BalkanCollector

Absolutely magnificent!

Great addition Eric! I'm glad it arrived safely.

Hello! What do you think about this one? Is it real and is it possible that everything (booklet, medal and box) is period and not some made up group. Any help is much appreciated!

Stunning!

I agree, the bar in the top left corner looks remarkable! Any chance of closer shots?

Can't wait to see

You're welcome!

It is indeed from socialist Yugoslavia. The writing on the box from top to bottom: an amblem of the Socialist Republic of Serbia, writing "Socialist Republic of Serbia" and "people's defense". The badge itself says "We don't want what's other's and we won't give what's ours". It was a famous political parole in Yugoslavia and the badge is most likely political. Unfortunately I don't know what was it given for.

Most interesting, thank you for sharing!

Great addition Eric! Glad to see our subforum is busy lately. In the post #76 you can see the OPA2 awarded to my grandpa. Sadly it also has that non-gilt parts. Do you perhaps have a document that went with your piece? I'm guessing it was awarded in the early 80's.

Could be, I really don't know.

Thank you Drugo! I actually have only 2 spomenice in my collection and both with booklets. I have photos of over 50 spomenice as my archive. Yes, it's a real shame that sellers often break documents and groups to sell them easier.

No problem! There are two types of connecting. The first one is with three rivets as you can see on my piece numbered 27,232 and the second one is with three sort of a gutters around the stick where the screwpost goes (example on my other piece). I don't know how the upper part is fixed that way to be honest. You're correct. GK stands for "Griesbach & Knaus" and BK is for "Braća Knaus" (Brothers Knaus). Both were if I'm not mistaken the names of the same institution before it was finally renamed to IKOM (Industrija komunalne opreme i mjerila/Industry of utility equipment and measures). I see nothing wrong with it. It is a bit rough and worn but it's an original piece in my opinion.

Thanks Eric! Actually I don't know if the screwpost is very early. I've mostly seen this type of screwpost on pieces with numbers ranging from 15k to 20k. However I've seen a few very similar screwposts on the earlier pieces without hallmarks. There are also other few types of narrower screwplates. I've been collecting the photos of this award and I've accumulated over 50 different "spomenicas". This is my primary classification (note that this maybe isn't complete list and that some may devide this in even more types): 1. Soviet type made by Monetniy Dvor 2. Yugoslav made types: 2.1. Without hallmarks; screw (1-~5,000) - the lowest number I've seen was 12 2.2. With hallmark BK; screw (~5,000-~8,000 and from ~9,000-~12,000) 2.3. With hallmark GK; screw (~8,000-~9,000) 2.4. With silver and IKOM hallmarks; screw (~12,000-~22,000) 2.5. With silver and IKOM hallmarks; horizontal pin (sort of a tubular end) (~22,000-~25,500) 2.6. With silver and IKOM hallmarks; horizontal pin (regular) (~25,500-~28,500+) - the highest number I've seen was 28,550

Thanks guys!

My newest addition! Spomenica (number 16,2##) which belonged to a Colonel of a technical branch of service. He was a commander of company (četa) in the 1st Lika Proletarian Brigade "Marko Orešković" and was one of the people who helped with the creation of a book about this brigade. He was born in 1925 so he was around 15-16 when he joined the partisans. I'm very pleased that I've acquired this gem.

Great addition, love the white enamel

Awesome stuff!

Thank you very much for sharing oamotme!

Very interesting, thank you for sharing!

Marvelous job Alex, thank you for sharing!

Currently on auction on ebay. Looks awful! Even hallmarks look like tiny holes dug in the shape so it looks like a real IKOM hallmark.

This is the first boxed and documented Order of the Yugoslav Flag with Golden Star (4th class) I've seen so far. It was awarded in 1983 to a Lieutenant-Colonel Jovan Obradović. It is for sale (220€) here: https://www.falera-et-orbis.com/socialistična-jugoslavija?product_id=1013

Indeed, I hate it when they sell documents or groups of orders that belonged to the same person apart. I managed to save one fantastic group half a year ago. Here it is:

I saw those on ebay recently. So that's where they went. Nice ones Eric!