TacHel

Same here... I also received the 125th Ann. of Confederation medal... Yet another fine example of piss poor construction and finish.

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!

Yup, same design, cheaper manufacturing... Piss poor quality control!

Over 10 years ago. Any CD you might have seen bestowed since that was of high quality manufacture was from older stock. The new ones are of extremely poor finish.

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! I used to court mount medals and the new CDs drove me NUTS! Miniature CDs are cheap, and a bar for it will also be cheap. You can get them here: William Scully They'll even court mount the mini for you if you wish. Keep an eye out for the other CD, the GVIR issue, looks real nice with a square mount. Don't hesitate to drop me a PM if you want hints on where to get the higher awards. Cheers!

Here's yet another example of a very ambiguous award. The Medal for 225 Years of the Black Sea Fleet as issued by the fleet commander (akin the medal for 70 Years of the Northern Fleet). The ONLY "official" fleet anniversary medal issued by the Defense Ministry was for the 300th anniversary of the Baltic Fleet back in 2003. The medal is really nice and of fine quality, and I've seen it being worn on the uniform of members of the Black Sea Fleet, again, just like the medal for 70 Years of the Northern Fleet... But is it official or are these sailors only allowed to wear it while in that particular fleet?

Simply jawdroppingly STUNNING! :jumping:

Ahhh OK. I think I know of a firm in the US that makes repros. I'll find out and get back to you ASAP. Do you perchance know the number?

Even if you pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars for an original, it still won't have the proper number on the back. But if that is what you want, I can give you the URLs of many reputable European dealers that have some for sale but like I said, it'll cost you a pretty penny. If a copy is good enough, go to eBay and type in Order of St George 4th class... Plenty there.

Superbe comme toujours! Did you recognize the gent in post #1? None other than Korpsf?hrer des NSFK Generalmajor Christiansen.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I couldn't make out the first half of the word, only the second part and wrongly deduced it was BOURGMESTRE. But even if it had been crystal clear, I was unfamiliar with the term VAGUEMESTRE. Thank you for that info! Very enlightening! Merci!

Great collection! Absolutely stunning photo editing! You bring the entire collection to life! Thanks for sharing!

It's a letter to his sister but unfortunately still too small to make out some of the words. If worst comes to worst due to the max size allowed per picture per post, scan it bigger and cut it in 2 and insert in 2 posts. Here's what I could read: My dear sister, I have been back at the depot since 15 November without permission (to leave) or contacts so I still haven't been able to go to Foulain. I am relegated in the Ance by the reform counsel of Antibes and employed in the office of the Mayor in Coilie this is better than drill. I am feeling much better. I am not tired anymore, I only have to do what I can. Marguerite came with Jean on the Tuesday following my arrival which really pleased me. Sunday she brought me clothes because I use much. I am covered in lice, this kind of bird is not amusing. Since she forgot your letter to me, she is sending it today. You don't say if you're feeling better, are you still sick? Answer me quickly. You must know the news from Foulain there's no need to talk to you about it. I don't know when I'll be able to get a 4 day pass, it's the Devil to get anything even though I have the right to 7 and 4 I have nothing. Anyway, one must otherwise be content; if I still have some time to be peaceful one must not stir things up. I leave you now my dear little sister and kiss/embrace you with all my heart. Your dear brother -?- I've added in blue what I could decipher (75%+ probability) following Michael's blow up.

Was this scratch built? :o

SWEET! Nice work! :jumping:

Order of Parental Glory, instituted on 13 May 2008. Awarded to parents (also adoptive parents) who are married, in a civil union, or in the case of single-parent families, to one of the parents (adoptive parents) who are/is raising, or have raised four or more children as citizens of the Russian Federation. For leading a healthy family life, being socially responsible, providing an adequate level of health care, education, physical, spiritual and moral development of the children, full and harmonious development of their personality, and setting an example to strengthen the institution of the family and child rearing. This is the badge and the 2 mounts, bow for ladies, 5 corner mount for gents.

WOA! Her grand father received the Cross of St George as a Canadian soldier? We want more info man! Everything you can get your hands on! Dates, units, name, serial number, pictures!! The works! ANYTHING your cousin has!! If there's any missing info, there are guys on this forum that can probably find his boot size! NOTE: the Cross of St George is usually numbered on the back. Find out if your cousin has that info.

You can readily find good copies on eBay for under $60. You can also find real ones from reputed dealers but these will run in the hundreds or thousands of dollars as they are numbered and the lower numbers really go for more. Here, go on eBay and enter this number in the search box 260421828630 Good copy of a St George Cross 4th class for $30.

Great work! Awesome detailing on the webbing!

The train... The troops... The hardware... The poses... Simply S-T-U-N-N-I-N-G!!

I hadn't really intended on specifically documenting "unofficial/non governmental" awards for the simple reason there are too many of them (literally hundreds!). So there isn't a Wiki page planned for that. But... I have 4 or 5 dozen pictures that can be of use to you with the originating organizations, it'll be a pleasure to send these for your great web site and to keep you abreast of any new findings on that subject.

For over a year now, I have been working on this WIKIPEDIA PAGE. I only include awards that I have positively identified as governmental. I'm positive that I'm missing some medals in there, researching hundreds of governmental decrees with my limited knowledge of the Russian language is no easy task, but I intend on keeping the page as up to date as possible. This should help to guide anybody interested in starting a Russian Federation collection. Any and all "researched" additions or modifications will be greatly welcomed and appreciated!

This is what I'm talking about when I use the term "mimicking" of official awards. All of these medals denote the 100th anniversary of submarines in Russia. ONLY the one at lower left is an "official/governmental" award, all the others are from civilian organizations, some are mere souvenirs. Yet a quick scan on eBay will show you many of them advertised as the official medal. Don't get too cranked up at the merchants or sellers, most have no idea, very little data in the form of books or catalogs has hit the Western market. I also purchased the medal at the top left corner knowing it was from a non governmental source. Why? Because it's simply gorgeous and of the highest quality. Like I mentioned before, many non governmental (civilian/bogus) medals are of much higher quality and design than the actual official governmental awards.

Award documents for "official/governmental" ministerial or departmental medals will always have the ministerial/departmental emblem on the cover. Here, from L to R, Defense Ministry, Interior Ministry and Federal Border Service. The particular ministry or department is also usually clearly identified inside the award document. If the document is stamped, the ministry or department will be identified on the stamp itself. Any exceptions? Yes, but so few that you should seriously consider passing on items without these identifiers.

This is the actual "official/governmental" medal for "Veteran of the MVD". If you had to choose between them in a dealer's shop or at a flea market, which one would you have picked? (Just FYI, I opted for the wrong one... ) The "reverse inscription" rule doesn't always work, like I said, there are some rare exceptions, a few governmental awards don't have the reverse inscription as mentioned above, but non governmental medals will NEVER have a reverse inscription identifying a ministry or department. When in doubt, following this simple rule will prevent you from purchasing non governmental (bogus) medals.