Eric Schena

You know, that bronze one almost looks like one of those putative "wearer's copies" of the USSR Hero of Socialist Labor. I wonder if some enterprising fellow took one of those and pieced together this thing as an Albanian one?

The Medal of Labor was one of my first Albanian medals I ever got and it really did hook me into the country's decorations and history. And coincidentally, it, too, is a type 1 var 2 like Ed's above. This order has always been a personal favorite of mine. I have a very small wish list of Albanian decorations nowadays and an IKOM made Order of Labor is on it.

Great stuff, Ed!

Cheers,

Eric

Hi Belaruski:

That first picture is interesting for more than just the uniforms - the one person wearing the white peaked cap is wearing a Hero of the People star!

As for ranks and insignia, there is actually a VERY useful site that has not only early communist uniform insignia, but also Zogist and Italian annexation period uniforms: http://www.uniforminsignia.net/

Communist and current and a smattering of Italian annexation stuff:

http://www.uniforminsignia.net/index.php?p=state&id=80

Zogist era:

http://www.uniforminsignia.net/index.php?p=state&id=299

Hope that helps!

Great stuff! And interestingly enough, they also look like Albanian ribbon bars from the 1950's and 1960's from the back, too.

The second award Sztahanovista badge is now reunited with Hunyadi's group. I have been joking with him it took a week-long vacation in the US. And thanks to him, I now have one in a Bakelite case! I'll get some scans together and post them here.

Funny how reunions happen - this is the second group I have been able to put a decoration back to it's main grouping (the other was an Order of Labor 2nd class)...

Here is the bottom of the case. The interior is black silk.

Hope y'all enjoyed seeing these!

Last but not least is a campaign cross for the Pacific War, also known as the Nitrate War. This was a war fought over nitrate mining rights on the then-disputed Chilean-Bolivian frontiers. This is the Cross for the Lima Campaign 1880-1881, the silver cross for soldiers, with two campaign bars, CHORILLOS (13 January 1881) and MIRAFLORES (15 January 1881). This also comes with the original case and brooch pin. The decoration is very high in quality, however, the blue enamel is very fragile and rarely comes intact.

Here is the Brazilian Cross for Paraguay 1868-1870. It is a small (25 mm across) copper cross with silver service bar. The service bar does not have a numeral on it (as it should), but I don't see any trace of one having ever been on this. The ribbon, by the way, is reversed - the dark green stripe should be on the left side.

Next is the Argentinian Medal for National Guard of Buenos Aires for the Campaign against Paraguay 1865-1869, established in 1869. It is made of silver and is 44 mm from point to point. I have seen smaller examples, but I do not know the dimensions.

Hi all:

I sent some scans of my meagre collection of South American medals to another forum member and that got me to thinking I should post them here, too.

As some of y'all know, I do enjoy studying the lesser traveled/studied paths in medals (as well as coins, my other passion), which explains my fascination with Albanian decorations. There are, however, other little studied areas that are no less deserving of closer scrutiny. One such area are the 19th century campaign medals from South America. There is precious little info on these quite often beautiful medals - the only book I have found so far is a reprint of an ANS monograph by Gillingham from the 1950's. These very beautiful medals often bely their tragic history. I have only four such medals in my collection, three from the War of the Triple Alliance (1864-1870) and one from the Pacific War/Nitrate Wars (1879-1884). I highly recommend visiting Ulysses Narciso Leal Costa's super detailed site about these two wars for more info at http://www.geocities.com/ulysses_leal/capa.html. It's the best source I have so far found in English on these wars.

Onto the medals...

First up is the Argentinian Escudo for the Assault on Curupaity 22 September 1866 in copper. The Escudo was worn in much the same fashion as the WW II German campaign shields on the upper arm sleeve. The decoration was established in 1875 to reward surviving participants of the brutal and unsuccessful attack on Curupaity and is 31 x 40 mm with two rings on reverse. The reverse is maker marked R. GRANDE GRAB?. This one has an award document to Soldato (trooper) Norberto Iba?ez dated 22 September 1875, the anniversary of the assault.

I think that "Distinguished Mercantile Worker" badge is Soviet made - the serial numbering is in that distinct style. Very nice!

Oh, one more thing: I have seen some IKOM made examples of the order that have a light gold color but dark grey centers. Every statute with descriptions says that for the 1st class the center should be bright white/silver and the only class with a dark center is the 3rd class. In fact, the Pr?wema made 1st class examples show a bright center medallion. I suspect (but cannot definitively prove) that these are 3rd class examples with some sort of weird patination that makes it look gilt and that they are not true 1st class badges. That said, the jury is still out.

Hi Belaruski:

That's a nice older Pr?wema one with the larger screwplate and may be from the 1960's. The ones I have seen are the later ones that are not nearly as well made, so that is a good find!

As for the misaligned central medallion, that is not the first time I have seen that. I have seen a couple of Orders of Bravery made by Pr?wema from this period with similar misalignments. I guess quality control varied over in Markneukirchen every once in a while

Cheers,

Eric

I have always liked Partisan Stars, Yugoslav ones as well as Albanian ones. Bob's gold one above is from what I believe is the 1945 Soviet GOZNAK production.

As for prices, yep, quite a bumpy ride. Amazing, two years ago knew absolutely nothing about these decorations and now they are starting to show up more and more. Sadly, I think I have reached the end of my ability to get any more of many of these as the prices are either too high or I keep getting outbid by others for stuff I have wanted for some time. Hopefully the market will cool down or at least stabilize to a point where I can get back in.

Cheers,

Eric

Yeah, looks like a reunion will have to happen here.

Last but not least, the last page of the document. I would love to hear any comments or translations of some of this as I have never seen that document shown anywhere (which is why I posted it).

Here's the interior document...

Here's the tucked in document showing the award date of May 8, 1953. I believe the number "15" in the upper left refers to the badge number, but I could be wrong. If anyone can confirm that, I would be most appreciative...

The first inside view of the document...

Here's the document cover - really one of the most impressive carrying docs I have seen.

Hi all:

I hope y'all have not tired of seeing these badges - I just got a 1953 Sztahanovista set in the mail yesterday and can honestly say it's one of the neatest decorations I have bought in a while. It's numbered "15" on the reverse and I think the document matches the number (I'll need someone who knows Hungarian to confirm that, though).

I'll let the scans do the talking...

Here's the badge and the case (showing the faux reptile skin cover and black bottom):

I just got a cased & documented "Sztahanovista" badge from 1953 and will post it here when it arrives.

A little but for anyone who is curious, here is a photo of Aleksei Grigorievich Stakhanov, the Ukrainian miner for whom the "Stakhanovite" (Sztahanovista) movement was named.

Hi Belaruski:

I am not 100% sure of the awards Hoxha received - the list may be published somewhere, but I have not yet seen it. That said, I do know he received the Title of "Hero i Popullit" twice, and also received the Bulgarian Order of 9 September 1944 first class with swords (the neck badge version, too!).

Cheers,

Eric

Bob:

That is a stupendous medal you have there. Is it silver or is it nickel? I have been tracing that down for over a year now ever since I got those photos from the 1940's. That medal is on my very short list of decorations to get - I hope i can land one someday.

Cheers,

Eric

Hi Belaruski:

It is indeed a slippery slope I hope you get as much satisfaction out of studying and collecting these decorations as I have.

I suspect there are two different versions of this medal (a Soviet made one and a Yugoslav made one) but have not been able to pin that down...yet.

Cheers,

Eric