BalkanCollector

Such a fantastic group! Any chance you can post close images of every award (obverse and reverse) and document? I know it's a lot of work but I'm sure there's a lot of us interested.

It's been a while since I posted in this topic so here's one of my latest groups. This partisan got two orders for his service during WW2. Order for Merits for the People 3rd class, early ZIN type with a low number #3,942. He got it while he was a senior sergeant (stariji vodnik), the highest NCO rank in the Yugoslav Army at the time. Order for Bravery with a rare box, numbered #77,625. He got it as a reserve ensign (zastavnik), the lowest officer rank in the Yugoslav Army at the time.

Thank you very much!

For years I've admired black and white photo colorizations and gave it a go myself some months ago. I haven't colorized much photos yet but here's my best one. The officer looks very much alive when the photo is colorized and the damage repaired. Political lieutenant colonel (collar tab insignia) of the Yugoslav Army wearing a Partisan Remembrance Award 1941 on his left pocket and an Order of the Partisan Star 3rd class on his right chest. The photo was taken in Belgrade on December 13th 1945. The original photo is from my collection.

Amazing medal bar!

That's a wonderful piece! The Czechoslovak connection is even more interesting. Did you get it?

Amazing medal with great (hi)story behind it!

Indeed. Even that orange/yellow color that pops up from the ripped parts of the ribbon looks the same now that I compare your ribbon to this one again.

The color isn't green, it's light blue but the ribbon is in a bad shape. Here's an example of a ribbon of this order in a bad shape from the internet. I guess this light blue color has a tendency to look like a different color whenever the ribbon is beat up. The one below looks more grey than light blue. Once you've seen enough of these orders, you start to notice the ribbon without a doubt even with these discoloration variations so I'm 100% positive it's the Serbian Order of the White Eagle.

You're right, it's definitely the Serbian Order of the White Eagle.

Thank you very much for your opinion!

I would like to get opinions on this cased cross. Is everything genuine? What's the time period and how much is it worth in the current condition? Here are the seller's photos:

I just realised I posted this topic in the wrong section. Thank you for pointing this out! Please moderators move it here: https://gmic.co.uk/forum/258-germany-third-reich-uniforms-headwear-insignia-equipment/

Thank you for your insight!

Thank you for the interesting info! Living in Canada for such a long time where your family didn't experience the tragedies and destruction of war at first hand, it must have been awful to come to a poor country devastated by the war. As for the prices, two Youth Railway 1947 badges at the top row are the cheapest. I've seen them go for about 5-8€, that would be each. I've seen these Shock Worker 1947 badges in the middle go for as much as 20€ but I would put the price anywhere from 10-20€, depending how lucky you can get selling them. The last two badges in the bottom row would be the most expensive although I've seen one go for about 2€ on some Czech auction site. I guess the seller didn't quite know what he had since these are rare and a bit more expensive. I've also seen one on ebay which was sold for about 20€ but I think you could possibly get even more, it all depends on how bad someone wants it and how much he's willing to pay. Hope this gives you a general idea and thank you again for sharing the pictures and the story!

Hello Ed! You have some very nice badges. I see you're from Canada so I believe two Canadian volunteers got these badges. Each got a Youth Railway 1947 badge and a Foreign Brigadier badge, and one of them also got the Shock Worker badge. More info about the badges below. You have two of these badges I posted in the top row: In the middle is a Youth Railway 1947 shock worker badge. Shock workers were those who exceeded the labour norm. In the bottom row you have two rare badges to foreign brigadiers (labour action participants) who participated in the Youth Railway labour action. You can see the similar design and correlation to the badge in the top row.

I'm looking for some info about this edelweiss hat badge. Is it original? If so, how much is it worth?

Congratulations on this significant milestone! I've been watching this thread for 3 years now and I always look forward to your next post. You are doing an important work of documenting full cavaliers' single medals and groups and the current situation on the market.

Impressive medal bar and biography! Thank you for sharing.

Could we possibly see the whole uniform? Amazing artifact!

I'm looking for info about this badge. I believe it is a Romanian paratrooper badge but I could use confirmation. Also, any other details such as period would be much appreciated.

Remarkable piece!

Amazing group, thank you for sharing!

I wouldn't be surprised...

Here's a spomenica that looks like it could be the one for gravestones. It is currently for sale at aukcije.hr. The seller claims it's 13,5cm in size and made of duraluminum. https://www.aukcije.hr/prodaja/Kolekcionarstvo/Militarija/Ordeni-i-medalje/Jugoslavija/1362/oglas/SPOMENICA-1941-PLAKETA-13-5-CM/3100967/