JPL

This is not my area of interest, but came across this interesting news article that I thought might be of interest to those who are. The article states:

"The Russian defense ministry has named 322 of its soldiers Heroes of the Russian Federation for their actions in the two Chechen campaigns, nearly four times as many Heroes of the Soviet Union (85) that its Soviet predecessor handed out in Afghanistan, a product of the intensity of the Chechen war and of awards inflation in post-Soviet times. According to an article in the current issue of ?Sovershenno Sekretno,? the Russian defense ministry presented 559 soldiers and officers with the title Hero of the Russian Federation between 1992 and the end of 2008. Of these, 322 were awarded to participants in the army?s role in Chechnya."

The complete article, which contains more statistics, can be found here:

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/1328...556672397069633

Jean-Paul

TacHel

That's what happens when you have your medals produced by the "lowest bidder"... There is usually a reason why they are lower in price, and it normally shows in the finished product.

Sure glad I got my CD before the "el chipo" model appeared.

Jean-Paul

Same here, I got mine in 1992. Even my mini for my mess kit is of exquisite detailing unlike the triple plated crap they sell today. The Queen looks like the Queen on my mini CD, on the new ones... She looks like Popeye the sailor! No detailing and too much plating!

It started with the Special Service Medal (SSM), molded, roughly improved by filing then triple plated... Garbage! Just about everything since has been of the same low quality. Oh how I miss the days when our medals were coined and of such crisp sharpness in the detailing... That time is unfortunately gone! Politicians would rather save a few measly bucks then to properly recognize the people who sacrifice so much in the service!

The ONLY exception in the past few years has been the Canadian Peacekeeping Medal, that one isn't too bad. At minimum, it's way better then the others!

I refer to my SSM as my "chrome plated medal"...

JP

The "CD", or "12 years of undetected crime" medal as we jokingly call it.

Looks like an older model, good for you. The newer ones are from a different maker are soooo cheap! Molded instead of coined, and poorly finished. You can see file scrapings on the side, the ribbon hole is so small the ribbon barely fits through it and the bars don't even properly fit to the width of the ribbon!

TacHel

That's what happens when you have your medals produced by the "lowest bidder"... There is usually a reason why they are lower in price, and it normally shows in the finished product.

Sure glad I got my CD before the "el chipo" model appeared.

Jean-Paul

Hi all,

Well, I don't know if this is like a one time deal or if I'm dipping my toes into Canadian awards... haven't decided yet. But this is one award I've always thought was beautiful and well designed. Plus being partial to gold it's a natural. And the case is an added bonus.

Without further ado, here's my newest acquisition... coming from Canada but hoping it'll arrive within the next week or so.

Also, all the photos are from the seller:

Stephen Weatherby

Gorg Sales (Antiques)

Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada

And used with his very kind permission.

Named to CPL. C J Boulegon.

Does anyone know how difficult/how much it would run to get the matching miniature and ribbon bar for this award?

As always all comments and any additional info are deeply appreciated.

Dan

Hi Dan,

Nice court mounted CD with the case. The actual medal looks a lot nicer than the image you posted.

The CD is awarded for "12 years of service", but yours has an additional bar denoting 22 years of service (additional bars are awarded for each additional 10 years of service). Therefore, the ribbon bar will have one rosette in the centre of the ribbon.

Here is a link to the Canadian Forces medal website which has additional information on the CD:

http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhr-ddhr/c...-eng.asp?ref=CD

A miniature should set you back about $15 Canadian. If you do a google search for: canada miniature medals for sale

you should get some sources.

Jean-Paul

President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov awarded by Khamid Karzai with the medal of Ghazi Amanullah Khan (28.04.2008):

US President George Bush was also awarded this medal in December 2008.

Here is a link:

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/mid..._News_Feature__

Jean-Paul

Hi Hugh,

Thank you for sharing this hard to find information.

Jean-Paul

Photos are of an unknown 67mm medal, which I assume to be a prize for something. The characters on the reverse are engraved, so probably relevant to the award or recipient. It is in a fitted case with a 45mm wide ribbon (white with green edges). Can anyone identify or translate all or part of it?

Hi Jeff,

Would it be possible to see a scan of the ribbon as well.

Thanks

Jean-Paul

Can I ask if a ribbon chart is available for Japanese Orders, Decorations and Campaign Medals ?

If anyone has compiled one,I would love to see it. Thanks in anticipation. Jeff

Try Antonio Prieto Barrio's excellent website on ribbons. There are 3 images of Japanese ribbons:

http://www.coleccionesmilitares.com/cintas/cintasas.htm#j

Jean-Paul

Hallo all.

Took some time to get most of these, but now im willing to share these images with you guys.

Most of these are NOT from my personal collection, but from friend who have let me photograph their collections or who have sent me pictures.

Special thanks to Matt for his help in this.

Ill post these in order of precedence.

