Ed_Haynes

Yes, there are pepole out there willing to do that. Some of them infest eBay, where you would expect them. They are of course not allowed among serious collectors, at medal fairs or elsewhere. They are one of the lowest forms of scum, sub-human fakers and fraudsters. They're out there doing their bit to line their pockets while destroying our hobby.

As they all look the same, I see absolutely no reason to post my (undocumented ) pair. The legit documents are, to my experiernce, far rarer than the badges (though they have recently, and strangely, skyrocketed in price). I am not sure what endless threads of identical (non-varietal) posts acomplish (expect to shout "I have one too" -- big whoopie.)

Yes, father and son? Nice!!

Interesting. A tiny tiny unit, so . . . ? Interesting also that the seller shows the original specifications. Am I getting overly suspicious in my old age? If legitimate, immensely rare.

I think the Red Star does shed light on the "group", and an ugly, sickly light it is.

Paul is right, it seems on the surface to be a plausible group. Without relevant completed documents (which, for that era, are so commonly faked!) it is hard to say much more. The fact that it has the "internationalist warrior" blank document and no others (which are harder to find blank or real) does not strike me as a good sign. Yet, without evidence, I guess it becomes a matter of belief?

Yes, Andrew has been a true gentleman on this. Many public thanks!

See: http://www.austro-hungarian-army.co.uk/JK1908.htm http://www.medals.lava.pl/at/at1.htm http://www.netdialogue.com/yy/Europe/Austr...e/60FJ/60FJ.htm

A wide number of popular "hint" books were published. What era are you looking for?

Part of the answer -- at least so everyone says -- is the entry into the market of a fair number of rich Russian "collectors" (= "investors") with very, very, very deep pockets, the source of whose wealth does not bear close examination. They are, or so it is said, sucking up much high-end and even not-so-high-end Soviet material. The awards are flowing back to the Motherland.

Thanks, but of no help to me. I do not collect photos or have any or even seek them (not as I'd know where to start looking). Should one drop into my hands by accident, you'll surely hear from me. As least I know the photo that belongs with the group is, as they said in the X-Files, "out there", even if split from his medals and paperwork. There are rumors, also, that other paperwork and photos and such for this man are "out there". (In Area 51 methinks.)

Finis Comrades: That distinctive "kaboing" you just heard is the ball landing squarely in your court. Help!

Badge 7 Plain pebbled reverse. Very shiney and eludes a good scan. Photo-fiddled for legibility.

Badge 6

Badge 5 Reverse plain.

Badge 4

Badge 3

Badge 2 Reverse mirror-imaged, plain.

OK, ignoring the common stuff shown in http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=6207&st=5 above ("Common" = those I know ), here we go: Badge 1

I suspect this is (1) just sloppy mounting, as they were foreign their ribbons may not have mattered or may not have been in stock, and (2) they'd be buried under overlapping Soviet rows upon rows anyway.

Watch it, Dave. You prompt me to start posting these badges for identification help! They constitute unknown territory to me! And, yes, it is good to at least see a more detailed photo. (Should it ever be on the market . . . ???)

Not quite a million, but getting close . . . .

While we're doing these nice single-award threads, . . . . The only one I have is Kravchenko's, see http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=6207 Type 3, 26471

Kravchenko's third class, type 1, # 2618. (A nice low number!) See also: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=6207

A third class singleton, var. 1, #58814, so far unattributed. The Master holds the research request. (Gosh, this one is hard to scan!)