Wat05

Awesome, thank you for sharing the information!

It is quite an odd order then. I will have a look and see if I can find similar orders.

Thanks! I am proud of this order.

I have found this medal selling online, located in France. Nothing over the top, it’s a generic jubilee medal. However, what caught my eye was the unique warp-weft ribbon that is used more in the west of Europe in the first half of the century. A theory I thought of is that it might be awarded to a Frenchman who participated in WWII, who was involved in the aiding and helping of the USSR, thus being awarded the medal, and later on, replaced the ribbon with a locally manufactured one. Could this be possible? Has anyone else ever seen a ribbon replacement like this?

Here is my II Class Order of Brotherhood and Unity. By Ikom Zagreb. No. 8493. This seems to be an early version, 5 Torches, Large Flames.

Here is my III Class Order of National Merit. I believe this is a late version. The number is sadly hidden by the hook, which seems to be very common in Yugoslavian Orders like this one. It appears to be 129383. Ikom Zagreb hallmark on the Order itself, but Zin-Kovnica on the pin.

Order of Labour, DPRK! I imagine this is a more recent one, due to the lack of the award number, and cheaper quality.

Greetings everyone! Am I looking at an authentic medal? Thanks in advance for the help!

It is mostly due to the high amount of copies, yes. If it is the original that started it all, then it will be impressive. Fingers crossed!

Would be sadly a copy. But quite a saviour that copies made in the 100s to however many, often have the same number. Makes it much easier to rule out the bad apples.

Here is an update about the badge: A fellow collector from Russian form, Sammler, has helped me regarding this badge, and provided me with an e-book copy about the variants of the Ostvolkmedaille, written by one of the most respected studiers of phaleristics, named Konstantin (Kostya) Nikolayev. He had written many books on several ODMs, with great information, and knowledge. Sadly, he departed us recently. So to him, I wish an eternal memory, and peaceful rest. I also thank Mikhail who provided me with the book. It was a great help to research this award. Thanks to the great information and help, the results had followed: The badge is from the firm "Rudolf Souval, Wien". According to a German Historian, J. Nimmergut, the badge was produced at the very end of the war, and furthermore, they were made for the western market, for American, and West European Armed Forces. Although data is not available, the high amount of these Souval badges existing can prove these claims. So many were produced in these times, that it eventually resulted in three noticed flaws. The first: There is a small 'bubble' which can be seen above the left side of the hilt, of the left sword (bottom-left of the medal). The second: On the top of the star, the rays fade away going closer to the centre of the badge. The third: A small line on the left of the hinge can be seen. All three faults were visible on the badge, thus proving it was a post-war badge, made for the market, not for the military. I will upload clear photos of these faults soon, so that people can be careful of these post-war Souval badges.

Update: There are some videos available about this medal, and it is quite a short and detailed video. I will leave it below. https://mir24.tv/news/16608888/medali-k-80-letiyu-pobedy-v-velikoi-otechestvennoi-voine-nachali-chekanit-v-moskve-i-sankt-peterburge-kak-izgotavlivayut-nagradu https://dzen.ru/video/watch/673c2c2532efb17c93866110

Russia has now been producing one of its latest State Medals. Presenting: Jubilee Medal "80 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" Established on the 2nd of September, 2024 by Presidential Decree №743. Of course, it will be awarded to the same people for the same reasons as the previous jubilee medals have been awarded. It is uncertain if there will be any special awards issued, like the previous jubilee medal being issued to Supreme Leader of the DPRK - Kim Jong-Un, or to those who served in the Arctic Convoy, that are still living. Those who were alive for 2015 were able to be awarded one of the highest governmental awards, the Medal of Ushakov. However due to the political issues of today, the 80th Anniversary medal might not be awarded to these heroes. There seems to have been deliberations over a period of time regarding the design of the medal, and ribbon. In April of 2024, this was the first released images on the design: see that it was originally a red ribbon, with the ribbon of the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st Class on the right half of the ribbon. Sometime later, it was officialised in a Decree from the Presidential Office of the Russian Federation, on the 2nd of September. Signed by Putin. Here was the official design approved: Now we have half and half. Half - Ribbon of St George, and Half - Ribbon of the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st Class. The medal itself has seen very slight changes. It was only recent that official medals were photographed, after Goznak/MMD began the production. Here are some photographs. First, the medal itself! Here are several on trays, ready to be mounted on the pentagonal blocks. Medals are being inspected for any faults, or blemishes. And most interestingly, and surprising to see… the medal die! Notice the absence of the Hammer and Sickle, which tells us that it could be made of enamel, or even printed onto the medal, like what was seen for the 70 Years Jubilee Medal. There will probably be more photographs and videos coming out. I am trying to look for some, but they are unavailable, or failing to connect. I will post more information here as soon as I can. To find such info, you can search the name of the medal in the Russian language. One of the best places to read is the official website of Goznak.

