Chuck In Oregon

And more ...

And more ...

... and the reverses ...

I think this modest labor group is worthy of a second look because a) it contains a numbered 5-sided suspension Valiant Labor Medal, b) the group is complete (well, there's no 20-Year Jubilee) and fully documented, including the 1995 GPW Jubilee Medal with a Georgian document, c) the recipient was a woman, and d) each medal is in absolutely mint-perfect condition, including the original ribbons, with the exception of the patina on the silver labor medal, top left, which someone tried to clean. And besides, there more to this hobby than military groups. No, really, there is. Tamara Aleksandrovna Ivanova must have been one heck of a woman. Enjoy. Chuck

* * * * * OK, I see. Yes, you're absolutely right. Chuck

* * * * * Now, that's funny! Chuck

* * * * * Hi Darrell No, the RKKA 20-Year medal is pretty well known. You can find a similar design on the badge in post #4, of course. I'm simply asking about the provenance or documentation of the existence of the badge in post #13. I have no desire to impugn someone's item that they have taken the time to share with us. I'm just curious. Chuck

* * * * * I'm not one to cast aspersions on others' pieces and I claim no expertise myself. I will say that I seem to recall a discussion (may not have been here, though) to that effect regarding this particular badge. As for my memory, well, 'nuff said. It would suffice for me to see this one in a catalog somewhere. NKVD awards are fairly well known and documented. Chuck

Here's my Osoavikhim Sniper badge.

The NKVD Marksman Medal is interesting. Is that particular award documented anywhere? Does anyone recall seeing a post about an award similar to this? I've never seen one of these in the wild. Has anyone else? Chuck

Well, maybe Leon Trotsky?

Aw, doggone it. I thought of Tito, then dismissed it because I knew that he wasn't in the Russian Army in WW I. Of course, you never said that he was. Will I never learn to read the directions? Congratulations, kimj!!! BTW, in what way did Tito participate in the Spanish Civil War? That is something that I was not aware of. Chuck

* * * * * I thought no one would ever notice! And it's only #6613. It probably helps when your boss is a Narkomat chief. You two are probably right. I know that I would like to see more examples of early aviation badges. If anyone out there is wondering whether or not to share ... please do. Chuck

I picked up these shooting awards earlier this month. You can see that I have three of the more common bronze variants now, and two of the more ornate bronze badges, and two watches. Can you say trading stock? Chuck

... And here are the reverses.

This thread is more of a yawner than I expected. I guess there isn't as much interest in early aviation as I thought. Well, I like it. Chris, I have a variant of the badge that you showed us in post #3, but mine has CCCR in the circle inside the red star. A couple of weeks ago I was offered an example of the terrific badge you shared in post #4. However ... the banner had been snapped off the badge! The price? Only ... $100. Uh, no thanks. As for your comment "the guys who trained with these early aviation society's which were a guise for future military expansion may have earned their military wings", you're exactly right. I have previously posted a couple of badges from the Tbilisi Flying Club. They trained mostly bomber pilots there. No, the Soviet Union wasn't much into the promotion of private flying lessons for the pure joy of flying. Theirs was an assembly line of military-trained pilots who could be, and were, called up on short notice. Here is the entire group that came together with these two badges. That's a Georgian deputy's badge, of course, this one is number 281. The Red Banner of Labor is number 6613 and it is in pretty nice condition, with perfect enamel and much gilt left. The original recipient was said to be the personal pilot of a Commissar of the Narkomat for Food Production. Somewhere around here I may have his photo, but I can't put my finger on it right now. Chuck

* * * * * I'll take the first stab. Leonid Brezhnev? Chuck

From the AP, as run by themoscowtimes.com and others today and in the last few days, from Felix's homeland of Belarus: 'Iron Felix' Bronze Unveiled MINSK -- A monument to the founder of the Soviet secret police, Felix Dzerzhinsky, was unveiled Friday in Minsk, provoking protests from human rights defenders and opposition politicians. The 3.20-meter bronze, an exact copy of the statue of "Iron Felix" that pro-democracy crowds tore down from its pedestal opposite KGB headquarters in Moscow in 1991, now occupies a spot inside the grounds of the Military Academy. (AP) The more things change, the more they remain the same.

At least, that's what I think this is ... the 1923 5-Year Jubilee Badge of Soviet Water Transport Workers. Times were pretty tough in 1923. There wasn't enough money for anything. Those guys must have done something special to earn such a nice badge back in the day.

* * * ** Chris I was wowed the first time I saw that group and all over again this time. That is a museum piece if ever there was one. Chuck

* * * * * OK Chris, I meant no offense. Sometimes subtleties are just lost on me. I have three of the bronze variations, including one I just brought back. I also brought back another Imperial shooting award pocket watch (with the crossed rifles engraved on the cover and inscribed inside) and two very elaborate Imperial shooting badges. I'll post them over there later on. Chuck

<<This is the dad of them all an imperial shooting badge in silver... Chris>> I'm not sure that's the dad of them all, but it's a darn nice example. I'd sure like to have the two silver variants I passed on as too expensive ... in 2002. We have a thread on Imperial Shooting Awards at http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5989 . Why not share this over there. We don't have one of these silver variants over there yet. I'll post a couple more Imperial shooting awards in the next day or two. Chris, that's another lovely example from your collection. Meanwhile, regarding the ""hot milk burned to the pan" look (great description, btw), none of these show it. Do you think it could have been something simple like cooking the enamel too long? Good topic. Chuck

Chris, that's a real nice piece, one that would be worthy of any collection. Thanks for sharing it. I hope some other members will share and maybe we can flesh out the entire series. Chuck

* * * * * Yeah, you gotta wonder, just how long does it take an overcoat lining to wear down a bronze fitting? I mean, don't you have to take the coat off sometime?

I didn't think there was much interest in MOOP here. Maybe there is, and I'd like to see (have I asked this before?) your things, too. This is a simple enough badge. It is, as the title says, a graduate's badge from the RSFSR MOOP highest academy. How do you know? On the back are the raised letters in Cyrillic "Highest School MOOP RSFSR". I'm pretty good if I have enough clues.