new world

There have been some threads on the subject, here's one:

Civil Merit cross is a copy, R stands for Replica

It's possible the man in the photo wears medal awarded to his deceased wife. I saw examples of people wearing awards of close relatives who passed away.

IMHO this is a mistake, for such high rank he should have been awarded 3rd class or higher. 

5th class was reserved for junior officers.

Juts got a note from one of my contacts in Bulgaria that new book has been published.

6 hours ago, Graf said:

I only noticed that some of the boxes had dark print like my 4th Class. i do not think that they are copies

 

I think this box originally had gold print, however it became dark with time. Probably due to conditions it was stored in.

On 06/06/2019 at 08:13, Graf said:

Hi Here is a picture of Lot 53 and the result of this Auction to support the Great Dane information

One of the seller, who is selling the Catalog I listed above, was very kind to send me them

If this Set is not in this Cataalog The seller stated it does not feature on the back cover of the catalog, then ith might be on the back cover of a book/catalog written by Graf Clenau about Orders from Europe, which was published in 1978/1979- -picture provided

Hi Ilieff, do you have any access to the King Simeon Office. They might have information what was ordered Set or a cross. The might have the answer of this question

I still support the 922F statement " Gustav Tammann had a 1940's C & M small collar with a much later thin arm badge that he said was Cejalvo work.  He  had a new star with that collar, most likely a 1960's Rothe.

 I suspect that some of the Cejalvo Crosses were married to late Rothe Stars like in this picture The cross on the right is typical Cejalvo with the SS Brothers not painted directly to the center

 

 

This strange version of the star appeared for sale again a known Romanian/Swiss seller. 

We can't really stop discussions on awards in fear that information could be used for counterfeits. 

Fact is that fakers will never be able to make exact copies of awards, cases and documents. There always will be something not on par with the originals. The key is share the knowledge, so more collectors can recognize the fakes. 

Here's the story of how Miladin Zaric saved the bridge:

http://militera.lib.ru/db/luknitsky_pn4/24.html

Saved Bridge

— On the sixth of October, two Panther tanks approached the Bristol Hotel, on which the names "Charlie" and "Heidi" were written in German. They stood outside the hotel for a long time, then a luxury car with the number "1401" drove up, stopped between the tanks, and a man sitting in the car greeted another waiting for him at the entrance. This other person was a certain Sarapa, whom the Germans called a "mediator" between them and the Serbs, and many Belgraders know well what kind of "mediation" it was! When Sarapa's wife and children arrived in the second small car with their stuff, both cars, accompanied by tanks, moved to the bridge over the Sava. Four tankmen sitting on the armor of tanks, pointing machine guns in all directions, dispersed the audience, who were looking at the fugitives, and above all at the one who was riding in the first, luxurious car. This man was Nedich, the same [209] Nedich who boasted for three years that he would never run away from the people, and then he ran, and I couldn't stand it, I screamed: "Congratulate Vuko Brankovic!" (a traitor who betrayed Serbia to the Turks on the Kosovo field, a national traitor). I calculated that the Germans would not understand the meaning of my shout, and Nedich, hearing my shout, understood well and covered his face with a hollow gray overcoat. "Forverts! Forverts!" some German commanded, and the cars went to the bridge, and the Serbs began to shake my hands...

So, looking at the bridge over the Sava, today, November 7, 1944, after a rally on Slavia Square, a fifty-eight-year-old emaciated, in a darned, dilapidated suit, Miladin Zaric, an old teacher, a voluble, expansive, quick gesticulation sought to strengthen the meaning of his words, told me. When he turned his face to me, I looked at his thick eyebrows, his hair smoothed to his graying temples, and saw his brown, gray-circled pupils... He was worried, telling me about what happened a few days after Nedich's escape. He was worried both because he was still worried about what he had managed to do, and because there were a lot of non-Czechs left in Belgrade in those days. It occurred to Miladin Zarich: "But now they can kill me!" — he confessed this to me.

And the story that Zarich told me in Belgrade, which was broken and healing fresh wounds, was really quite remarkable: in front of me stood the bridge over the Sava, intact and unharmed, the first major bridge for thousands of kilometers of the Red Army offensive that was not blown up by the Germans. How and who managed to save him?

