Ed_Haynes

True, true, Christian. My thoughts too. BUT, the DM 3000 starting price (the Lenin) can be compared to the starting prices in the same auction for: -- Baden, Z Lion, grand cross set - DM 3200 -- Bavaria, House Order of St. H, grand cross breast star - DM 2500 -- Bavaria, Military M-J Order, grand cross breast star - DM 2500 -- Hesse-Darmstadt, Ludwig Order, collar - DM 3000 -- Austria, Golden Fleece, chain and badge - DM 4000 A better context?

And some more common, fixed-price, stuff. From the September 1970 Spink Numismatic Circular. Remember: These are 1970 ?s. The ?8 for the Liberation of Warsaw (#10825) compares to items in the same list: -- A GV MM to 29th Canadian Infantry -- A Sutlej for Aliwal (OK, it was ?8/10/-) -- An IGS 54 "Persia" -- A China 1857 "Taku Forts" and "Pekin" Also remember that, taking into account inflation and all, ?8 in 1970 is now about ?149.38 (2005 figures, based on average earnings -- there are MANY ways to play this game -- see http://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/ukcompare/ for more details).

Well, here are some items. From the 90th Graf Klenau auction, 23 March 1974. Remember: 1- This is an auction. These are estimated starting prices. I have mislaid the "prices realised" sheet. 2- The prioces are in DM (remember them), 1974 DM. 3- The authenticity of some items is dubious. Possible to get here (only), mounted in a group, the famous super-rare Klenau-special fantasy Kutuzov 3rd class on pentagonal suspension. (Item 3813.)

Chris, you dog.

Once again, you may find that the web is not the best place to do research. What you seek will likely be found only by using books, and books in Turkish and , maybe, German. A good research library remains the starting place for any serious research, and yes it is hard work; this is despite the fact that the "Wikipedia Generation" wants to find it all "on the web" and to expend little effort in doing so.

To get a rough idea, you may want to glance at the catalogue and results from the last (16 November 2006) FJP auction -- http://www.fjpauctions.com/ -- though, in these days, no one can say how these results from happier days will relate to what, if anything, will happen in the future. Looking at results from a good auction house like FJP will be a better guide to reality than e$cam.

Good on ya' Rick! Keep on truckin'!

Maybe , maybe not. But in case you have lost the link to the delightful, medal-bedecked national anthem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8fMWtpwZEM

Or, see: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16841992/site/newsweek/ Collecting: A Mix-Up on Medals Newsweek Feb. 5, 2007 issue - In December, the Stolen Valor Act made it a crime to buy, sell, mail, import or export any military decoration approved by Congress. But the bill?intended to stop people from impersonating decorated vets?has such vague wording that medal collectors and auction houses are scrambling to find out if they're within the law. The legislation calls for a one-year maximum sentence and a fine of up to $100,000 for improper use of the Distinguished Service Medals, including the Medal of Honor, Silver Star and Purple Heart. But critics say it's drawn so broadly that active-duty soldiers can't mail home their own medals. Online auction sites such as eBay have already begun to cancel bidding on Purple Hearts and other decorations, regardless of whether the medals date back decades or longer. (Collectors of Civil War memorabilia could be affected.) Manions International, an auction house devoted to militaria, has yanked all American medals from its listings. And Jeff Floyd, the largest auctioneer of orders and medals from around the world, canceled his company's February round of auctions as he takes a "wait and see" approach. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Kent Conrad, has said its intent is to impede only impostors, not collectors, and a legal group that examined the law says collectors appear to be safe. But enthusiasts worry that an outlaw market may emerge. "The law will force the collectors, archivists and historians to go underground," says retired Capt. Dean Veremakis, USNR, who serves as the president of the Orders & Medals Society of America. ?Peter Suciu ? 2007 Newsweek, Inc.

Thanks!

Wizardry. Yep, wizardry.

Thanks, Rick! Much to know.

Congratulations, mate. Good to see the baby safely delivered.

Somehow, I knew Michael wouldn't let us down -- I was waiting for that one.

Actually, just an adaptation of the plasticised ribbon used for ribbon bars. As close as we'll ever get to whatever the original notification intended.

Thanks, Dave! Now to squint out a translation "with a little [= a lot of] help from my friends".

Wow! Wow!! Dave, Gerd, THANKS!!!

Thanks. Can you add anything to Rick's helpful summary of the documents we have in hand? Thanks (again) in advance.

Hi Jaganji, This is one of the four that were manufactured at the Mint (according to the cover letter, and the Mint should be ashamed of the quality). This particular one was sent to the Ministry of Defence Medal Office. They kept it, but as it was non-military (Home Ministry production, remember), they didn't pay much attention to it and didn't know/remember what it was when discovered there by a friend. They "gifted" it to the United Service Institution of India, where it now resides on display in their medal collection.

Hi Ibrahim, No problem. It is just that here, in the US, I do occasionally -- well, more than just occasionally -- wonder about many of those who collect Nazi stuff, whether they do so out of phaleristic and historical morives or whether they do so out of sympathy with the goals and ideology of the Third Reich. If you glance at some of the other militaria forums out there -- two come prominently to mind -- you'll see the fairly clear expressions of really unpleasant essentially "Nazi" ideas. Those who consider the SS to be no more than Boy Scouts make me wonder, but about them, the SS, or the Boy Scouts? The items are history, and it is not their fault. Those who relish the ideas they represent are, to me at least, a source of concern. Ed

WARNING - Rectification of Names follows! Well, to make things a bit more complex, the name of this order is the "Order of the Polar Star" only in our habituated English translation. The real name, in Mongolian, it is the "Algan Gadas Odon" (whether in Cyrillic or Mongol Bichig), and this translates better into English as the "Order of the Golden Stake" or the "Order of the Golden Nail" or the "Order of the Golden Pole". (Maybe it's all the same, maybe not. Accuracy is important?) Given the stupid locker-room jokes that surround the unfortunate common translation of the real name of what is called in English the "Order of the Precious Rod", it may be better that we continue to use a flawed translation for this one?

Oh, nice. I need to contact Anderson House and get a copy. Thanks!

Well, the society is still (mostly) alive, so I guess the only question is in what era the badges are made? Whether in the 1780s or the 2000s, a legitimate badge is a legitimate badge. Each state has its own design traditions, so, to the initiated, you can tell the difference. Although I am technically elegible I am not a member, as someone beat me to my ancestor!

I am just not sure how it will fit in among all the other multi-coloured clutter that defines US awards these days. And, so often, designing a ribbon and producing it nicely are two different things. Unless executed with elegance and quality of production, diagonally striped ribbons don't work. So . . . the Air Force has a medal for combat readiness and a medal for combat. How about a medal for combat aftermath? It so easily gets so silly.

Oh, I thought you meant collectors of Asian ODM. Not collectors of Asisn origin who chooect that Nazi stuff. OK.