Eric Schena

Definitely Albanian and definitely of quality manufacture (I suspect it's from Pr?wema). I believe the inscription reads: "Distinguished Activist for the Building of Socialism", though I will gladly defer to our Albanian friends here. Nice badge!

Thank you so much for your kind words, Elvis! I am truly humbled and honored that my dumb little book has made a positive contribution to collecting and understanding Albania's medals, even in Albania itself. And to everyone: I have had a few folks let me know of some minor corrections I should make, plus a few really good pictures have come my way (BOB: hope you do not mind, but I am replacing my very poor pictures of the Hero of the People/Hero of Socialist Labor badges with your fantastic examples, credited of course), so I will see what I can do about having a "corrected" 3rd edition posted here for all to enjoy and download at your leisure. That way you won't have to worry about email size restrictions. There won't be anything too horribly different, just a few tweaks here and there to make it better. Again, thanks to all for your interest in this and to everyone's assistance in helping me keep it up! Cheers, Eric

I knew Elvis would know this I'll have to make some minor corrections to the badges section...but this is a GOOD thing because it means one more question has been answered. This is precisely why I love this forum. This type of information would have been nigh impossible for me to get just a few years ago.

Hi Drew: I am not aware of any specific political insignia - maybe some of our Albanian friends can indicate if there were any. This site, http://www.uniforminsignia.net, does have some rank insignia and uniform information. Hope that helps! Cheers, Eric

Truly one of the most beautiful awards in my opinion. About 7 years ago, I saw a GC set for $5,000 (same guy who offered me a knight's badge of the Order of Ferdinand mentioned in that thread). I still harbor dreams of stumbling upon a set... Thanks for the great pics! Cheers, Eric

Of all the decorations in the world I have rated as my "dream" decorations, two are Romanian and this is one of them*. I was offered a knight's badge several years ago (maybe 7 or so years ago) for $750 and I could not afford it then. I have always regretted not getting it. Thanks for sharing these pictures and the information! Cheers, Eric * For what it's worth, the other two are the Order of Carol I and the royal Bulgarian Order of Sts. Cyril & Methodius

Done...and done. Also merged the first post on the 1942-1943 medal (the thread with my photos of one in wear). Makes sense to have all of these in one place.

All: I was going through my book and noticed an incomplete section in bright bold highlights for the Order of the Flag. I have corrected that and have a replacement sheet for the pages. Let me know if you would like them sent to you. Cheers, Eric

Hi Enzo: That is a beauty. That medal has so far eluded me in my hunting and is on my short list of medals I would like to add to my collection. It's funny, I have pictures of the medal in wear (probably rarer than the actual medal) yet I have never so much as seen one in person. Thanks for showing the reverse, too! Ciao! Eric

I am real curious about the prices realized. The first medals I ever collected were Imperial Russian and Soviet. I have not bought a Soviet medal in many years precisely because of this trend and Imperial medals, sheesh, no new ones there for over 10 years. The last one I bought was a Victory over Germany medal with a doc to a Bulgarian and that was maybe 2 years ago. I consider myself fortunate that at least I got a documented Lenin back in 1993 for $600, a screwback RB like the one that sold here for over $3,000 for all of $125, and a researched OPW 1st class to a SMERSH lt. col. for $300 (I posted it here some time back - look for it, the story is interesting to say the least). Would I like to add to my small collection? Absolutely - I'd LOVE nothing more than to have a screwback ORBL or a St. Anne/St. Stanislaus. Is it going to happen in this price climate? Not in the least. So I now consider my USSR part of my collection as complete as it is going to get. What's worse is now with these prices, if someone wanted those three decorations I listed for prices like what they are now fetching, let's just say it may take me all of 5 minutes to think about that ("Hmm...three medals for the same amount of money a decent used car costs..."). this was the main reason I went into Eastern Bloc medals, especially Albanian medals. How much longer will I be able to collect medals period? Difficult to say at this point - in fact I have not bought a medal in almost a year now due to cost. Will I enjoy what I have? Absolutely and I'll keep absorbing information as long as I can. That said, this price insanity is discouraging. Cheers, Eric

