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They are all various shades of green exception of one of the company grade boards. Kevin

Hrycian - Thanks, I thought they might be Grenztruppen or VOPO at first. After looking at shoulderboards for sale on ebay.de I'm convinced that they are a combination of BGS and West German police. I have several Grenztruppen shoulder boards and they are not as flat, wide or as dull in the silver thread. Here is an example of a couple of GT field grade boards in my collection Kevin

I've only seen them on page 37 of Auszeichnungen der DDR, where this photo appears to come from. Why do you ask? Kevin

I believe that outstanding is hervorragend, ausgezeichenete is excellent or excellence. Kevin

Paul - E-mail sent.

Sadly no, the highest I have a silver and two bronze VVO. There are many higher that I probably will never have the money to buy. Paul - On US E-bay Para badges are usually in the 15-20 dollar range, depending upon the hanger number. You can probably get them cheaper on Ebay.de, but I have not been actively looking. Then there is a version of the badge issued from 67-73 that has a silver rather than a gold metal in the parachute risers and background of the badge, these are tougher to find and much more expensive. I only have one example of this type. Also be careful of the 60-67 wing type para badge. Original examples are rare and expensive so there are a lot of German restrikes and they have also been reproduced in Russia with a single post. On shoulderboards I can e-mail you my spreadsheet if you can open Excel. I had to start using a spreadsheet about a year ago because I couldn't remember what was what. I'm weakest in Navy. I've also got holes in rear service. para, artillery air defense and air force. Unfortunately I've not cataloged my VOPO shoulder boards, so I have no clue what I need. I have both NVA and VOPO to trade. Kevin

Paul - Thanks for the props! You however have me beat hands down when it comes to uniforms. I only have a few, due mostly to my frequent moves in the military over the years. Insignia is much more compact and portable. As for trade badges, I picked up 98% while I was stationed in Berlin, many coming out of a coin store in East Berlin of all places! I have a full set of the 86 classification badges if you don't count a few numbered hangers I still need for the pilot's badge. I also have a full set of the classification badges issued in the years before 86, including the mini pins. I'm missing just one para badge with the 2,500 hanger. My big hole is the older badges from the early 60s. Even the restrikes done in the 90s are commanding high prices, like for the Panzerfaher. Right now I'm concentrating on shoulder boards. I have hundreds of pairs but am still in need of quite a few, especially in Navy and AF. I've branched out into VOPO, Customs, Fire, etc. in recent years and pick them up when I can't find military boards. So as a result I have a huge selection of VOPO boards to trade.

My daughter will be living in the Ukraine for the next two years. I'm trying to get her spun up on WWII Soviet Medals and Insignia so she might purchase some for me while there. Does anyone here have any knowledge of pricing and availability of Soviet medals in the Ukraine? I know that a few years back this stuff was dirt cheap in the former Soviet republics, but I imagine prices have risen there as well because of the huge demand. I'd also like to know if there are any export restrictions on these medals or other problems with mailing military insignia from the Ukraine. Thanks in advance, Kevin

And a few newspapers -

More Books -

Thanks Dan. Yes I have a documented Bronze VVO with a photo of the individual receiving it. I also have a documented Banner der Arbeit III. Not all of my stuff is boxed up. With my daughter just going off to college I've gained a room of my own, so now most of my books are out and readily available. Here are a few shots of hats and books. Not everything but much of it. Kevin

Last Issue Rank, 1 & 2 Star General -

Last Issue Officer Rank insignia -

A couple of Para Qual Badges -

Aircraft Technician -

Pilot -

General Qual -

A few closeups of older qualification badges - Navy -

Doc - I've been too cheap to buy Ryker mounts. Maybe I will now that I've taken my daughter off to college this week and now have a den/office.

Police, Navy, Kampfgruppen -

A selection of badges -

A closer shot of various insignia -

A closer shot of a few of my higher decorations, VVOs and Banner der Arbeit -

A few quick shots of my East German insignia collection posted at the request of Dan. I picked up quite a bit from 86-89 when I was stationd in Berlin. Had a 10+ year hiatus while I concentrated on my military career and US insignia collection. Started back up again around 03. Kevin

Great DDR collection Dan! Vic, now is the time to get into East German collecting when the prices are relatively low and the repros are mostly restricted to the high end medals and orders. The best place for variety, older items and price is Ebay.de, but shipping does get a bit expensive on larger items Here are a few of my NVA badges. If anyone is interested in seeing more of my collection I'll start a new thread as we have gotten a bit off topic on this one. Kevin