TacHel

No hypothesis here... I'm a member of 3 Russian (language) phaleristic forums, these "things" were a hot topic last year.

Are you certain of that? I also have different variations of the 50 and 60 Years of Victory Medals, but I have always been under the impression that these were simply made by different mints, using different dies or something like that.

Unless the medal has the same design and ribbon with finite differences to the one above due to a different mint, then it isn't an official one. Some organizations like Umalatova went as far as using the EXACT same medal and simply adding cheap enamels. I could name you a dozen events with a myriad of commemorative medal with varying designs, yet all only have a single official (governmental) medal. And yes, I am absolutely sure about this.

In the next few days (because this weekend I don't have the time), I'll post some of the medals you mentioned, and I'll ID the orgs that spat them out. For example, have a look at post #4 of this thread: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=37199

To be perfectly honest with you... These "re minted" and most of the time extremely poor copies with very questionable documents are meant for sale to fill the party coffers... Not to actually reward anybody...

I forgot to mention: the WW2 ones are made in Poland BTW...:whistle:

I was at the Izmailovo market in Moscow in May this year and even then several varations of this medal could already be found.

Yup, they.re fast aren't they? But the medal above is the only "official" one from the government. All other variations are from civilian and/or veterans' organizations.

What can one say except... SUPERB!:jumping:

I wouldn't be surprised if the box alone was worth much more than the medal...

A few of us have 30+ years of collecting and had NEVER seen one before.

Beautiful documented pair! SWEEET!:jumping:

Sweet! Original or spangenstück?

WOW! This is the first time I see an original box for the Médaille de Ste Hélène!

As far as minis (réductions) go, most (if not all) were made by jewelers and other non governmental sources, so sizes vary greatly. I very much doubt you'd be able to find all possible sizes.

Incredibly interesting... And at the same time... :lol:

I know the French called many of their helo units SCORPION Squadrons, saw them with SFOR. I saw many patches bearing a scorpion but must admit at not seeing an insignia such as this one.

Fascinating piece! Thanks for sharing this great piece!:jumping:

That's a beautiful set Frank! I have only seen a couple of those Sacristain China 1860 medals on different reference and auction sites and your's appears in excellent condition. Congrats!!

Tim

This is the first one I had ever seen up close. I was salivating profusely... The price brought me back to reality though. Then my wife looked at me, smiled and said "go for it"... I darn near fainted! I had it in my breast pocket the entire trip back refusing to pack it even in my carry on.

Very impressive rack!

Very nice award certificate for the "Médaille du maintien de l'ordre AFN" (North African medal for maintaining order).

Here's the ancient thread about these badges.

http://gmic.co.uk/in...=1720&hl=sniper rkka&st=0

/Kim

Thanks for the link, a good start!:cheers:

Thanks gents, no sweat, like I said, I paid very little for them.

Would it be possible to see pics of genuine badges with tips on what to look for? Like they say, a picture is worth 1000 words. I'm thinking of acquiring the entire set of these badges in the near future and am going in blind... And since I've seen some of them (wartime items) going for hundreds of dollars, I won't spend a cent until I learn more.

Reverse of same badge.

Reverse of the same badge.

I recently acquired 2 such badges for excellence but must admit at not knowing how to tell the difference between a genuine article and a copy.

I included "rather large" pictures of both to help you in telling me whether these are genuine articles or copies. I paid very little for them so if they turn out to be copies, no big deal. I would however greatly appreciate input on what to look for in future dealings regardless of the outcome.

There's no such animal to my knowledge... Looks like a perfectly good fourragère TOE but the olive definitely doesn't go there. There is no olive worn on a fourragère TOE. TOE olives are worn on the MM, CdG and LoH fourragères.

Hello All -

The wearing if the medal by the US troops, at that parade, was a fantastic gesture. So, if it is against regulations, the person who made that descision for the troops to wear them, should be applauded - even if it is just a once off wearing of the medal.

As so often said on this forum - "jusy my few cents worth"

regards

Thomas

I couldn't agree more with you Thomas. Even if meant as a simple gesture of courtesy, it was an extremely good call by whoever made it!

A simple difference in regulations?

British troops also receiving the medal...

British troops NOT wearing the medal on parade on Red Square...