Thanks for all the kind words. I must say that I am the first person who'd say this is not the definitive guide I do not have as much access to source material as I would hope for, so I have always considered this an introductory guide upon which new stuff can be added. That's the great thing about this forum - folks from around the world can share their knowledge with others. I hope my book is a solid foundation upon which others can build. Cheers, Eric

Hi all: It has been quite some time since I have been here (work has sadly occupied much of any time I have had recently), but wanted everyone who is interested to know that I am finished with the 3rd edition. Some folks may already have a copy (I wish I could remember who...), but if you are interested in a copy and your email can take a 15 meg PDF file, send me your name and email address and I'll shoot a copy to you free. Please pass copies around - just DO NOT SELL THEM EVER. They are free for a reason - I want people to have this information and I want to contribute to the greater body of knowledge. I have decided that this will be the last edition. I am very pleased to hear folks in Albania are working on a book and would like that to be the "bible". My sincere hope is that my modest and albeit incomplete work has in some way fueled interest in these fantastic awards and more importantly a new-found interest in the very fascinating if not tortured history of this great country and its proud people. I sincerely hope that the folks working on the new book will want a copy so if you know anyone working on that project who would like a copy, let me know. Cheers! Eric

Great pictures so far! I look forward to seeing more. I do have a question to ask and it is slightly - does this museum happen to have a display of other Eastern Bloc medals in it? I ask because some photos that were given to me by one of my fellow Albanian medal collector contacts were of some decorations in this museum, but they were taken quite a number of years ago. I was curious if they are still on display and if so, what some of the tags may have said. Cheers, Eric

Hello Enzo! Glad to have you here That is a wonderful little badge - could you provide a scan of the back? Somewhat related, here is an ID card for the junior assembly to the Kuvendit Popullor, the Qeshillit Popullor (People's Council) from 1953:

Hi Bob: These are lovely examples. I have been trying to get a numbered IKOM Skanderbeg for quite some time, but keep getting outbid. Cheers, Eric

Please do share more! What a wonderful collection - nice to see all those Kivalo Dolgozo badges and the partisan decorations (the medal bar is aces). Cheers, Eric

I am definitely with you there, my friend The ANS sale disappointed me quite a bit. Their numismatic catalogues/sylloges are fantastic and yet, I did not even know they had such a great holding of medals and decorations until the sale. Perhaps such an institution just for medals might advance phaleristics similarly.

I should hasten to add that I am NOT disputing the notion that donations to museums may be a bad idea - on the contrary, that same neglect that befell McKay's collection also befell a lot of stellar stuff in the coin cabinet as well (in fact, that's part of the reason why the Mint took it back). I just wanted to at least chime in defense of some numismatists. I think that there is a lot the two disciplines can learn from each other, but who knows, it may indeed be best for a separate phaleristics department.

Not all numismatists are so disinclined toward medals Back when I was getting my degree in Classical Studies - Greek & Roman Archeology (I was the only person at my college to get that degree that year), I part-timed at a coin store where another employee was a direct relation of one of the principle curators of the National Numismatic Cabinet. My main interest was in Roman, Byzantine, and early/medieval Russian coins (to include Mongol/Golden Horde coins). I used to do the ancient attribution work for the most part - it was my bag and I was totally in my element. I also collected medals. I was talking with this person and he told me his relation was very interested in having me either volunteer at the NNC or even as a paid employee once I was out of college. They were particularly interested in the fact that not only did I have some knowledge of orders and medals but that I was actually keen on them. In fact, it struck me as a tad odd that they were more interested in that than they were in the Russian part of my experience (at the time I was writing a book on early Russian coins prior to Peter the Great's reign - a project I have long since abandoned). Great, I thought, I had a shot at my dream job out of the gate! Not so quick, young feller. At the time, the Smithsonian was undergoing massive budget cuts and the director was making what I would charitably call asinine decisions regarding the museum's focus, and the NNC was particularly hard struck. I couldn't even get an internship there, so I went off to make my fortune as a... secretary in an industry totally not in keeping with my studies in academia. That's why I work in the high tech industry now. Now that the NNC has been transfered back to the Bureau of the Mint from whence it originally came, who knows what will happen now. I still am an avid collector of coins, in fact probably more so than medals to be perfectly honest, but I for one like to think I have cross-pollinated between the two worlds successfully. I think the problem lies with the personalities involved. Get the right people and great things can happen. The wrong people, and well, great stuff lies in dusty shelves in perpetuity. Cheers, Eric

