Drugo

This is a Serbian symbol, an orthodox cross surrounded by four cyrillic letters "C", standing for Само слога Србина спасава, Only Unity Saves the Serbs. Looks like trench art on a AK-74-style Zastava stock. Given your description of the context in which you took the photo, I'd assume a war trophy that a Croat soldier picked during the war.

Yes, indeed, nothing new. I'm just questioning the logical order of things. Given that we know that the same authors designed the orders of the two countries, and that the same factory (IKOM) made them, saying for sure whether a discarded prototype like this was originally intended for one or the other country is tricky.

It's an interesting theory, but unfortunately in the absence of clear documentation it can only remain a theory. As for the soldier on the prototype resembling an Albanian fighter in traditional clothes, yes and no. It could be, but take simply a look at the fighter's figure on the standard Yugoslavian Order for Merit to the People, and albeit he is depicted from the front, you can still detect the same elements, an under-the-belt part of his uniform jacket that resembles a skirt, and a cap that does not look like a titovka at all. So neither of these elements is conclusive. https://i.postimg.cc/L4Lg6ftT/Screenshot-2025-02-21-161506.png Similarities between the Yugoslavian OMP prototype and the Albanian Order of Bravery exist, but one could as well argue that the original OMP prototype for Yugoslavia, once discarded, was reused and updated for the Albanian Order of Courage. It would explain the similarities without implying that the prototype was indeed originally intended for Albania. Fascinating discussion, nonetheless.

Still, this type of needle is normally placed horizontally, here it seems to be vertical, which is quite unique and nice to see.

Excellent lot, eatmeat, congratulations!

Hello Owain, Yes, it's a display of ribbons from the SFRY ranked in order of importance. These were mainly hanging in tailor shops and factories to guide tailors in the correct order of presentation of sewn ribbons on uniforms. What is a small oddity here is that the small devices on the order of republic ribbons are the coat of arms from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992-2003), where the revised orders were introduced in 1998, while everything else is consistent with the pre-1991 regulations.

Thanks for the followup muh. When I have time I will check my wartime examples to see if they have stamps.

"Succedentisi" is not translated as successful but rather "explosions in sequence". I think it gives a better idea of the context... The chain reaction of an exploding powder keg. Must had been hell.

Hello Muh, I don't see any obvious red flags with your cap. Fabric, inner lining, black thread, red star cloth are all consistent with a late war or early post war titovka. That said, most of the ones I've seen had no stamps. The stamps themselves certainly indicate that this specimen was never really used, as they tended to disappear rather quickly with wear and sweat. It could also be a movie prop, I'm not ruling that out. Finally, it could even be an original military titovka that ended up as movie prop, since the JA was very much involved in supporting the movie industry, both through their own productions (Zastava Film) and state film productions (Avala Film). When Avala Film went bankrupt in the mid 2000s, many such scene costumes and accessories came out. It's hard to tell what's what nowadays.

That's an interesting badge I haven't noticed before, thanks!

Yes, indeed, numis: Ante Šiško, born in 1914 in the village of Komorani – Livno (today Bosnia and Herzegovina), worker, arrived in Spain as a volunteer for the republican cause on 5.12.1936. from France. He died in November 1991 in Beočin (Serbia). My man: Anton Užarević, born in 1915 in Tovarnik – Vukovar (Croatia), worker, arrived in Spain on 7.2.1937 from Yugoslavia. He died in 1981 in Poland.

Fantastic, thank you! And very interesting to see on picture that he used to wear his orders with that black cloth underneath, probably to preserve the uniform from attrition, but highly unusual and probably tolerated only because of his rank... Or maybe they retired him for that!

WOW!! AMAZING GROUP Eatmeat! Congratulations! Can you share the name? What year was he born?

Hey Numis, Excuse my week-long replies. Here are some pictures of my Zagreb medallion. Definitely these were given/the conferences were intended for Yugoslav participants to the Spanish War only! My only question is whether this one specifically was given to all veterans or only those of Croatian origin. Because as far as I remember all medals of this type that I've seen bear Croat names.

Numis, I do have one of these medals, cased, at home. I can take pictures if you are interested to see. Consider that there were only about 1,600 Yugoslav volunteers in the Spanish Civil War, half of whom died during the conflict. Many more died thereafter, during WWII, fighting with Tito's partisans in Yugoslavia. On the other hand, many of those who survived raised to cover prominent positions in Socialist Yugoslavia, from being ambassadors, politicians, military leaders, etc. This makes any medal, document etc. of the Association of Yugoslav Spanish Fighters a rarity indeed. In 1966 the Municipality of Zagreb, SR Croatia, decided to mark the 30th anniversary since the start of the war by issuing this nominal table medal to Spanish veterans - I am not sure if from the city of Zagreb only or broader. But I think about 100+ of these were struck overall.

Are these taken off actual gravestones? ?

I can warmly recommend this Italian craftsman, from whom I ordered a custom-made drawer last year: https://www.coinsandmore.it/ Top quality and craftsmanship, very responsive and helpful in meeting my needs and guide me through selecting materials/sizes etc.

More correct dates appear to be in February 1945, when Alexander visited Belgrade. Here many interesting photos of the occasion. Confirming the timeframe, a telegram from Churchill dated 1 March 1945, congratulating Alexander for the successful mission to Belgrade. I am very pleased. ?

Dear Johan, you were absolutely amazing! Thank you very much! Indeed, it is him, and it helped me find the concrete occasion at which this photograph was taken: https://www.gettyimages.fr/detail/photo-d'actualité/tito-posing-following-his-nomination-as-head-of-the-photo-dactualité/104421086 https://www.gettyimages.fr/detail/photo-d'actualité/field-marshal-harold-alexander-confers-over-a-large-photo-dactualité/515461342

Dear colleagues, I have acquired at an auction this nice autographed photography of Marshal Tito of Yugoslavia with a British officer. Tito is wearing his Soviet Order of Suvorov, which was awarded to him in October '44, and the same uniform that he wore in Naples, in August '44, in a famous meeting with Churchill. In my opinion the photo was taken during the late war up to 1946 the latest. I would need some help in identifying the British officer standing next to him. I thought to see some resemblance with Field Marshall Montgomery, but I am not very convinced, both because my understanding is that Montgomery was not that tall and because I didn't find any evidence that the two met in this period. Any information on the person or perhaps even on the occasion on which this photograph was taken would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Yes, probably fac-simile was not the correct term, I was thinking more of an autopen. Certainly, quite a rare document nowadays. ?

Very nice items, BalkanCollector! It's always a plus when you can trace the unit and actions where the decorated person took part, especially when such an important one. Is Tito's signature on the document original or a fac-simile? I assume only a few hundreds of these could had been awarded in 1958... Cheers, Drugo

Thank you for this link, Wilsson02, it adds another piece to the puzzle! Cheers, Drugo

Indeed, if such a list of holders exists, I'd be most interested to see it. It would be nice if Valjevo could share a link.

Amazing lot! Too bad it seems that many awards do not come with original diplomas or certification papers at least... Regarding your question about a medal, it should be a common civil defense award from SR Croatia.