Bob

The Polar Star isn't chaotic, it's just "different"

Perhaps others simply do not understand your "humoristic" thoughts...

Aha, it wasn't just me then

Well, this is a true "Gentleman's Club" and not a "Taliban-Forum" .

Best regards

Christian

So, did you end up buying Tito's Order of Victory?

I don't quite like the patina. I say it's a fake.

Oops... wrong forum. Sorry

Did all people who were awarded the title also (either to themselves or their family) get an actual award?

Was there any similarity with USSR where a hero would get hero title + hero star + order of lenin?

What else could you share about the statutes for example... criteria for becoming a hero, priveleges coming with the title, etc?

As you can see... being Albanian on this forum makes you the object of many questions

In fact in my family I have one Hero of Socialist Labor Hysen Cenka next time I will tell his story if interested.

Yes we are interested - please tell!

And perhaps also a pic of front and back?

I've never seen or heard of anything like that. I don't know but I might even suspect that it may have been illegal to do. The most "out of the box" decoration on an award I've ever seen is the recipient's name and/or date of award and/or place of action. That was always on the reverse, however, either on the reverse of the award or on the screwplate.

Dave

P.S. Just noted that this was my 1000th post.

Thanks Dave. I'm not as experienced a Soviet collector as many others here including you but I am still surprised at how few "name / date / place of action" inscribed awards then appear. I'd think it would almost be a "natural" thing to do with some of these awards (humans like to scribble stuff on things:)). Or was there a culture to prefer to stay "anonymous" perhaps? Any pics of such inscribed awards? How rare are these inscribed awards?

You are right, the real big cannons, 60 and 80 centimeter were rail-based. I don't think the 80 cm.could be mounted. If I'm not wrong, it traveled 2 kilometers backwards on the recoil, would probably flip over if was mounted!

Are there still such cannons in existance - the rail-based ones I mean?

Do you know where? And were they ever even fired or just another "very late to the war and of no real use anymore" Nazi weapons?

I recall - but again, this was long ago in a book - that it required 4 train tracks to move along such a cannon.

Thanks Lukasz!

Now, do you also know what the little blue ribboned medal on the right hand side of his jacket is? It corresponds with one of the ribbons or is something seperate? For sure he seems attached to it because he persistently wears it.

Note, this is not a quiz - I really have no clue myself!

Triggered by thread on Order of Queen / Saint Tamara (if which some people have purchased more elaborate versions with jewels etc. on them... well beyond the original design) and also occasional jewelled medal I've seen in dealer catalogues (generally middle east), I am curious whether this practice has ever been seen on Soviet awards?

Obviously the Order of Victory is lavishly designed to begin with... but has it ever been noted that people had won an "ordinary" order of lenin, order of glory, etc. and then had a jeweller add some extra touches to it in the form of diamonds, etc.?

Just curious.

Interesting. I had always thought - from seeing pics in an old book - that the Germans had their mega-cannon rail-based. I guess there's always an even bigger cannon:)

Interesting little article in this weeks edition of The Economist triggered by recent awarding of Medal of Honour to a US Marine serving in Iraq (jumping onto a handgrenade to protect his fellow marines while in hand to hand combat with insurgents).

Quote: "Medals that specifically reward heroics are much harder to come by. More than 21.000 veterans won coveted Silver Stars in Vietnam. Only a few hundred servicemen have received the same in Iraq and Afghanistan"

Subsequently arguing that if services gave more medals, the bravery of troops might be more widely publicised... vs. only Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch recently being household names... more for serving with honour rather than real heroics.

Let me highlight some interesting ones:

Virgin Lands 1,187 24/10/1979 OWNED BY ME

Virgin Lands 1,300 24/10/1979 NUMBER QUOTED BY ED

Now... what happened around October '79?

Order for Meritorious Service in Battle 6,854 29/08/1995 OWNED BY ME

Order for Meritorious Service in Battle 6,885 28/08/1995 OWNED BY VATJAN

Order for Meritorious Service in Battle 6,972 29/08/1995 OWNED BY ED

Perhaps an interesting case to have a look at - get our awards out and compare numbering etc. as they presumably came from the same batch.

Updated list - not keeping track of types, etc. (lazy me) but still a good quick reference tool for dating an award. No guarantees of course.

