Bob

Doesn't look new to me

And here another recent one but now oddly enough made out of "heavy" metal. Really difficult to see, apart from the design principles, some logical trend here!

And now there really is only 1 available on dealers sites... close to 2K!!! Remember the "good old" days?

Hi Eric, in your extensive research efforts, have you also run across a good overview of modern day Albanian awards? Let me give an example: http://securingamerica.com/printready/prin...ternational.htm http://securingamerica.com/node/985 General Wesley Clark was awarded a Skanderbeg... and it looks awfully similar to the one from communist times. What implications could this have?

Hi Eric - you sure know a lot about Albanian awards... even badges! Attached some lower end ones. Not particularly striking in quality or design but still nice to add here. Nothing special on reverse... just a pin. From left to right: - KS 17 N?ntori - TIRANA SPORT CLUB - FOR THE 40th ANNIVERSARY OF THE "Bashkimi" (The Union)magazine. Official journal of the Democratic Albanian Front under the communist regime - 50th ANIVERSARY OF THE LIBERATION FROM THE NAZI-FASCIST-OCCUPATION Perhaps I should return to Albania once. Have travelled there before and loved it (you start to really appreciate those little pill boxes spread throughout the country:)). And the reception at the airport was very nice as well... the plane was surrounded by snipers! Turned out that the president was about to fly in on a different plane from a trip abroad:)

Here is the correct pic then. Note: the ring is applied seperately to the medal.

It is a bit of a gamble... I've paid amounts which I though were very nice, only to then see 2 weeks later a ridiculous low price elsewhere. Signs of an immature market still I guess.

http://www.emedals.ca/catalog.asp?item=IO180#bigPic Is it just missing the enamel or a crazy variation?

Ignore - wrong thread!

Let's start with a picture:) http://www.medals.org.uk/czechoslovakia/csr/csr006.htm http://www.vyznamenani.net/CSR/Order_of_Kl...t_Gottwald.html Not quite close enough in design for me. I guess Lenin only had 1 cousin in Dimitrov:) Still, certainly a nice one.

A number of people (incl. myself to a small extent) are not convinced that it is a fake Soyombo. If real, what would explain the Soviet screw on the suspension? I thought nowadays all awards were produced in UB? Besides, if made in Russia, wouldn't the quality of the overall item be MUCH higher?

Great thread! I will be visiting Wolgograd for the May celebrations next year. Although I generally prefer independent travelling, in Wolgograd I am considering taking a guide for 1-2 days. Could you share any connections / websites / tips you might have on visiting Stalingrad? I've read Beevor's Stalingrad book and am particularly interested in (a la "After the Battle") something which provides details on where to find what related to the battle. Thanks

I recently acquired an Order of Geroge Dimitrov... not that I am a Bulgaria collector but I liked the design in how it was so similar to the Order of Lenin. Are there any other awards with same similarity? E.g. from other communist countries?

I won't bore you with the trousers so here's last pic

and more... no doc's so due diligence would have to be done on numbers of awards and timing deduced from that... what was a Mongolian Major doing at Stalingrad is of course one question... well, how did he get there is a better way to put it perhaps note - set sold this morning for mucho dineros!

More...

Below offered to me for sale (and presumably also to others). Description as from the seller. order of merit #1239942 red star- 117672 silver star- 319710 gold star- 78182 Mongolian order of the polar star- 407 Mongolian order of combat- 2059 Mongolian order of military merit 4489 guards badge ww2 type on a supposedly "Mongolian Major's uniform" with also WW2 square visored cap that matches this Victory Parade uniform set (again as per the seller). Medals all without documents ( ) so no way for sure to know if it's a group. hefty price tag... but what a find if real - thoughts?

Can anyone with a design and the cash go to Mondvor and get them to produce an award (numbered, and with their logo on back)?

Tang Si, mst useful wuold be to ask him why he beleives it is a genuine copy What are his supporting facts?

Eric, in the first edition you also quoted number of awards struck by the mint or issued In the 2nd you didn't Amounts from 1st were not reliabe?

One "neutral" (and excessively rational I admit) way to develop a potentially alternative hierarchy would be to simply look at the market prices for silver, gold, etc. and then put a $ value behind each award. In fact, would be interesting to see that: - official hierarchy - number issues - $ value as per metal market - typical "collectors" price paid in market Above should provide already a pretty good indication... let the market do the talking (blasphemy when it comes to Soviet awards of course).

To make the thread complete (and allow us to change this site to www.mongolian-awards.com) would be if somebody came in and claims that it is a wearer's copy

And again, for comparison, a confirmed real one. Number 373. You can see for instance darker enamel.

And 2 more pics of same "offer"

And here is an oddity... number 114... in the end I didn't trust it when it was offered to me: - enamel didn't seem right - why each picture with a different background? My suspicion was that the "good" pictures were from a different Soyombo.