Now I will give a detailed account of this, but first I will allow myself to give an exact copy of one official document. Here it is:

"Management of the Military unit field post 44775, October 25, 1944 No. 025/10.
Reference

A real reward is given to a friend (citizen) Zarich Milyadin Zakharovich, the people's teacher of the city of Belgrade, that he is the commander of the military unit of the pol. mail [210] No. 44775 presented to the government award — the Order of the Patriotic War of the first degree, for the fact that he, together with the Soviet troops, risking his life, showed courage and heroism during the capture of the crossing over the Sava River (bridge in Belgrade).

Commander of the military unit p/ p 44775, Hero of the Soviet Union, Guard Major General S. Kozak."

I know: S. A. Kozak commands the 73rd Guards Rifle Division, which stormed the Kalemegdan fortress area and crossed the bridge over the Sava to Zemun.

And here's how Miladin Zarich, a resident of the house No. 69 on Karageorgievich Street, told me about it today:

"I've lived in this house for fifteen years. And now he was watching everything from here. For ten days I saw how the Germans were bringing explosives, I went to watch several times a day! They didn't pay attention to the old man! And, besides, he watched from the attic, having made a hole in it. And my heart sank, and I thought: how to save this bridge?.. On the twelfth or thirteenth, the Germans blew up other bridges, first the Danube Bridge, and the next day the railway bridge across the Sava. And the bridge of "Prince Eugen" (Eugene) was temporarily left.

On the sixteenth of October, the chief lieutenant, threatening with a pistol, ordered all the residents of our house to get into the basement. In the locked, empty apartments, the Germans broke down the doors, fearing that partisans were there. They put a guard at the exit from the basement. Without water, without bread, without a toilet, we sat in the basement all the days of fighting until the morning of October twentieth. There were about eighty of us, residents of thirty-seven apartments. Children, women slept on the floor, sharing the last, ate almost nothing. The Germans held us as hostages, declaring that if the Russians bombed Belgrade from the air, they would shoot us all. The Germans themselves were sitting on the third and fourth floors, and from the fifth beat the advancing liberators with machine guns, machine guns, cannons. An observation post was set up on the balcony, a German officer was looking through a stereo tube. Everything in the house was looted by the Germans, cabinets were hacked, dishes were broken...

Listening to the explosions, we sat in the basement all day. We knew nothing, except that, according to the Germans, [211] there were continuous battles on the railway and that "the Russians would achieve nothing, and if they came, they would cut everyone and plunder everything."

At six o'clock on the morning of the twentieth, the Germans ran out of the house, left one sentry. I heard a hurrah from the Russians on Bosanskaya Street. The German's knees began to tremble, he began to ask for civilian clothes so that he would not be shot at the first minute. I gave him a jacket, he went out and surrendered to the Russians.

And then I went to the bridge. German guns were firing from the city, holding back the Russian offensive. There was a fight all around. I saw that numerous Germans were leaving across the bridge. I was walking alone through the park that stretches in front of the bridge. And, having climbed up the entrance to the bridge, I saw about a hundred Russians at the railway cars heading for Kalemegdan, I rushed to them, shouted to them: "Brothers, brothers, it's healthy!", and the first of them, an officer, kissed me.

It was the third battalion of the two hundred and eleventh regiment of the Stalingrad Division. I called them to look at the bridge — I said that there were mines down there. They said they had a combat order to go to Kalemegdan immediately, and there was no time, but still the commander allocated forty people, they went with me. Examined two bulls, found nothing. The Germans on the other side did not shoot, the silence was complete. Russian Russian saw a white cord, he went to the Zemun side, but the Russians said that to go there, it would mean for them not to fulfill the combat mission. I shouted: "I am a former Serbian officer! Let's go to the bridge!" The Russian officer replied to me: "That's how a military man and take on the task, go to the bridge, cut the cord! And we need to beat the Germans in Kalemegdan!"

