Ed_Haynes

The ribbon discussion sounds nice if (IF) you do not assume that (1) ribbons fade or (2) are replaced over time?

Yes . . . This one looks troublesome and needs good scans. Or more . . . .

OK . . . . Too late for you, Eric, too late for you. Welcome aboard!

I understand, I do, really . . . Mongolian awards are incredibly seductive. Be afraid. Many of us have gone (too far?) down that dangerous road! But I'd not trade that for anything! Welcome to the addiction.

Actually, these capitalist-competitive days, I think the B32 may actually be harder to find than the C05, though neither will be easy. (Know an antique store in UB that had THREE nice B32s, a year ago.) Why choose this picture to "reconstruct"? Glad I got my badges when I could, from The Source.

Interesting, for me *.net came up as "under construction" but I found it through *.com. In any case . . . niccceeeeee.

Thanks for this, Jani. Do note that the url is *.com not *.net. Some NICE things there -- but I won't tell you what!

Some clarification is needed: -- Turkish was written in a script derived from the Arabic script until Mustafa Kemal Atat?rk's script reforms of 1928. Few contemporary Turks can read the old script today and even most scholars of Turkish history have trouble with some of its quirks. (This is one reason that so little reasearch has been conducted in the Ottoman archives.) -- I think his buttonhole ribbon is nothing German, but rather the Ottoman Harp Madalyasi (or 1915 War Medal). A buttonhole ribbon was often worn with the appropriate clasps and the familiar spectrum shifts in period film may make it appear black and white. A really nice photo. I'll try to clean up the legend and see if I can get some friends who have worked in the Ottoman archives to decipher it.

Interesting. Let me see what I can find. On what basis are you assigning this name? I have a more general Ma'aref (Education) Order (1960-73), from the kingdom era (shown). This, apparently, came in two classes/types? Possibly what you show is a military equivalent? Somewhere, I think I have one similar to what you show. Let me dig through boxes and notes.

Very interesting. Many thanks!

Purchased in New Delhi, India ( ) for around $25 US.

Reverse. #3696.

Knowing what a swamp these things are, I have an image to post for serious comment. It hasn't had an easy life. Should it come my way, it will go to Alexei soon thereafter.

Good point!

Good point, Rick. Never having had one in hand, I have no idea how "tight" the construction is. Still, I'd want to see better images.

For some of us, Miguiel, the answer to your question would depend entirely on what the recipient of that Red Banner did to earn his or her award. Without research, you are buying a pretty piece of locked-up history.

Interesting points here. I am led to wonder how much of the price rise is driven by these increasingly detailed definitions of varieties, sub-varieties, sub-sub-varieties, sub-sub-sub-varieties, etc.? While there are varieties that have some historical substance, where does the splitting of hairs stop? Each award is, after all, literally unique. Award #378659 is quite different from award #378658, if only in how the number is engraved. I am glad I am more interested in the unique differences of personal history that each award represents than in their increasingly arcane numismatic properties.

At first glance I would agree with JC. The serial number looks a little odd, but these brass ones often have strange numbering.

Remember how delightfully early these pictures are , way before the later neo-Tsarist onslaught and uniform "alteration" (as one might "alter" their cat?). My sense of this "streltsi" badge (and please let me know how wrong I am here) is that it is as much a sort of pre-guards "guards" badge as it is a branch insignia? Am I totally wrong? Always learning.

I know, Christian. I just wanted to remove any possible "confusion". And such "confusion" seems to be much more common with Soviet things than in any collecting area I have previously encountered.

To clarify: I was never suggesting that THIS particular order was good or bad; the scan was so bad I couldn't say with certainty one way or another (though I had some doubts). I was sinmply saying that the order, in general, is nice, but not rare (a term that is, as others have suggested, sloppily misused, mainly by denizens of e$cam).

Finally ran across that article: Vicken Koundakjian, "The French National Defense Medal," Journal of the Orders and Medals Society of America 42, 10 (October 1991): 28-30. Vicken gave some details regarding where things stood at the time of creation of this medal (1982) up through the time he wrote (with some pretty muddy illustrations). His details on the clasps are vague, but he lists 36 of them (3 geographical, 12 army specialization, 7 navy specialization, 7 air force specialization, and 7 general). He notes the existence of the Foreign Legion clasp, but had no information on any authorising authority for it. FYI.

No idea on a non-e$cam source? (If someone has an extra copy . . . ????)

Interesting, Bob. As with most Mongolian ribbon bars, it raises more questions than it provides answers. Generally, I'd assume that the "VoG" ribbon would be a representative ribbon for the Soviet 25th Anniversary badge? I have never seen anything to indicate that any Mongolian troops served in the European theater. In fact, just the opposite: That their deployment there was offered and rejected. In any case, Japan was the major enemy. Still pondering this one . . . .