, the CiC of the Soviet Navy during WW2. He was a full admiral by the time this uniform type was introduced, so it's definitely not his. I'd say the uniform is worth about $400-500.

Well, we don't live in the 90s anymore... Those prices aren't coming back

For some reason high starting bids tend to scare people off. I would be very surprised if your awards sold for less than your previous starting bids this time. That being said, the market has definitely taken a nosedive in the last 1.5 years. Basic late-war Red Stars are often selling for just $40-50 on eBay.

Nester / Nestor Antonovich Petrovsky.

I added this Red Star to my collection a few years ago and recently got around to researching it. The record card says it was awarded on August 14, 1943 by Order of the 19th Tank Corps, so the date suggests it could be Kursk award. A quick look at an order of battle shows that the 19th Tank Corps was part of the Central Front, which fought in the northern sector of the Kursk bulge. So, almost definitely a Kursk award! And the citation removes all remaining doubt: July 5 is the day the battle of Kursk started, so this officer was right in the middle of it all.

It's even easier to look at the hammer and sickle - on the 1985 version they are part of the award, while the earlier OPWs had 14-carat gold H&S emblems that were riveted to the order.

I just ordered a copy through Amazon, I'm really looking forward to reading it!

Not sure what to think of this piece, but the serial number looks professionally done. RB #20679 was awarded by the Southwestern Front, most likely in November or December 1941.

Yes, there were several shore-based service branches that used army ranks, such as the Coastal Service and, as in this case, the Engineering Service. The document you're referring to says that it's "valid until March 1995".

Since he received all three Impeccable Service Medals, the MCM must have been awarded for something else. I can't find anything about a Decree issued on May 10, 1970, but the date suggests it has got something to do with the 25th anniversary of victory in the war. The medals are all rather common, but the paperwork, the fact that he was a Major General, and the further research possibilities make this a pretty nice group. I'd say the set is worth about $200, Here's a picture of his headstone: http://spb-tombs-walkeru.narod.ru/2013/6/28.htm

Couldn't the guy who told you "they are hard to come by" tell you WHAT they are? And why would you buy something without having the slightest idea what you're buying?

That's a pretty cool piece! Who in his right mind would prefer a screwback device?

He's quite active on Facebook, do you want me to pass something on? Outsiders can contact Facebook members too, but those messages usually dissapear deep in the caverns of Facebook's messaging system.

The 25 Years of Victory Badge would have had its own certificate (cardboard, somewhat smaller than the campaign and jubilee medal documents).

In that case I misunderstood your post, please forgive my oversight...