[attachmentid=47318]

Castle of Good Hope Decoration

[attachmentid=47319]

Honoris Crux Diamond

Just came across this news item regarding the Honoris Crux Diamond which I thought might be of interest.

Museum bags one-of-a-kind medal

Here is the URL:http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2136&Itemid=365

Jean-Paul

My guess is that it is "PTE" (Private) instead of PIE and that R.BERKS.R is Royal Berkshire Rifles?

/Mike

Hi Noor,

I did a quick search for his MIC in the online National Archives website and found the following:

Hobbs, Sidney E

Corps Regiment No Rank

Royal Berkshire Regiment 9269 Private

He also served in the Hampshire Regiment as follows:

Hampshire Regiment 23977 Private

Here is the link to the info:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...p;resultcount=1

Jean-Paul

The British Privy Council has determined that the Trinity Cross, awarded by Trinidad and Tobago, is unconstitutional because it discriminates against non-christians. According to one news article, the cross will be redesigned and replaced with a medal. Another news item states that the Trinity Cross will be replaced by the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

The implications of the ruling are being studied by lawyers in the Cabinet Office, which oversees the honours system. So, this could prove to be interesting.

Here are the links to the two news stories:

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/r..._unlawful_award

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11...-Christian.html

Here is an image of the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago from one of the news items:

Hopefully, as this story unfolds, we can keep track on this forum for future reference.

Jean-Paul

Hi kjell,

Great specialized collection. Thank you for sharing.

My main interest is in the WW1 Campaign in German East Africa and noticed that the MGC was given the Battle Honour E. Africa.

Since information is hard to obtain on this campaign, I was wondering what information you may have on the MGC activities in East Africa.

All the best,

Jean-Paul (JP)

Welcome to the forum JPL.

I have never had this happen but it seems that the rules do indeed change with each interpretation so anything is possible.

Barrie eh? I heading to the 401 Antiques Market this weekend. Have you been there and is it worth my time?

Regards from the sunny south (of Ontario).

Brian

Hi Brian,

I was living in Barrie, but have now moved to New Brunswick. I can't seem to find where I can change my location on the forum, so if anyone can point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it.

In regards to the 401 Antique Market, there are usually a few medals for sale, but this varies. Mostly run of the mill stuff, but one never knows.

Good hunting.

Jean-Paul

Quite frankly Canadian Customs are just about the most 'jobsworth' group I have ever had to deal with. That comes from someone who ships books all over the world, from Japan to Jamaica and everything inbetween.

We sell rare and second hand books and often have to ship items to Canada. They are not supposed to charge any duty on them provided they are shipped by post as 'printed papers'. This pi...s the hell out of some of the Customs officers, so they try every trick they can. One has got to be on one's toes and do everything by the book. We had one parcel returned because our (return) address label had been inadvertantly pasted on the back, not the bottom left hand corner of the front, according to their rules!

Sometimes the customs officer is determined to charge import duty come what may. He looks in his books of tables and a note says he cannot charge. He does not like it, so checks back and forth with various authorities in the local capital, in Ottowa, and then with God, in the vain hope that one of them will say yes. In the meantime the package remaines embargoed for days or weeks. Finally when he has to release it without charging duty and defeated in his object, he charges the customer an "adminsitrative fee" for his own wasted effort.

Some of the Customs services in the so-called 'third world' are supposed to be officious, corrupt, slow, inefficient, lazy, bound up in red tape, etc, etc, etc. But in my experience the Canadian Customs Service puts them all to utter shame.

James

Unless things have changed, I checked many years ago and there shouldn't be any customs payable on antique/old medals in Canada. If the medal is new, then they can. But then, it appears that the rules are open to interpretation by the customs official. But what really makes me mad is getting an invoice from Canada Customs stating that I owe them $12 in administration fee for them to tell me that I don't have to pay customs on the medal I've just received. And to add insult to injury, you have to pay the fee in order to get the package. Only in Canada, eh...

JPL

[i just hope somebody is saving the sales catalogues from the manufacturers and merchandisers of these things for the collectors of 2089.

Here is a link to what I believe is the most comprehensive list of these Un-Official Commemorative Medals listed by the Firms offering them:

http://honours.homestead.com/comindex.html

What a sad state of affairs...

JPL

The Sacrifice Medal was created to recognize a member of the Canadian Forces, a member of an allied force, or a Canadian civilian under the authority of the Canadian Forces who, as of October 7, 2001, died or was wounded under honourable circumstances as a direct result of hostile action.

This is a link to the web site of the Governor General of Canada for this particular award, as far as I know, no info or pictures there have any copyright unless clearly specified from outside agencies.

Governor General of Canada

Cheers!

The awarding of the Sacrifice Medal is currently on hold. The first award of the this new medal was scheduled to take place on 14 Nov 08, but was cancelled by the Governor General after public outcry regarding the criteria for the award of the medal. Here is a link to a news item on this topic:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...y/National/home

Regards,

JP