And I went to the bridge myself, walked across the bridge and thought: it's going to explode! Because I saw: there were white smokes on the Zemun side of the bridge. "I will explode before I reach half of the bridge!" But I go step by step — there is no explosion. The bridge is camouflaged with matting, and on the right and on the left there are many dead Germans... I reached the arch, read: "Prince Eugene", and a copper cord is hanging from above, and another one is hissing somewhere. I don't touch the copper, I'm looking for where it hisses, I've reached half of the bridge, I see one cord smoldering and the others are visible, burning. "I think I'll die here." They burn — with smoke. [212]

And one German, either dead or alive, with gray eyes, falling off on a piece of iron, looks at me... I looked around and saw a sapper shovel (there was a lot of ammunition scattered there). I took a shovel with a wooden handle, tried to cut the cord. The other two also descended here, connected and went into the porcelain insulator. It was inconvenient with a shovel, the cords were springy. I found a cleaver, covered in blood, cut these two cords with it...

And went on. There the bridge was paved with impregnated parquet tiles, it was burning there, it was hot, I tore off one tile, saw a burning cord, and under the tiles there were boxes with explosives. I crossed the cords to all the boxes, these cords were not burning, but the flames of the fire were approaching them. I could not put out the fire, I went further three hundred meters to the Zemun side, I saw that the Germans were hiding, hiding, there were many of them. They didn't shoot at me, they thought maybe I was a German sapper?

I went back, looked out of the matting halfway across the bridge, waved my black hat, shouted: "Help da extinguish the fire!"

The Serbs — civilians — who were standing on the shore, fearing an explosion, fled to their homes. I looked out on the other side, saw two hundred Russian Red Army soldiers in different places — on the streets and near the bridge, shouted: "Brothers, brothers! Sloboden bridge! Scold me!.." he shouted it ten times, hoarse (then he could not speak for a long time). And the Russians run, no one goes, they don't understand. They are discussing something among themselves. But about ten warriors cautiously came to me.

I moved forward towards them, in the middle of the bridge, and they, crouching, pressing against the railing, holding their submachine guns under their elbows, converged with me. Others came up behind them, about forty people in total. They were fighters from the third battalion of the two hundred and eleventh regiment. And without any conversation, I led them to the other side — Zemunskaya. Then the German hurricane artillery fire began. Shells exploded on the bridge, under the bridge and near it. There were wounded and dead among the fighters at once, but none of the survivors turned back, everyone went forward. When the ground was already not far under the span of the farm, they began to jump under the bridge, clung to the ground, fought with the Germans (the German artillery beat and then, [213] all day, until the evening more than a thousand shells exploded — both shrapnel and armor-piercing). The fourth bull was completely smashed by artillery: And then for two more days from Chukaritsa, where twelve hundred Germans were held, they continuously fired...

First, ten Russians crossed the bridge, then up to forty, then at least two hundred more, and all of them fought a bloody battle with the Germans both on the bridge and on the Zemun shore.
 

It lasted until seven and a half in the morning. I saw that the Russians were not lying down, they were going to attack, and I was ashamed to lie down in the funnel, I also did not lie down, but went back to growth and thought that I would never reach home. I was suffocating in the smoke of explosions, I could not see anything, mortal fear overcame me, but I walked, walked... When I got home, I found that there was a splinter in my pocket, and my trousers at the knee and all the floors of my coat were shot through. But there was no blood anywhere, only he was shell-shocked, his chest hurt. Three or four days later, when I went to the doctor, I found out that I had become four kilos lighter (and in total I had lost thirteen kilograms during the occupation).

At eight and a half in the morning I looked from the upper balcony of my house and saw the Russians passing over the bridge: first they carried guns, one, two, then more, mortars, four horses (two horses were white, and we don't have white horses in the artillery, because they are clearly visible). One officer raced by on a white horse, then a shiny gray car drove by, probably with a general, then a tank made its way, followed by a second one along the made flooring... Then the bridge, all pierced by shells, parted, I clutched my head, cried, thought: "I led Russian soldiers there without orders, and now they are dying there!"