AWARD NUMBER DATE

Distinguished Co-Worker of the State Security Service 163 17/07/1944

Distinguished Co-Worker of the State Security Service 393 10/09/1973

Hero of Labour Gold Soyombo 1 1956

Hero of Labour Gold Soyombo 52 28/11/1962

Hero of Labour Gold Soyombo 250 1981

Honorious Medal of Labour 9,393 13/11/1956

Honorious Medal of Labour 10,328 30/08/1956

Honorious Medal of Labour 10,660 17/10/1951

Honorious Medal of Labour 11,032 06/11/1956

Honorious Medal of Labour 16,235 26/06/1964

Honorious Medal of Labour 16,573 15/07/1965

Honorious Medal of Labour 17,040 07/07/1966

Honorious Medal of Labour 23,159 04/08/1976

Honorious Medal of Labour 24,082 14/07/1960

Medal We Won 9,678 09/07/1946

Medal We Won 26,931 28/12/1990

Medal 25 Years of the MPR 13,958 30/07/1946

Medal 25 Years of the MPR 14,184 17/08/1946

Medal 40 Years of the MPR 15,955 15/09/1961

Medal for Meritorious Service in Battle 854 26/09/1946

Medal for Meritorious Service in Battle 1,288 16/09/1947

Medal for Meritorious Service in Battle 3,813 08/07/1947

Medal for Meritorious Service in Battle 4,312 08/07/1947

Medal for Meritorious Service in Battle 4,521 11/09/1953

Medal for Meritorious Service in Battle 5,228 24/07/1954

Medal for Meritorious Service in Battle 19,346 24/09/1984

Medal for the Victory over Japan 3,443 06/07/1946

Medal for Unselfishness 1,046 29/04/1999

Medal of Friendship 1,761 12/11/1968

Medal of Friendship 4,086 1971

Order for Meritorious Service in Battle 1,049 01/10/1959

Order for Meritorious Service in Battle 1,552 29/09/1964

Order for Meritorious Service in Battle 2,146 00/06/1969

Order for Meritorious Service in Battle 2,695 1972

Order for Meritorious Service in Battle 2,777 1971

Order for Meritorious Service in Battle 4,836 15/07/1985

Order for Meritorious Service in Battle 5,138 03/04/1986

Order for Meritorious Service in Battle 5,685 27/03/1987

Order for Meritorious Service in Battle 6,300 09/07/1988

Order for Meritorious Service in Battle 6,515 04/07/1991

Order for Meritorious Service in Battle 6,854 29/08/1995

Order for Meritorious Service in Battle 6,885 28/08/1995

Order for Meritorious Service in Battle 6,972 29/08/1995

Order for Meritorious Service in Battle 7,388 15/09/1995

Order for Meritorious Service in Battle 8,068 09/08/1999

Order for Meritorious Service in Battle 8,126 09/08/1999

Order of Combat Red Banner 5,348 09/08/1999

Order of Mother Heroine - 1st class 5,396 16/02/1965

Order of Mother Heroine - 1st class 8,128 01/03/1967

Order of Mother Heroine - 1st class 11,608 13/02/1970

Order of Mother Heroine - 1st class 16,062 21/02/1972

Order of Mother Heroine - 1st class 21,460 25/01/1975

Order of Mother Heroine - 1st class 24,179 20/02/1976

Order of Mother Heroine - 1st class 31,252 22/02/1978

Order of Mother Heroine - 1st class 33,062 17/02/1979

Order of Mother Heroine - 1st class 34,361 23/02/1980

Order of Mother Heroine - 1st class 43,883 00/03/1984

Order of Mother Heroine - 1st class 45,130 25/02/1981

Order of Mother Heroine - 2nd class 543 29/05/1958

Order of Mother Heroine - 2nd class 9,195 25/06/1958

Order of Mother Heroine - 2nd class 13,892 10/10/1958

Order of Mother Heroine - 2nd class 15,709 10/11/1958

Order of Mother Heroine - 2nd class 23,451 25/02/1960

Order of Mother Heroine - 2nd class 25,633 02/03/1961

Order of Mother Heroine - 2nd class 29,451 25/02/1962

Order of Mother Heroine - 2nd class 36,905 11/02/1964

Order of Mother Heroine - 2nd class 39,895 04/03/1964

Order of Mother Heroine - 2nd class 61,823 08/02/1969

Order of Mother Heroine - 2nd class 77,748 17/02/1972

Order of Mother Heroine - 2nd class 77,962 17/02/1972

Order of Mother Heroine - 2nd class 84,187 22/02/1973

Order of Mother Heroine - 2nd class 116,403 00/00/1978

Order of Mother Heroine - 2nd class 120,901 27/02/1980

Order of Mother Heroine - 2nd class 130,167 29641

Order of Mother Heroine - 2nd class 145,118 18/08/1985

Order of Mother Heroine - 2nd class 145,718 1985

