Paul R

Hi Scott, I am sorry that I missed your thread! I am not a fan of the embroidery or the material used for the yellow badge cloth. Who is offering these?

Absolutely beautiful!! What is the name on the medical visor?

Great collection addition!! Is it operable? The pouches look LW blue!

He was saying that there are no labels from hat makers on the inside of the hat.

Can you please explain what you mean? I dont understand.

I saw a tunic like this a few years ago. Not common at all. I recall it being small. Also it sported the same shiny buttons.

Also, anything on the backside of the pendants?

You soviet collection is pure quality! I did not see a single "common" item in the lot! The photo of Comrade Yevgeny Dolmatovski is nothing less than stellar, and is one for the reference books!

Sorry for the crappy photo... but I almost left one out.

Here are the others...

Those are some great bringbacks! The Republican Guard and Air Force(?) portraits are great!! Thanks for sharing them.

What are they and what are the award criteria?

A very unique piece of history! This is the first time I have seen one of these!

I am certain that he is a cadet at an unteroffizierschule.

Well said.

I would guess customs. Does it seem to match the pattern on the shoulder boards?

I have not seen an example better than this one! Thank you for taking the time to share it!

Very striking pieces John!! This is my favorite badge! One had to get down and dirty to get it!

I am sorry... I was talking about the aguilletes(sp).

Order of the Red Stars have generally been closing at prices between 50 and 100 dollars. Not bad for them being so very rare(I think about 4 million?). I am looking at a real nice one with six digits for 173 dollars with a day remaining on the bid. #121476 http://cgi.ebay.com/ORDER-OF-THE-RED-STAR-...1QQcmdZViewItem Bear in mind, I am not angry. I am simply very amused. I remember almost trading my entire Soviet collection for a Valmet Military Rifle back in 1998. The rifle was priced at 1100 dollars. I remember the seller of the rifle saying that while he thought that the lot of medals and orders was very attractive, but he had no demand for things that are common and held no monetary value. He did say that he would try to help me by giving me 500 dollars for the lot(I think that my stuff was worth about 1400 dollars, back then). I am glad that I did not take him up on that! I wonder if he knows what he missed out on! lol

I have been following these daily on Ebay for the past two weeks and it seems like the average closing price on these is going above 600 dollars now!!! The price of a basic ORB is going up DAILY!! It is hard to believe that there were over 500,000 of these awarded!! I should have bought a lot more of them when they were a mere 20 dollars a pop!! This one just closed at 665 dollars- Unresearched #161928. Enamel is perfect, only the tiniest amount of gilt wear on a couple of the highest spots. Ring appears unopened. Ribbon is clean and very bright, could be a replacement but it seems to me to be an original. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...A:IT&ih=013

Keep them coming!!

Most beautiful!!! Are there green fleckings in the shoulder cords? This is the finest piped Zoll tunic I have seen!!

Another ultimate Noncombatant bar!!

Well... I like the 100 pound price and the 1000 pound buy it now! If someone was not reading it correctly, they might think that the buy it now was 100 pounds. 1. The date on the EK2 does not look like "1939". 2. Spange on a 1939 EK2? 3. IMHO, the 1939 clasp is fake. Am I close? Oh... the story is a lot of fun too... An amazing item for sale and the last from my late uncle's collection. To the serious collector, I offer you the chance to own an original EKII c/w 1939 Spange. Originally made in three parts - a backing plate, a central core and front plate, this type of medal is the most valuable but, as the war progressed and materials became scarce, the medal was massed produced as a single forging and sadly, issued on the same basis - more probably as not, as a morale booster. The shape of the medal is derived from the Formee and Maltese Crosses, and is the only German medal that does not display Oak or Laurel leaves. The Obverse shows the crooked Swastika at the heart of the medal and the year 1939 at the foot, whilst the Reverse shows the year 1813. A Ribbon of the national colours - Black - Silver - Red - Silver - Black is suspended through a ring, itself stamped with the number '3' - indicating the medal was manufactured by Wilhelm Deumer of Ludenscheld. The 1939 'Spange' was most commonly manufactured from zinc although others were made from a material called 'Tomback'. The Obverse shows the German eagle clutching a crooked Swastika inside a wreath of Oakleaves above a Trapezoid indicating year of manufacture - 1939 whilst the Reverse is clean except for the makers mark L13 - indicating it was made by Paul Maybaeur. I speak as a complete Iron Cross amateur, as I have not studied them, so please be gentle!