Ed_Haynes

Though the ribbon color can be learned from this miniature.

Medal of Omar al-Mukhtar

Commemorating (?) the famous Libyan freedom fighter against Italian occupation.

Naked and unribboned, sorry.

Liberation Medal

Order of Courage

Although it is a heavy 68 mm, Colonel-Brother wears it as a breast badge from a plain (40 mm?) red ribbon. Made by Bomisa of Milan.

Order of the Military Star (?)

A massive 70 mm. Made by Bomisa of Milan.

There is an immense (and I do mean IMMENSE) lack of reliable information on Libyan awards. Any and all identifications should be seen as tentative. Repeated promised of information have, so far, come up empty. Guess one just has to ask Colonel-Brother in person?

Some online sources, none of them very good:

http://faculty.winthrop.edu/haynese/medals/libya.html

http://www.omsa.org/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=521

http://www.medals.org.uk/libya/libya.htm

http://www.coleccionesmilitares.com/cintas/cintasaf.htm and scroll down to "LIBIA"

http://www.netdialogue.com/yy/Africa/Lybia/Lybia.htm

http://www.4dw.net/royalark/Libya/libya.htm

And the reverse. Can anyone help, please.

And, while his Red Star has recommendation has been shown (though I still need to get it translated), here is the awards record card. I am asking about the service record.

While I guess al Red Stars sort of look alike (until you know the stories behind them?), here is Leonid Mokrushin's, as discussed above.

Yes, it now dwells in my custody.

This is my first medal to a member of the 40th who had service down here in the colonies.

Name: Robert Stewart

Date of Enlistment: 1820.

Age at Enlistment: 14 years, 5 months.

Date of Discharge: 1845.

Rank at Discharge: Sergeant.

Period of Overseas Service: 20 years.

Period of Australian Colonial Duty: 11 years, 2 months.

I have copies of all his paper work here, but have just started properly looking through it. I'm guessing i'll find he was also up for a Maharajpoor Star as well, see the 'love taps' on the medal. Whether he was involved in the above mentioned campaign or not, i may not be able to tell (no rolls or lists) but matching up dates and locations may be the best i can do. If any one has other ideas, i would be glad to hear them.

As an aside, the hanger on the medal is rather decorative. Floral designs and a 'hand' (Yes, that's what it actually is!) gripping the medal. And who says British medals all look the same, eh?

Sam.

Well, the medal is reverser (as is the ribbon), and it looks like it has had a hard life.

Nice one, though!

Nice one, Dave. The first post-revolution Iranian award I have even seen. Shukran.

The Book, volume 3 to The Bible, for sure!

292 pages of powerful stories. An education to us all!

I'm gonna read now, not type . . . .

Just got a LOVELY book in the post.

WOW!!

More rational comments to follow.

What a joke. Sad that someone will probably buy it and get turned off to Soviet ODM by that sad act. "Fools and their money", for sure, but it is still a crying shame.

I found this out, though I can't vouch for it's veracity:

...Your chap's unit can be identified from his unique army number which falls within the bloc reserved/allocated to the Bengal Engineer Group which was in the range 1400000 - 1460000.

As information.....

Not worth much I quess, just like to know all I can about any given item.

Generally true, but this is overstated. We have a working list over at the SAGongs forum, which is probably where this seller "borrowed" this information. It is not as absolute as thie assertion suggests, but likely.

So true, Jim. Except maybe the information is more important than the things?

Graham has given a good summary. Let me just add this this is a very, VERY nice place to start.

Never having seen one (ref. another thread), it is hard to say. But, given the quality (or lack thereof), I sure HOPE this is fake.

They are getting really good, really scary.

Ed, sometimes it is not possible to explain every aspect of authenticity features of a particular order. It really doesn't matter wether or not you speak Russian or English or other language. Same holds true for Russian-speaking collectors as well. It would come with experience. If you observe 10 real orders and 11th would be a fake, you recognize it right away.

I do not remember that Paul McDaniel EVER explained any of his verdicts on his certificates. Nevertheless people were happy about his certificates and didn't ask him any questions. But in my case you demand explanation. Such information costs big money (considering our present prices on the market). And many people prefer to keep they own little secrets and not share them to anyone. When I can, I always explain my opinion. Even on this forum I did it several times (for example with those BH screwbacks). If you have any suspicious order just send a good images and I'll be happy to express my opinion about it. But I expect some hard work from other side too. Should we only rely on some experts? Maybe we should try to learn something by ourselves? That was my point from the very beginning. We have to learn, collect information, transform it, and make a conclusions. We should analyze scans, seek for "watermarks", compare the configurations of mintmarks and styles of handwritings in serial numbers. Only this way we would gain some skills.

This is one reason I find things like the OMSA meetings so valuable. One dealer, in particular, always brings along some not-for-sale fakes and some real items so you can see. Only hands-on experience will make sense beyond a certain point. And, while we surely don't want to educate the fakers, we need to share knowledge and all must continue our learning.

And, as a professional acdemic historian, I do appreciate much of what you are saying. So long as we can all learn and teach effectively, without adopting a "well I know (and you don't)" attitude. This is my problem with many self-appoointed experts. Those who earn the status, as you have, fall into another category.

But who has the opportunity to handly multiple specimens of, say, tractor Lenins??

3212 Sepoy Sundar Singh. 15th Sikhs

1- Second Afghan War - AHMED KHEL - "Sepoy Soonder Singh 15th Regt N.I."

2- The India Medal 1895 - PF 97-98, SAMANA 1897, TIRAH 1897-98 - "3212 Sepoy Sundar Singh. 15th Sikhs"

3712 Sepoy Baryam Singh, 23rd Sikh Pioneers

1- The India Medal 1985 -Waz 1901-2, RofC 1895 - "3712 Sepoy Baryam Singh 23rd Bl Infy"

2- Tibet Medal - GYANTSE - "3712 Sepoy Baryam Singh 23 Sikh Pioneers"

3- Indian General Service 1908 - "3712 Seoy [sic.] Baryam Singh 23d Sikh Pioneers"

[155] 21 Duffadar Andul Rahman, Comissariat Transport Department

1- India General Service Medal, 1854-95, bronze - CHIN-LUSHAI 1889-90 - 155 Mule Duffr. Abdul Rahmn, Comt. Transport Dept.

Mule Dafadar, Commissariat Transport Department

2- India Medal, 1895-1902, Victoria, bronze - RELIEF OF CHITRAL 1895 - 21 Duffdr Abdul Rahman, Comst. Transpt. Deptt.

Dafadar, Commissariat Transport Department

I agree, mate. I tend to prefer to use the English names as used in standard English-language regerence books (well, more accurately, BOOK, singular = Red Bible, flaws and all). But one gets too much abuse for doing that. If I could remember the Russian, I'd use it instead, but there are too many mental Swiss-cheese-holes for that dance, for it is hard enough to remember to refer to the "Algan Gadas Odon" or "Padma Vibhushan" rather than the dumb English names! Frankly, I tend to avoid talking about That Medal, the same one you mentioned, not calling it by ANY name, talking around it, just That One we all know, wink, wink.

Maybe we should just learn Russian and speak only in that language?