Order of Mother Heroine - 2nd class 187,862 22/05/1995

Order of Mother Heroine - 2nd class 191,632 00/5/1997

Order of Mother Heroine - 2nd class 191,640 22/05/1997

Order of Polar Star 88 06/07/1946

Order of Polar Star 822 23/09/1946

Order of Polar Star 1,162 17/10/1951

Order of Polar Star 1,217 04/12/1955

Order of Polar Star 1,225 6/09/1944

Order of Polar Star 1,562 08/07/1947

Order of Polar Star 1,956 29/11/1955

Order of Polar Star 2,265 3/11/1945

Order of Polar Star 2,506 30/12/1956

Order of Polar Star 2,705 08/12/1948

Order of Polar Star 2,946 08/07/1950

Order of Polar Star 3,079 16/01/1957

Order of Polar Star 3,301 1956

Order of Polar Star 3,553 08/07/1947

Order of Polar Star 3,917 30/12/1956

Order of Polar Star 4,832 06/11/1956

Order of Polar Star 4,948 08/12/1948

Order of Polar Star 5,901 20/07/1946

Order of Polar Star 6,133 16/02/1956

Order of Polar Star 6,335 24/05/1950

Order of Polar Star 6,453 10/11/1956

Order of Polar Star 8,143 15/11/1958

Order of Polar Star 9,013 14/12/1957

Order of Polar Star 9,138 14/07/1960

Order of Polar Star 10,358 25/08/1961

Order of Polar Star 11,340 18/05/1965

Order of Polar Star 11,611 00/03/1966

Order of Polar Star 13,376 01/12/1969

Order of Polar Star 14,236 03/07/1971

Order of Polar Star 14,292 03/06/1971

Order of Polar Star 14,718 12/03/1973

Order of Polar Star 15,860 03/07/1971

Order of Polar Star 18,389 19/10/1976

Order of Polar Star 19,735 01/12/1979

Order of Polar Star 25,483 03/04/1980

Order of Polar Star 26,734 19/11/1990

Order of Polar Star 27,017 03/07/1991

Order of Polar Star 28,321 18/04/1995

Order of Polar Star 29,034 29/11/1998

Order of Polar Star 29,893 6-xx-2000

Order of Polar Star 31,529 21/11/2001

Order of Polar Star 185/1804 1936

Order of Suche Baatar 1 1941

Order of Suche Baatar 24 1946

Order of Suche Baatar 31 1949

Order of Suche Baatar 158 1957

Order of Suche Baatar 158 24/10/1957

Order of Suche Baatar 166 29/05/1957

Order of Suche Baatar 340 1961

Order of Suche Baatar 341 1961

Order of Suche Baatar 342 1961

Order of Suche Baatar 343 1961

Order of Suche Baatar 344 1961

Order of Suche Baatar 423 1962

Order of Suche Baatar 423 28/11/1962

Order of Suche Baatar 470 13/12/1963

Order of Suche Baatar 541 1966

Order of Suche Baatar 542 1966

Order of Suche Baatar 558 1966

Order of Suche Baatar 586 1968

Order of Suche Baatar 588 1968

Order of Suche Baatar 589 1968

Order of Suche Baatar 591 1968

Order of Suche Baatar 612 10/11/1968

Order of Suche Baatar 642 12/08/1969

Order of Suche Baatar 684 15/10/1969

Order of Suche Baatar 692 1969

Order of Suche Baatar 803 05/07/1971

Order of Suche Baatar 919 1971

Order of Suche Baatar 922 1971

Order of Suche Baatar 923 1971

Order of Suche Baatar 924 1971

Order of Suche Baatar 925 1971

Order of Suche Baatar 927 1971

Order of Suche Baatar 928 1971

Order of Suche Baatar 931 1971

Order of Suche Baatar 932 1971

Order of Suche Baatar 933 1971

Order of Suche Baatar 937 1971

Order of Suche Baatar 989 1973

Order of Suche Baatar 1,123 1975

Order of Suche Baatar 1,255 14/12/1975

Order of Suche Baatar 1,335 1978

Order of Suche Baatar 1,404 22/10/1980

Order of Suche Baatar 1,462 08/06/1981

Order of Suche Baatar 1,463 1981

Order of Suche Baatar 1,465 1981

Order of Suche Baatar 1,491 09/07/1981

Order of Suche Baatar 1,530 1981

Order of Suche Baatar 1,532 1981

Order of Suche Baatar 1,548 1981

Order of Suche Baatar 1,562 1981

Order of Suche Baatar 1,715 1986

Order of the Red Banner of Labour 621 17/11/1951

Order of the Red Banner of Labour 1,039 16/02/1956

Order of the Red Banner of Labour 1,423 24/12/1959

Order of the Red Banner of Labour 2,329 22/10/1960

Order of the Red Banner of Labour 2,845 01/02/1960

Order of the Red Banner of Labour 3,744 24/11/1973

Order of the Red Banner of Labour 3,809 28/04/1980

Order of the Red Banner of Labour 4,835 22/12/1978

Order of the Red Banner of Labour 5,050 09/07/1981

Order of the Red Banner of Labour 5,826 00/00/1987

