Philip.S

Steve, That's absolutely brilliant! Many thanks! yes, you are quite right, I must have got confused between the reverse of the '47, and later versions. The diagram you attach is superb, I thank you for that as well! Many thanks, Philip.S

Gentlemen, As this topic is discussing Public security medals, I thought I should ask this question here: What are the differences in variations between the Rakosi-era awards, and the Kadar-era awards? I appreciate that the very earliest had "1948" inscribed on the reverse, however the revised version did not. I am deeply puzzled, as I can find no differences myself?🤷‍♂️ Many thanks, Philip.S

Greg, Very nice! congratulations! Philip.S

Steve, Many thanks, that clears my confusion! its nice to see the miniature of the medal as well. It is odd that i have never seen one? perhaps they are so small they often fall out?😅 Many thanks, Philip.S

Greg, I'm afraid i have no more information than you do, I am merely guessing, and spotting oddities!😅 What i have seen, is that medals with a ribbon bar usually have it mounted above the medal in the case, whilst the excellent worker medals usually have it mounted below, in a small groove to allow the pin of the mini to rest there. to see the two intertwined just confuses me! XD I have searched the internet, but to no avail, for a picture of the mini for this award. I have attached an image of two cases, one for a silver service to the country medal, and one "normal" excellent worker, to illustrate what i'm saying. Regards, Philip.S

Greg, A very nice example of a very nice medal! congratulations! The case puzzles me, however, as it seems to fit the medal perfectly, but it has the Kivalo Dolgozo style of mini holder at the bottom?🤔 Congratulations! Philip.S

I quite agree, though written material will undoubtedly get scarcer, and more expensive, I think its wonderful that there is so much information available on forums, and other sites, such as GMIC, or, of course, medals.org.uk, available for free! So long as forums and sites such as this continue to thrive, I don't see any reason why any information should be lost! Regards, Philip.S

Greg, In my opinion, of course the prices will (and have) go up! I see no reason for them not to. Fakes wise, there are already fakes of the higher soviet awards, and as soon as the "faking process" can be cheapened, the fakes will dribble down to the lower awards as well. Combined with that, i cant help but hazard a guess, that in 50 or so years time, the cold war, and combloc ODMs collecting scene will be similar to that of the TR, or Imperial german scenes. Regards, Philip.S

gjw, That's a great collection, and some in practically mint condition! Thanks for showing them, and please do post any new additions to your Hungarian collection! Philip.S

Tony, Many thanks! You've well and truly outdone yourself here 😅 I believe you are right on most, the yeomanry buttons are anyone's guess. the dating buttons diagram is great, thanks for that! The 89th button you posted is French, if my memory serves me right, no? Number 6, is that the possible Napoleonic rank button? Many thanks, Philip.S

Good Afternoon, Here is a small lot of buttons, and a badge. These were found by another person whilst metal detecting in the UK. There are some which i recognise, however, there are a couple which absolutely have me stumped! 1. musicians ?cap badge? i can't think of a date for this one 2. Royal air force, 1940s? 3. royal navy? 4. ? anchor, but no crown....akin to number 6, but bulbous, not flat. 5. same as 3, but smaller, and much more detail 6. ?royal navy? large, single piece construction. a date for this one would be much appreciated!😁 7. ? one piece, with mould line running horizontally across 8. ? could be an anchor...i can't tell! 9. ? two piece construction 10. ? three , with a ?dotted? rim, one piece construction 11. ? two piece construction 12. ? looks to be crushed, but was of two piece construction Maybe you will have better luck than I had! XD Many thanks, Philip.S

Gentlemen, Although my collection lacks these, I do have two examples I can present: Table medals. The two in my collection seem scarce, although their inscriptions make them sound rather common? so, 25, and 30 years spent at work: each table medal has a diameter of roughly 7.5cm. The reverse is completely blank. Case wise, both are identical, therefore I will only show one. To avoid spamming this thread with images, I will only describe the other aspects: the hinges are exposed, and of the same metal and colour as the latch, the case beneath the medal features a small hole, presumably for support. Philip.S

Gordon Craig, Those two flags are beautiful. Thanks for sharing them! Philip.S

Gordon Craig, Thanks for letting me know! Philip.S

Gordon Craig, My pleasure. That's a gorgeous uniform! Do the decorations and helmet belong to it as well? Regards, Philip.S

gjw, Here are a couple of my civilian awards, the first image contains some interesting decorations, the second some more common ones: This image is slightly blurry, I apologise, here are the words I reckon are almost impossible to read: ~SZAKMA IFJU MESTERE ~SZTAHANOVISTA (year: 1953) I have a later variant of the "Szakma Ifju Mestere" arriving hopefully this week as well! Philip.S

Wow! That's both impressive an superb! Its odd (for me, at least) to see such a large Totenkopf on the headgear. Kind Regards, Philip.S (P.S. Is the moustache original as well?😁)

Gordon Craig, Many thanks for sharing! The patina on yours is perfect, almost artistic, congratulations! Philip.S

I agree, to me, it looks like paint! Regards Philip.S

Gordon Craig, Thank you for your answer, Thank you for the link, though I believe I have mentioned in another thread that they very rarely ship anywhere outside of Hungary, which is...well...a problem. Its interesting how the cases do change though, even for seemingly no reason, eg, your case has the miniature at the bottom, whereas mine has it on the top. Something like the latch, it makes sense that it was stopped due to budget, but then one asks oneself, but why only some awards? for example, the early Sztahanovista Bakelite cases, to my knowledge they have no latch, yet the case is so well adorned. It well and truly puzzles me! Many thanks, Philip.S

Komtur, I'm awfully sorry! That was a basic fact, I should've known! Thank you for bringing my attention for this, it's greatly appreciated. In this case, yes, I see no reason why Himmler wouldn't wear it. Again, deeply sorry for my ignorance Philip.S

Greg, To my knowledge (please do correct me if I'm wrong) the NSDAP were not particularly fond of the Weimar republic, and they used the failures of that government to make themselves look good. I don't see why any NSDAP member (a Reichswehr, or Wehrmacht officer, yes, I can imagine that) wearing any Weimar awards, no? Do you know whether or not he did, in fact wear it? Regards, Philip.S

Greg, I am in no way an expert (or even vaguely intellectual) when it comes to German militaria, etc, but I don't see why he wouldn't be, though I'm sure he would refrain from wearing it after joining the NSDAP. Regards, Philip.S

Andreas, Interesting idea, but no, just family. There are 2 other military men, only one is with his medals on this image (a 1870-71, and kaiser commemorative medal, attached) I'm afraid I have minimal information on them. Many thanks Philip.S saxcob, many thanks for your information as well! To my knowledge, the ribbons on both the Alsen, and D?ppel crosses are wrong, no? Somewhere, I have another image of the same gentleman, but with only 5 medals, although that image was taken in 1905, or just a bit later, but in significantly worse quality, which also features a gentleman who is also on the above photo (without medals), but this time with a hefty bar! perhaps just too lazy to wear it for the photo then! Regards, Philip.S

dedehansen, Many thanks, I had thought that he was a combatant in the Franco-Prussian war as well, but you prove my theory wrong! thank you for the information, It is greatly appreciated, Would it be possible to figure out which branch he was in? As he is in civilian dress, I have no idea! Thank you ! Philip.S