But the Russians repaired the bridge with planks and trees brought from the park, and the whole bulk of the Red Army and partisans moved across the bridge — ten or twelve thousand soldiers with all their equipment passed in a continuous stream. And the fight against the Germans went further — to the left, in New Belgrade and to the right — in Saimishche. And I looked at this offensive and saw how the Germans ran to the airfield and to Zemun.

Three days later, when I was sitting at my house, a Russian officer, seeing me, threw up his hands: [214]

"Dear friend, we are looking for you everywhere, our officers are looking for you. Come with us!"

I was led to the bridge over the Danube, where the Russian headquarters was. Here all the Russian officers kissed me and treated me. The regimental commander wrote everything down in the combat log. The adjutant typed everything on a typewriter and when he found out that I was a teacher, he said happily that he was also a teacher. And for my sake, a big boss came in a car, hugged me, said: "Comrade, you have done a lot for your homeland and for Russia. And Russia will never forget you. After all, on our way from Stalingrad, this is the first bridge that has remained intact, for thousands of kilometers!"

And the next morning there was a parade on Slavia Square, and one Colonel-General introduced me to General Kozak, and Kozak took me to Zemun and Beja, introduced me to all his officers. And they gave me a hundred kilograms of flour and many different products, because they knew how we starved under the Germans, and chose the best sheep from the flock, and — most importantly — they gave me the Order of the Patriotic War of the I degree — a high Russian military award!.. And I am very happy that my old legs helped the heroes of the liberation of Belgrade cross the Sava River! And my wife Milena is happy, and my sons, the partisans, Novak and Dragolyub are happy, and Milos, who was a commissar for the partisans and was sentenced to death by the drazheniks (Chetniks of Dragee Mikhailovich), but miraculously escaped death, is also happy: our Belgrade is free!..

Bravery Order worn by Miladin Zarić looks like last type, Republican emission. 

Some early Civil Merit cases had very distinct design - top portion was a bit wider that the sides of the box, almost like roof on the house. I will have to dig out some samples in my collection.   

Very nice and rare documents! Thank you for sharing.

Cool photo! Do we know the name of this officer?

Yugoslavian partisan officer with Bulgarian Bravery Order 4cl 2 grade

I remember seeing ribbons which were closer to the originals, but that was years ago. I doubt we will see better quality ribbons offered again, as they seem to be too much trouble to make and demand is really low. Think about it - how many people in the entire world would want a ribbon for a medal dedicated to coronation of a King from a tiny country which took place over 100 years ago? Perhaps couple people if that many... It's better to make ribbons for more common and popular awards, such as Iron Cross or similar.

1 hour ago, Graf said:

It looks like Bogdan did not sell some of the questionable item on his last Auction he relisted them again

It is close Auction. You can not see the other bids ??!! He made very high estimates of the items Well above the market prices

Some of the items he's been selling for years and they are still unsold with such low starting prices. Which makes me think he's not running honest auctions, if he were they would have been long gone...

Frankenmonster from my post from 1 week ago was sold for $98

Let's post captured items here!

There are partial award lists, a lot of them did not survive till our days.

2 hours ago, Graf said:

... those Orders were produced in private workshops after the WW2  and the quality control was not as good as the one made earlier...

I don't believe in this argument. Couple samples I saw had screw nut stamped by Miloshev. If you compare what his workshop made during the same period you will see that these low quality medals were not made by him.

You have very nice collection, a lot of rare awards. I love your documented group with photo of the awarded!

Being sold as Bulgaria after WW2 Royal Order for Bravery Officer's Cross of 1st Grade, 4th IV Class. Regent Issue. 
This is a fake with some original parts. I had similar medal years ago and it did not look real at all - base is of very low quality. 

Bulgarian Observer badge looks like Godet made.

Nice looking collection!

Years ago there was a famous seller of fakes, he was based in Bulgaria, I recall he went by name Kaissa/Caissa on eBay. Some of his sets were offered in bright red boxes like the one in the last photo in my above post with photos of the boxes.  

Thank you Graf!

This is very interesting and rare set! Very late Republican awarding and to guards of Dimitrov! You are correct, document filled in by typewriter is less common, however I've see few republican documents and it appears they switched from handwriting to typing in later years. Extremely cool set!!!!