Order of the Red Banner of Labour 6,238 15/04/1993

Title of Merit 607 26/06/1981

Virgin Lands 1,187 24/10/1979

Virgin Lands 1,300 24/10/1979

Virgin Lands 3,074 16/12/1982

As the possibility to get awards researched and learn about who / what / when / etc., the question starts to arise... similar to Soviet awards... if you had to "blindly" acquire an award with the intention of getting research done, what do you suppose would be the reward with highest chance of "an interesting story" (i.e. not long service awards) in relation to it's price of course?

Uhoh... there I was thinking, good, found a nice little country to collect medals from that nobody else is interested in and I can already see the signs similar to what happened with Mongolian awards a year or so ago

I am mixed between & on the one hand and on the other

Perhaps what I need is

Interesting order....

Top to bottom, left to right:

1) Order of Skanderbeg 3rd class

2) Medal of Remembrance

3) Order of Bravery

4) Order of Labour 3rd class

5) Order of Freedom 1st class OR Medal for Distinguished Defense Service?

6) Medal of Bravery

7) Medal of Liberation?

8) Order Red Banner of Labour 1st class OR Medal for 10th Anniversary of the Army

Above appears to indicate that 1-3rd class are awarded not as subsequent awards but on the degree of "merit" for lack of a better word of the act for which the award was issued... assuming I didn't mix up nr 5 / 8 of course

Here medal - horizontal pinback but nothing particularly "interesting" on reverse.

Side by side. Significantly different... also facial expression for instance. Surely not made from same cast?

Interesting Rick. I got my other one out (and also again the Klietmann article)... the other one has more of a yellow oxydized look which would indeed indicate towards a Kust version.

What I don't get is what version my Meybauer then is... a "first class" with lost gilt, or a "second class" with added enamel or... ? Question mark comes from the fact that center piece is bronze and not gilt and certainly not silver.

Grrr

Here's a pic then. The rivet (or something which looks like it) is difficult to see because the pin can't be taken out due to excessively bent closed "lid" for the ring. The award is slightly lighter than my other one and also dimensions are a bit different. I'll take your word for it being a Kust then Rick - and pic in Klietmann confirms this as well (which I didn't have handy at work).

Such a shame that these cannot be linked to person which - as Ed mentions - would make it even more interesting. I will however be travelling in Georgia in December / January. For me phaleristics is also a great "excuse" to visit certain countries and read more about them.

And as souvenir you can buy a bunker shaped ashtray!

They really are neat. At first it's odd to the eye, but once you get used seeing one virtually everywhere, you get used to it and it's really part of the scenery. How nice, everybody has his own personal bunker to protect Albania should the US, China, USSR, etc. ever have decided to invade Albania to steal it's natural resources

To all: if you'd like to visit a country which has interesting sites, an interesting history, good food, and virtually ZERO tourists... then I highly recommend Albania!

Recently acquired another one (didn't want the first one to be lonely ).

Will post pic later today. At first glance, it looked similar to the one I already had but:

- bronze colored center medaillon

- with blue enamel but different "texture" (not as evenly applied)

- on reverse the condition is very clean but oddly enough there's a rivet!

Hope to receive some feedback once pic is posted.

This award is not as straightforward as one would expect. Then again, that only makes things more interesting (although people with Mongolian Polar Star orders might disagree:)).

For sale at a dealer near me... real gold partisan star.

The price is a bit painful though: 1.650 EURO!

Or, as some would translate it, 1 Sukhe baatar!