Excellent, thank you very much for your answer! It is a shame about the general quality of these awards.

The three medals shown here are all fakes. The first two most definitely (and the same can be said for other ODMs that are with this particular blue background), and the third being an unofficial medal, probably commercially bought, or from a separate organisation. However, the basis of the design of the first medal is true, and it is an official medal from the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. The creation for the Medal "For Participation in the Special Military Operation" was created by Order of the Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation on the 10th of August, 2022 № 461 - Shoygu, Sergey Kuzhugetovich / Приказ Министра обороны Российской Федерации от 10 августа 2022 г. № 461 - Шойгу, Сергей Кужугетович Here is the official, authentic and awarded medal itself. Produced by Mos-Stamp (who are the main suppliers of medals for the MoD). Images and Information is thanks to Sammler, and the members over there, and their sources. Here is an official certificate of the medal, awarded to Rudenko-Minikh, Igor Igorevich, on the 28th of February 2023. Signed by Commander in Chief of the Ground Forces, and General of the Army Salyukov, Oleg Leonidovich. (Igor Igorevich is a Historian of Sevastopol, and Author) Here is an awarding ceremony, where Orders of Bravery, Medals for Courage, and of course, the medal of this topic. They can be seen on the right.

Greetings everyone! I am currently looking at this online auction of the 1st Class Eastern People’s Medal, which is in a box. I would like some help on authenticating it, as I currently have very small knowledge on these awards. Is it also known of the maker? I imagine if it is real, it will be a late version made of zinc. Is this correct? Thanks! Also apologies for the low quality photos that are provided.

It is a sad shame that it is extremely difficult to find research for VC miniatures.

Thanks for the link! Really interesting to see other people’s orders. It is certainly one of the most gorgeous!

Yes, it would be really interesting to see what results will show.

Thank you! I agree, it is beautiful when the orders and medals remain with their original ribbons and blocks. I especially love the feel and quality of the ribbon. It is quite unusual, but I imagine that it was lowered because he was part of the Rear Services, and that the orders were more awarded for combat circumstances.

The Commanders Legion of Honour, and the jewelled Chevalier are absolutely beautiful. Luxurious!

I have searched through each VC Recipient and came down to 5 Recipients, but I think they are not likely to be the holders of these miniature sets. Through an elimination process, I came to 5. They are: 1. John Collins VC, DCM. 2. Edgar Thomas Inkson VC, DCO. 3. Paul Aloysius Kenna VC, DCO. 4. Robert George Scott VC, DCO. 5. John Woods Whittle VC, DCM. These results showed that both DCMs received the 1914-15 Star, therefore not the holders of these medals. On the other hand, I can’t find any photos of the VC and DCO Recipients. I might try it out again, and double check each name.

I am currently checking every VC recipient, and looking for possible candidates. It’s quite a fun challenge. I should be able to have some answers by tonight!

“PRÆIT AC TVETVR” meaning “Guides and Defends”. It is a motto of Salesians of Don Bosco (whose portrait is on the button badge). Here is their website. https://www.salesiansmalta.org/ As for the badge itself. It is Belgian. The stamp reads “J. Fonson Brux” which is obviously Bruxelles. J. Fonson were a known producer of military equipment, swords, uniforms and buttons. They can easily be searched on Google if you need more information.

Greetings everyone! I am currently looking at 6 different Orders of the Partisan Star. They are all the early Soviet Monetniy Dvor Variants, with the correct style engraving, and nut. I would like to post them here before I think of purchasing any of them. These are the photos that have been provided by the seller. Please leave your opinion on them. 1. 2. 3. Adding more due to file size limit. 4. 5. 6. Thank you for any help!