Chuck In Oregon

Very lucky, indeed. Chris, you're absolutely right. I mean it when I say that I'm the luckiest guy I ever knew. Claudius, this talk of rarity and value absolutely amazes me. I have, until now, owned only one positively rare item and few truly scarce ones. Never thought there would be another rarity. I can't say that I'm not pleased but this may be an item that is too valuable to keep. Certainly, no one in my family will ever want it or most anything else that I value, but that's another story. Really, this medal has just been sitting around, unidentified, in my man cave for years. Now I'll have to decide what to do with it. There are worse problems, I suppose. Thanks again and if anyone else has any more information or opinions I'll be glad to hear them. Chuck

AD and Paul, thank you very much. I am, once again, very impressed by you both. This medal has been a mystery for me since I bought it. Both of you mentioned its rarity and that is a real bonus. I've never seen one for sale so I don't have any idea as to its value. I did see an acknowledged fake online and boy, was it ever ugly in comparison. Maritime isn't a particular interest of mine so it's just been sitting in a drawer since I posted it in 2008. Looks like I just got lucky with this purchase. I love this site. Chuck

Bump. I've never had a response to this. Anyone care to enlighten me? Chuck

I also posted the second badge HERE2. I had just forgotten all about them.

Regarding the first badge, you can find my earlier posting about it HERE. Let's see some more medical badges. Chuck

I found this jeton in the reference Russian Medical Breast Badges. It is item 53 on page 27, "Red Cross Jeton". However, its notes say it has 1914-1915-1916 on the reverse. Maybe they just changed the reverse to match the war? I can't tell if the ring goes through the crown or is attached to it. Chuck

My grandpa Bill was an aviator in WWI. He wouldn't talk about it except in vague allusions to its horror. I couldn't imagine what he was talking about. Grandma Winnie spoke in glowing terms of how much fun they had during flight training. Some things never change, as I had a similar experience in Army flight school and after, 53 years later. My great-uncle Morgan was an artilleryman in WWI France. He didn't talk about it either, with one exception. I was complaining about my Vietnam experience one day and he absolutely went off on me, telling me that I had nothing to complain about in comparison to what he went through. He described in some detail the miseries he endured. Gave me some valuable perspective. He went on to graduate the Naval Academy, serve with distinction in WWII and retire as a rear admiral. I was a callow naïf who never appreciated the living history of my own family. Would that it had been different but I understand why my modern family has no interest in my experiences. The more things change...

Thanks for waiting. I'm back in Tbilisi for a week and I realized I still haven't finished with this topic. The individual at issue is Vladimir Alekseevich Nekludov. Born in White River, Georgia (about 100km from Tbilisi), 1893 or 1894. Pantocrator: He was a junior officer of the #14 Georgian Grenadier Regiment from 1914-1916 in Europe. He wore or carried the pantocrator (family gift or hand-me-down?) during the war and for the rest of his life. The Spoon and Jeton: He applied for pilot training in 1916 and was reassigned to the Tiflis (Tbilisi) Aviation School named for Duke Mikhail Akeksandrovich, near his home. This was his spoon in that school. TK = Tiflis Cadet (School). The revolver jeton was a prize for being a champion shooter. The Pilot Badge: After graduation in 1917 he was again reassigned, this time to an aviation detachment on the Caucasus Front in the war against Turkey. That, of course, couldn't last. White Army Shoulder Boards: After the revolution, he joined the White Army and served as an officer/pilot in Southern Front of Russia from 1918-1920. These were his shoulder boards. I have read that many pilots took this course. It turned out to be a sub-optimal decision. Red Army Commander Badge: After the White Army was defeated he joined the Independent Georgian Army and again served as a pilot 1920-1922. When that went buckle-up he joined the Red Army in Tiflis where he served as a pilot-instructor. He left Tiflis (perhaps while under investigation) and served as an Osoaviakhim instructor in Vladikavkaz 1922-1926. He had lied about his White Army background upon joining the Red Army. That finally caught up with him in 1926. When he was tipped off that the GRU was preparing to arrest him because of his White Army service, he shot himself. That's it, all I know of this group. It's possible that another item may turn up but I am skeptical. If there's more I'll let you know.

