Aahauge

Nice medal! Only awarded to foreigners. The document is signed w/z (on behalf of the Secretary of the National Council) in this case by Zenon Komender. It was a common medal to award to Western European diplomats as well as to Warsaw Pact politicians. As you know it came in 5 classes and your 3rd Class would be appropriate for a high ranking official. Members of the Polit Bureau normally received 2nd Class w Star. Let me know if you want to sell ?

There are tons of neck ribbons for sale on both eBay and the Polish equivalent Allegro.pl. I have not seen your cross and hence cannot advice you as to which type of ribbon you need. During PRL alone some 4-5 different fabrics and shades of red were used. Best regards Aahauge

The order you link, Polonia Restituta, came with at least 4 different ribbons during PRL (Communist Poland). The design stays the same, but the fabric and the exact colouring differs - hence it's possible to detect if the medal variation matches the ribbon variation. I think the same rules apply to 2nd Republic issues. I think that your "upper" ribbon is 3rd Republic (1990 - ) and the lower ribbon is late PRL (1980s). So your upper medal should have a crowned eagle and 1918 on reverse, and the lower medal should have an uncrowned eagle and 1944 on reverse. Best regards Aahauge

Correct. It is in my best opinion made by Arthus-Bertrand & Cie, Paris - probably in the 1930s. Price is relatively high, maybe 200 Euro or more. Best regards Aahauge

From 1943-1992 only 38 gold medals were awarded and they were made of Au 0.950. All were produced in USSR. There are tons of fakes - so buy 1 with correct document numbered 1-38 and be prepared to pay at least 3.000 USD. I've attached photo of a bronze medal (confirmed original awarded after the Lenino Battle). Best regards Aahauge

First of all: You only find swords on 2nd Republic; Allied (Exile) and current 3rd Republic. During the Communist era swords were abolished. Secondly: The letters and numbers you sometimes find on the reverse are "approval marks". All these PRL crosses were made by the National Mint, so numbers and letters just define, that the quality of the enamel (!) was approved - hence you won't find stamps on bronze crosses. I have encountered around 30 different combinations of stamps - the ring can be stamped too on Polonia Restituta. This was done from around mid 1950s - early 1960s, but it peaked on all enameled medals from 1956-1958. Thirdly: I have not yet encountered any fake PRL Crosses of Merit (Krzyz Zaslugi), and I have some 5000 Polish medals in my collection. Fakes are normally 2nd Republic crosses (both the official and the replacement crosses), Exile crosses and the early 1944-45 Moscow crosses. If you see cheap looking PRL crosses it's just due to a poor Communist regieme in late 1980s. Best regards Aahauge

Hello Alex, I'm posting the official KiM (Krupski & Matulewicz) cross with document - just for others to compare. I have some 20 VMs and around 15 are documented. Believe me, I'm not saying that your VM has been tampered with (!), just saying that when I buy VMs I carefully check the number for patina and dirt. Especially the Russians are very skilled at faking Virtuti Militari of all classes and periods. I'm not very happy about your ribbon. The hook is correct, but the cloth looks too new to me. A lot of KiM crosses came with a fragile, low quality silk ribbon (see attachment), but to be honest I have no clue about 2nd Republic crosses numbered above 10.000. Best regards Aahauge

Hello Paul, Let me know if you need information or photos from huge AK groups. AK is not my speciality, but I do have a few 100 documented medals and badges from former AK fighters. The Armband you got seems genuine, but new - used by old combatants. Probably made in the 1980s. There are many such Armbands for veterans - close to all made from 1970s to 2000 (roughly). Since they were used by veterans on official occasions, they are genuine - not to be confused with old Armbands from the Warsaw Uprising in late 1944 (those are worth 1000s of US Dollars). I tried to post a link to my professional FB photo albums which contains a small part of my Polish collection (2nd Rep., Allied Service; AK and PRL), but unfortunately that is not possible for some odd reason. You (and any other interested) will have to send me a friends request since most photos are "friends only". Do a FB search for Søren Aahauge and choose the profile with a II L. P. badge ? Did you manage to buy the VM group from the sabotage officer / Warsaw? Best regards Aahauge

These are indeed Krzyz Zaslugi (Cross of Merit) in gold, silver and bronze. Due to the monogram PRL, they were produced after 1952 when "RP" changed to "PRL". In Communist Poland (roughly 1944-1989) the "sword-attachment" was abolished for the military branch of Krzyz Zaslugi and hence it's impossible to say, if your 3 crosses were awarded to civilians or military personel. In Communist Poland you wouldn't receive Krzyz Zaslugi for bravery in combat, but rather for long, flawless service. The bronze cross seems like a late 1970s / early 1980s issue: worth 6-8 usd. The silver cross seems like a 1960s / early 1970s issue. If there is some kind of stamp on the reverse, then it's before 1965 (roughly) and price will be a bit higher: worth (w/o stamp) around 10 usd. The gold cross has a clear stamp on the reverse, which is not the maker (all 3 crosses were produced by the National Mint), but rather an "approval stamp" showing that this exact cross fulfilled the standards. I think I have some 30 different combinations of letters and numbers defining who approved the medal. Due to the approval stamp this cross is probably worth around 20-25 usd. Regards Aahauge