Ed_Haynes

OK, it gets even more confusing.

A very modern-feeling, lightweight, unnumbered item. The center and suspension are not blue but rather a blue-green color (much more "green" than "blue" though it may nopt scan that way).

I NIB 09 -- Unknown Mongolian-Soviet Friendship Badge

Have no idea what the letters on the surrounding stars represent or even where the 'break' the word/abbreviation.

Happy to, Owain.

M NIB 08 -- 60th Anniversary of the State Bank, 1924-84

The State Bank so well known to us all.

Just so you have a real-world reference, the main building at Mongolian State University. To get the same view, I'd have had to stand in the centre of a busy intersection, most unwise in Ulanbaatar! The statue of Choibalsan out front doesn't show on the badges (the university was originally founded by him).

The star-thingy (by which I assume you mean the one at the top) is completely unknown to Battushig, though it seems to be remarkably similar to the collar badge worn by the guard at the parliament building I photographed in May.

See: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=18232&st=30

Good points, Rick. I think most of the shoulder boards I have posted were from unissued stock, so they may never had had branch insigniae.

The winged prop:

R NIB 17 -- 25th Anniversary of Mongolian State University

Yes, Owain has some excellent recent articles that touch on this subject. Sometimes you have to read . . . paper.

A collection of shoulder board insigniae. Some familiar, some unfamiliar, some known, some unknown. On authentic Mongolian cardboard.

While I know nothing about the "two varieties" (and neither do our friends in UB), here's the badge:

The latest word is that this order is soon to be recalibrated:

1st class - from 8 to 5 children

2nd class - from 5 to 3 children

A nice one though. Always more to learn . . . I it!

Pre-1947 ribbons are fairly easy to get, for example from the OMSA or OMRS ribbon banks. Post-1947 ribbons are in the OMSA ribbon bank (I keep them pretty well supplied).

Just one question: is there a collector`s market for ODM in India/Pakistan ???

Yes, very much. But only a few collectors (South Asian or foreign) can contend with the ever-rising prices and shrinking supplies. A standard ECON 101 scenario. Many items are now cheaper and easier to find in London, at London prices, than in New Delhi. Yet the best items still stay in India (and, I presume, Pakistan, though the market there is less well developed).

Thanks for showing your badge, Ed. I have not seen any of these before. Do you have any history on the original owner?

All I know is that I picked it up in Ulanbaatar for almost nothing. There must be a tale, but . . . ????

That last 1950 one is noteworthy in that he is wearing 1930s uniform-- apparently any (old) image sufficed, even one 10+ years out of date. This may explain why photos are peeled out of so many older IDs-- not kept as fingernail sized family mementoes or to conceal identity-- simply recycled on something else.

Yes, I'd noted that too. The picture shows clear evidence of being 'distressed', folded and cracked. It does look like it got peeled off something old and added here. In a society where photos were uncommon and expensive . . . .

Closeup.

Another labor union membership book. It shows payments through December 1989 (when she would have been 86 years old). She was a union member from May 1942.

This is way outside my lane's....Who do you think is it Ed?

A young Choibalsan?

. . . and, finally.

These photos deserve some close and focused study.

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And . . .