Chuck In Oregon

I hate to ask such a dumb question, but is it a requirement that we have taken the photos ourselves? For instance, I own two small WW I Russian personal photo albums. Can I submit a photo from one of them? I doubt it, but I'd like to be sure. Chuck

Very interesting thread. I knew a collector in Baku who had a VERY large outstanding offer for an authentic example for years, subject to authentication by the state museum. He never had a taker. Chuck

Thanks for clearing that up for me Valter. Chuck

Thank you gentlemen. Exactly the information I was looking for. Chuck

This is the badge of a member of the Imperial Red Cross Society directorate in the late 19th century. This particular one belonged to civil major general/state advisor 4th class Erminigeld Panov and signified that he was director of the Caucasus Region Department of the Imperial Red Cross Society.

As I understand it, this badge was issued in 1936 to senior Georgian officer veterans of the short-lived Independent Transcaucasus Red Army (prior to being absorbed in the Red Army). They were privately made and are numbered. There are said to have been around 25 in all. This is number 011.

I seldom buy things like this but I couldn't resist these three early hat badges. I'm pretty sure the larger two are fairly scarce. Can anyone tell me exactly what I have here? Chuck

I was an Army aviator in Vietnam. I flew Hueys with B/229AHB/1CAV, including this one. It is remarkable to me that what once seemed so ordinary and prosaic has become extraordinary after 40 years of hindsight. The UH-1H served me very well and I returned without so much as a scratch. Thank you for this reminder of what once was and will never again be. Chuck Stromme Cottage Grove, Oregon

This is a Red Army artillery officer's badge, circa 1919 - 1925. It is hallmarked and proofed. It looks to me to be made up of old Imperial badge stock but with the revolutionary theme. Each leaf is individually crafted. It must have been expensive, even then.

I believe that this small (27.38 mm) badge was presented to a medical officer by a military unit. In this case, a doctor of the 17th Cavalry Dragoon Regt. in Tiflis. The St. George ribbon signifies that the unit was entitled to display a St. George pennant. The badge is proofed but not maker marked, which I think was common in the outlying regions.

I just got back from a visit to Tbilisi, Georgia. While I was there I took possession of a few things I had bought since my last visit in 2009. This jeton is one of them and I'll share a few more in the coming week or so. This is a 1928 jeton "For Riding and Fencing" earned by Vladimir Pavelovich Kolesnikov. He served with Zhukov in the 1930s and eventually became a colonel and CO of the 206th Shooters Division of the Red Army. He was killed on 5-1-1944 and is buried in the Ukraine. Does anyone know what the 4KD might stand for? Enjoy. Chuck

Here is the "enhanced" scan to highlight the cross.

Here is an example for your consideration. I have always believed it authentic and still do. It compares well with the above images. I have attached an "enhanced" image below that brings out the lines in the cross. Other opinions are welcome, especially if you can authenticate or de-bunk with some certainty. Chuck

* * * * * Funny. Tacky, but funny. Missed it the first time around. Chuck

My Avers-3 mentions only a 30mm gold variant. I've never seen one so I have no experience with the gold. Chuck

Hello IG I spent 16 weeks working in Yerevan in 2007. I lived at the Marriott and I think I visited the flea market at least once every weekend. There wasn't all that much else to do. As you go down the steps from the open air tool sellers there is a guy on the left with a bunch of minor medals and badges. However, if you talk to him and ask him, he'll probably pull out his better things. I bought a few minor badges from him but what I value much more were some excellent documents and posters that he had. Check him out, he has a table next to the wall and his buddy has one in the center of the aisle. After you go across the street and get past the book sellers there is a little old guy with a small stand, mostly some things along the low wall plus a board or two. He is a friendly and fair guy and he came up with a couple of interesting things and some good documents. All the way at the back by the beer stands is a crippled guy with a couple of tables of badges and medals. He does a good business and had a couple of high-end things that I couldn't afford and some more ordinary things that I did buy. There's one other guy on the left as you go toward the back, a small stand with some good items. He used to go up to Tbilisi a lot but he got in visa trouble for entering Georgia via Abkhazia, so I don't think he goes up there any more, at least not under his own passport. He probably had the best authentic items of anyone I saw there. There are LOTS of fakes there but I assume you already know that. Of course, that was the situation in 2007 but I'd be surprised if it has changed all that much. My time in Yerevan wasn't as enjoyable as the 3-1/2 years I spent in Tbilisi but it was OK and I'd go again if the opportunity presented itself. I spent a lot of warm evenings eating ice cream at the city park. Armenian food isn't as good as Georgian, either. Every time I asked about a good restaurant, somebody would say "There's this great Georgian restaurant out on The Ring." However, there is also a good Lebanese restaurant just around the corner from the Marriott. Chuck

* * * * * Far be it from me to argue the point, especially with those who have carefully researched this issue. I've said what I intended to say. Others may proceed as they wish. Chuck

When I tried to access the URL in post #3 I got the following warning: Reported Attack Page! This web page at ilpilot.narod.ru has been reported as an attack page and has been blocked based on your security preferences. Attack pages try to install programs that steal private information, use your computer to attack others, or damage your system. Some attack pages intentionally distribute harmful software, but many are compromised without the knowledge or permission of their owners. My browser is Firefox 3.6.3. I've heard that Firefox can sometimes give false warnings regarding legitimate URLs. Nevertheless, I'm not going back there. It's safer for me to believe the warning than to try to prove it wrong. Now I'm wondering if I should post a general warning to the board or just leave it alone. Any suggestions? Chuck

I thought you might be interested in this display in Barcelona's Museum of Catalonian History. Enjoy. Chuck

Wow, 1977. I'm really impressed. If you don't mind, I'm going to copy your text into a document and use it in a small display. Thank you for all of this. Chuck

Thank you both. I knew about the Lenin but the family sold it previously. Day late, dollar short. I may be returning to Georgia in the spring. I'll be sure to check up on the other watch and anything else they may have found. Chuck

Here are two more examples. I'm confident of the authenticity of the one on the left side and equally suspicious of the one on the right. Since I've never seen a reference to this medal in other than silver I've always thought that this is a fake. The worn silver wash on the one on the right is pretty apparent, as is the strange color. Still, I kept it because, well, because I keep stuff like this.