Thanks, Ed, for the clarification from Bartel - this is exactly the info for which I was hoping to get. I don't have a copy (a deficiency in my library that needs to be rectified...as soon as I can find one). Since I've not yet seen any serious discussion of the varieties, I am really looking forward to see what you bring forth If I can get some decent scans, I'll post the cases in which these came. I have to say that I like the smooth reverse version - seems somewhat better made. Cheers, Eric

What I'd like to know is: was the smooth reverse version earlier than the pebbled back ones? In any event, c'mon and show your versions

The real differences are on the reverse - note especially the pin attachment differences:

Hi all: To call my collection of DDR awards a collection would be generous to say the least (all I have are these two decorations and a cased Medal "K?mpfer gegen den Faschismus"). However, I did want to show two varieties of the Banner der Arbeit as I have not seen any good explanations as to the varieties. From what I have been able to find from various sources, the major varieties are thus (and I would LOVE commentary on this if any of this is incorrect): One class (1950-1974) ? no indication of class on ribbon ? Type 1 ? Numbered on reverse, ribbon on wreath enameled, 1954-1959 ? Type 2 ? Unnumbered, ribbon on wreath enameled, 1959-1968 ? Type 3 - Unnumbered, ribbon on wreath painted, 1968-1974 1st Class (1974-1989) ? Type 1 ? Smooth reverse, 1974-1989 ? Type 2 ? Finely pebbled reverse, 1974-1989 ? Type 3 ? Coarse pebbled reverse, 1974-1989 ? Type 4 ? Enamel is now paint, polyester ribbon, roughly pebbled reverse, 1989 2nd Class (1974-1989) ? Type 1 ? Smooth reverse, 1974-1989 ? Type 2 ? Finely pebbled reverse, 1974-1989 ? Type 3 ? Coarse pebbled reverse, 1974-1989 ? Type 4 ? Enamel is now paint, polyester ribbon, roughly pebbled reverse, 1989 3rd Class (1974-1989) ? Type 1 ? Smooth reverse, 1974-1989 ? Type 2 ? Finely pebbled reverse, 1974-1989 ? Type 3 ? Coarse pebbled reverse, 1974-1989 ? Type 4 ? Enamel is now paint, polyester ribbon, roughly pebbled reverse, 1989 Here are the two examples in my collection, both third class. The one on the left is a smooth reverse and the one on the right is a fine pebbled reverse. From the front, they appear almost identical, though it is worth noting that the oak leaf spray at the top on the smooth pebbled reverse is twice as thick as on the pebbled reverse version. It's worth noting that both came cased: the smooth reverse one is in a rounded corner box with a black interior and the pebbled reverse one in a red interior fitted case.

Better late than never, here is my George V second type silver Kaisar-i-Hind medal. I don't think the scan will do this medal justice, as it really is a delicately beautiful award. Again, thanks Ed for making this article available to those of us interested in this underappreciated award. I only wish I could add more. Cheers, Eric

THIS is why I enjoy this forum so much. Thanks, Ed, for making this information available. When I first started collecting medals, I started out with British decorations and I have always liked the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal - it's very aesthetically pleasing in design and the burnishing is really nice in hand. However, I have never seen so much as more than a blurb about the decoration until this post. I'll post my 2nd class George V type 2 medal here when I have a chance. Cheers, Eric