Thank you, JX. You did an excellent service by providing that list. If I'd had it a few years ago I wouldn't have had to ask for a badge ID. I have a modest RR collection and it will be a valuable tool. Chuck

Hey, AD! Yes, generally close but not precisely close. How could you be? You have a good feel for the story, though, and it's an interesting one. I'll flesh it out when I get back home. As food for thought, I have two VERY large groups and I'm not sure how best to share them. One is a cross-over military doctor group with badges, photos, swords and bayonets and documents, including his complete Imperial Army service record. I may save that for the writing competition later this year. In the other group, the gentleman was the head of the Georgian KGB for MANY years. Not his high-end awards, though. Two other guys bought those and almost immediately broke them up and sold them individually, sad to say. What I got is what was left, still pretty interesting, though, including some medals, foreign awards with documents, Soviet and Georgian deputy badges with ID folders and misc. docs. With all that I have pending right now, that may have to wait until fall. It's so large that I'm not sure how to do it justice. I was in Skopje for 16 weeks in 2000-2001 but never got to Croatia. Then in 2002 a co-worker asked me to go halves on a Croatian beach villa. I have always regretted not doing that. If I had, I'd probably be there right now. Kauai isn't bad, though. I've been watching whales for several hours. I'd better get back to it. All the best, Chuck

Hello AD Thank you! You are the first one to attempt to tie these things together. Good for you for your humor. I like it. I'm pretty confident about the pilot badge. I have an unrelated example in gold that I have shared previously. I have a noted authenticator and retired Soviet military museum curator and friend who reviews all of my high-end purchases. He likes this group a lot. You write "commander of rkka." I think of it as "Red Army Commander." Same thing? I love that badge. I only have 1-2 hammer-and-plow items and a couple of documents. I'm on Kauai for a while. Yeah, I know, but somebody has to be. I'll be home from Feb. 4-26, then back to Tbilisi for ten days. I know the story behind this group and I'll share it once I'm home. The quiz needs to be answered. My collecting budget took a big hit last Nov. when I acquired this group and a few other things. It remains to be seen whether I'll bring any new things home this trip. Maybe... After our Tbilisi visit I hope to be home for the next 12+ months. I love the company of my friends but the travel is just too grueling any more. Aside: If things go as planned, I'll have a good story to share in The Lounge when I return from Tbilisi. Kindest regards, Chuck

Thank you, Phil, and a Happy New Year to you and yours as well. I didn't know the term Pantocrator. Turns out that wiki has a good article on it. Learn something every day, especially on this forum. This soldier had an interesting, but far too brief, military story. Chuck

This is a group that I acquired in Tbilisi last November. I'm going to post the pix now in the order I'm told they were carried or worn or earned. The quiz is this: Come up with a story that ties them together. This group came directly from the descendants of the soldier and there may be 1-2 other pieces to come. I'll know more when I go back later this year. I'm curious to see what you think of the group in general and what stories you can conjure up. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. Chuck

Welcome to GMIC. There is nothing that compares. I hope you will share more and often. We have experts here (I'm not one of them) who can help you with most any aspect of militaria-related collecting. Chuck

Thanks, Nick. This is a VERY valuable lesson, well illustrated and clearly explained. Well done. Chuck

That's a variation I wasn't aware of. Nice addition. Chuck

This is a gift I received earlier this month. It is the smallest Red Cross badge I've ever come across: 22x23mm. I presume it's a lapel badge. What else could it be? I like it and it fits into my Imperial Medical collection very nicely I believe the silver master, at least as stamped on the backer, is Fuld Aleksandr Iosifovich, owner of a silver products factory in the Crimea, 1862-1917. There is another "AF" possibility but I ruled him out because of the shape of the oval. Enjoy. Chuck

I received this small Georgian MOPR badge as a gift earlier this month. I thought I'd share it here because I don't remember any republican MOPR badges. Obviously, there were some. Anyone else have any? I'm pretty sure we have some MOPR collectors here. Enjoy.

Hi Nick No, that's just the result of me trying to use an iPad to take a decent photo plus my general unsteadiness. I'll try not to make that mistake again. Here are a couple of better images: I've got a couple other new things that I'll post soon. Chuck

I dislike posting this badge in this sub-forum. However, I think more interested people (hello, Megan) will see it here than elsewhere. Georgia was post-Imperial, pre-Soviet and independent in 1919. I'd like to see something like a Former Soviet Bloc States section in our European States Forum, with separate country categories. Can that be done? Does anyone know? _____ This is a silver badge from a machine gun brigade in the army of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, which existed from 1918 to 1921. This badge was made in 1919-1920 in a Tbilisi atelier. The letters are a Georgian K and D, for Kartuli Divisia or Georgian Division. It is my belief that there are few remaining examples of this badge. After the Red Army conquest, they made every effort to exterminate any evidence that an independent Georgia ever existed. Even today I have found that many Georgians don't know that fundamental fact about their country. Enjoy.

I have posted a couple of Russian MG threads in the past few years. One is a WW I photo album from a MG company on the Turkish front, the other is a silver Maxim model presentation award for heroism on the Turkish front. I hope you got a chance to see them. Should be of interest to collectors in several fields. I love these photos. Thanks for sharing them. Chuck

I hadn't previously seen this order. Thanks for educating me. The only Georgian identifier on the obverse is the presidential residence, built last decade, so this order in this design could not have been established in 1992. Upon further research, it seems to have been established in 2009. Is this example yours? If so, may I inquire as to how you acquired such an unusual modern piece? I congratulate you. Few will have this order in their collection. Chuck

Thank you. Very, very sweet.