BalkanCollector

Omladinska pruga i put Jablanica (Youth Railway and Road Jablanica) 1952 badge.

A bit darker photo.

That's interesting. My guess is the bottom row ribbons (Order and Medal for Bravery and Order of Labour 3rd class) belonged to the wife of the other ribbons' owner and they were eventually sewn together. This is just a wild guess!

Muh, I like the one on the right but this one doesn't seem genuine to me. Ribbons are original but the combination and order of precedence is highly unlikely. I think that the first two rows are genuine but it seems like the bottom row was added later. It seems like it is attached to the cardboard which is sewn to the top two rows of a ribbon bar.

10 hours ago, Farkas said:

For just another £10-15 in silver they could make more profit in the long run considering they are so convincing…

I agree but there's a mentality factor that needs to be put in consideration. I can guarantee you that most people here in the Balkans are only looking for a quick profit, even if that means losing money in the long run so making something dirt cheap and selling it for as much as you can is a national sport at this point. I'm not talking about these fakes only but businesses in general. Of course, those entrepreneurs don't last long.

15 hours ago, JohanH said:

I could very well be wrong. So don't give up just because of me.

 

Here is a 3rd class cross with two rivets awarded in december 1941 to a german oberstabsarzt. 

IF the document and cross really belong together. 

To quote Jani Tiainens great book on Finnish awards:

 

"First 1941-types of 3rd and 4th classes of the cross of Liberty were manufactured similarly as 1939 - Winter War types. Surface was painted black with lacquer paint and year marked on the reverse side was embossed. Most of the crosses from Continuation War period have stamped year and black oxidized surface. Awards made during Continuation War have similar stamped numbers as types 1941. Some replacement pieces manufactured after the war can be found with engraved numbers. 
3rd and 4th class crosses from Continuation War have much more different variations than earlier types. Differences can be found from general shape, thickness, central rose and its attachment. The heaviest variations are almost 50% heavier than the lightest crosses."

Thank you for all the info, very interesting!

Thank you for your honest assessment! I guess it's impossible to track and notice patterns then.

I need some help determining the years of production on WW2 era crosses of liberty. In this post I will share some "knowledge" I collected so far but it's more of a shot in the dark so hopefully more knowledgeable collectors can give correct information.

The first one is 1939 type with numbers popping out and is colored in accordance with the class. The examples I'll show are 4th class, the silver ones. So 1939 was awarded in 1939 and 1940. Was there a possibility of someone being awarded with the 1939 cross during 1941-1945 or after the war?

Moving on to the next one, 1941 type 1, the same style as 1939 with colored numbers popping out. I've seen this type coming with award certificates in 1941 and I'm guessing that's the year they were awarded.

The next one is 1941 type 2. Its numbers are engraved unlike the previous two examples. Plus, it has a different way of attaching the rose with rivets. I've seen this type coming with a certificate in 1942. Was it possibly awarded in other years (1941-1945) or even after the war as a late award?

And the last type that I know of, the same as the previous one, just without the visible rivets. I still haven't seen this piece coming with a certificate to know which years these were awarded.

22 hours ago, Kallarati Heroik said:

That's a really strange looking IKOM Zagreb screw.

10 hours ago, steveBobby said:

Wow, look at all those bravery crosses!

1 hour ago, Igor Ostapenko said:

Montenegrin king Nikola I. The insciption says:

"To my dear Danilo

dad"

King Nikola had a son Danilo but I don't think that's the case with your photo. I would say that some other patriotic Montenegrin gave this photo to his son.

21 hours ago, steveBobby said:

Another Yugoslav recipient of the Bulgarian Order of Courage

Great photo! I'm not 100% sure but I think it's Rade Hamović, people's hero of Yugoslavia who was a major general at the time this photo was taken.

9 hours ago, Muh said:

Yeah i agree, tho its sad to see how some of the stuff that never left home suffered worse fates..

Absolutely true.

4 hours ago, Igor Ostapenko said:

Here's an interesting story about Miladin Zarić from wikipedia.

"At the end of World War II and liberation of Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia on 20 October 1944, during their retreat, the Nazis have mined the Old Sava Bridge, in order to stop the progress of the Soviet Red Army and the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia that were chasing them. They would have got away with it if there was not Miladin Zarić, a school teacher and a plain civilian with a considerable experience in demining gained previously during Balkan Wars and First World War. He saved the bridge from demolition, by cutting the detonator wires, making it the only large bridge in Europe, beside Ludendorff Bridge that the Germans didn't succeed in demolishing while retreating. The importance of his act is even bigger considering that the next bridge connecting Belgrade and Syrmia was in Šabac, 90 kilometers away."

This explains why he's wearing a Yugoslav, Soviet and Bulgarian WW2 awards on this photo along with his Balkan Wars and WW1 medals, plus some interwar Kingdom of Yugoslavia orders.

I got very lucky this year with udarnik (shock woker) badges.

Here's another one for the labour action Omladinska pruga 1947. / Youth Railway 1947. Railway Šamac-Sarajevo (242km) was built from April 1st 1947 until November 15th 1947.

8 hours ago, Muh said:

i actually bought the Titovka on top from Gerd a few weeks ago, its coming back home in (ex)Yugoslavia 😆

It's nice to see the titovka coming back home since most of the stuff that went abroad most likely never will.

Another early shock worker (udarnik) badge. Novi Beograd, New Belgrade 1948.

8 hours ago, new world said:

Yugoslavian partisan officer with Bulgarian Bravery Order 4cl 2 grade

 

Quite interesting. His rank is a major.

A rare shock worker (udarnik) badge from the labour action Highway Brotherhood and Unity Zagreb-Belgrade in 1949. This one is special because it's an army type for the soldiers of the Yugoslav Army (JA) who participated in the action. See the rifle in the star and the letters JA.

13 hours ago, Zulu_00 said:

Unknown medal awarded to Chambliss Johnson. A former US Marine wounded in Ukraine. Any information would be appreciated. I will provide any updates if my mates in his unit get back to me. 

The award document says it's a medal "To the Defender of Ukraine. For honor! For Glory! For the People!".

Youth forest structures/facilities 1947 (Omladinski šumski objekti 1947). I don't know what kind of structures or facilities they were building but judging by the badge's design it should be something related to railway. The only additional info I was able to find is that they built 36 of forest structures.

11 hours ago, Komtur said:

Prof. Walther Bruck

How incredible, such an amazing group!

20 hours ago, Kallarati Heroik said:

It is fake. Modern repro.

If you want people to take your opinions seriously, you should back your claims up with arguments.

One of the rarest of labour action badges, Youth Factory "Unity" 1948 (Omladinska tvornica Jedinstvo). The factory was founded in 1946 in Zagreb as a factory for process equipment for food and chemical industry. It was nicknamed "the factory for factories". First it existed in a nationalized workshop but the main factory hall was built in 1948 after 6 months of work. Around 1,300 of youth participated in its construction which makes this badge quite rare.

Today, there's a "New Unity" (Jedinstvo novo), a small business with about 20 employees which is nothing compared to the factory back in the day. Most of the factory's land was sold but some parts still remain in ruins which are surrounded by new buildings. There's even a part of factory which is now a "Chinese Wall", a wholesale center with 72 Chinese shops.

Yet another tale of Croatian 1990s destroying of domestic industry...

The copper factory in Sevojno, Serbia that's still operating under the name Valjaonica Bakra Sevojno. It was built from 1950 until 1952.

Kombinat 1950 Sevojno (Комбинат 1950, Севојно).

No problem! As for the uniform and sword, the uniform is definitely a Kingdom of Yugoslavia ceremonial uniform, so not the regular uniform for every day use. Which regulation exactly, I don't know since it's not my area of expertise. It's hard to tell exactly what kind of sword/dagger he has but I'm leaning towards one of those long ceremonial swords. Again, not my area of expertise so I hope someone else can give you more information on this matter.

Regarding the sources to acquire the medals and other stuff, ebay is a trustworthy source. There's also emedals and other various Serbian online markets. Good luck though! Some of those medals are rare and could be hard to find for a reasonable price. I recon the proper uniform will be even harder to catch.