Greg Collins

I'd like to point out that this is a final variant of the 2nd Class award; the first variant had red/purple stones and the wreath below the State seal was gold-plated. Of note: on this particular class, the cloissone (hot enamel) State seal is on silver-plated metal. On the other two classes the metal is gold-plated.

Kevin, If you'll carefully note the details, the badge on the right's features are in bas relief- not designed to hold enamel. So it was never coloured. Two variations of a very interesting badge- perhaps the right (bronze) is a lower level and the left (gold with enamel) a higher level of the same badge.

Alec, This armband was worn at the Reich's level- check the label. Another give-away is the lack of trim at the top and bottom; just the red of the band. Orts = light blue trim; Kries = white trim; gau = dark red trim.

Good point regarding the 50th Anniversary PCR connection, Kevin. I had not thought of that. And, of course, the many design variations that were produced during the RSR period. Come to think of it, weren't the hinged gates (the one's that were lowered) at the crossings painted in red and white? Been a while since I saw one.

Kevin, Nice find. The choice of red and white is a bit strange. I have this badge from the same period; same "read" as well. Mine's a screw back. I wonder what the difference was as far as the award criteria went.

All three appear to be vintage WW2... the larger two are very desirable two-piece badges for an officer's service cap- the one on the right may be for a navy "Donald Duck" type cap, while the smaller badge is a one-piece for a pilotka (flat- similar to our overseas- cap). I have seen the two piece badges go for as much as $95. All of this dependent, of course, on whether or not they are genuine... they look good to me.

Take a look here: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/39406-romanian-reference-materials/ In my opinion, if you're looking for something on the scale of "Soviet Orders and Medals", Avers 6 or Bartel's 1, you're going to be disappointed. I have found, however, that the little info gathered from Ranier Schmitt's book (and other sources cited in the link above), coupled with the info gathered on this forum, will more than suffice when dealing with this period of Romanian history. Good luck!:cheers:

You are, of course, absolutely right, Kevin. Don't know why I keep forgetting that important fact.

I believe the last, single ribbon is, as you said, the R.S.R. 40th Anniversary of proclamation of the Republic Medal. I don't believe the Hero of the New Agrarian Revolution could be worn as a ribbon... convention demanded the bearer wear the whole thing, more or less like any other "Hero of..." award.

Well, I guess if you keep looking and last long enough, you'll either find what you're looking for or it will find you. I was able to snag a few of these elusive critters from a dealer friend in Bucharest the other day. Not as complete as Kevin's collection, but as rare as these are on this side of the pond, I'm quite happy.:D

And again, no obvious Securitate connection displayed on any of the bars... hmmmmm. Actually, the bar in this lot I find most intriguing is the forth from the bottom. 5th Class Star of Romania, Collectivization of Agriculture and a Soviet Victory Over Germany. Interesting combination.

Kevin, Yep, drooling again! Also rethinking my assertion that there was only one version of the Stalin Academy badge- apparently there are two. Hmmmmm.:jumping:

Now, a nagging question... a badge which has been heretofore known as "the Fire Brigade badge"... is it simply designed to look like an academy badge (pure aesthetics) OR was there some sort of schooling involved in receiving this particular badge? I have only seen this badge worn by senior officers of the Fire Brigades. Does anyone have a clue?

Now, I'm going to make a sort of a declaration here based on what I own, what has been shown and what I've seen in other places... I believe there are five (5) major types of Romanian Military Academy badges, with two Variations of the final type: -Type 1= Red star in the center, with blue circle and "RPR" in the center of the star (more or less like the early cap badge), blue banner below with "Academia Militara I.V. Stalin", numbered on screw back. No idea of the start date, other than post 1947, stopped at the inception of the next badge. -Type 2= Red star with RPR seal in the center, blue banner below with "Academia Militara I.V. Stalin", numbered on screw back. No idea of the start date, other than after above badge, and suspect the stop date to be 1953-56. (Thanks, Kevin, for showing me this!) -Type 3 (pictured below)= Red star with RPR seal in center, blue banner below with "Academia Militara Generala", numbered on screw back. Post '53-'56 until 1965. -Type 4 (pictured below)= Larger RSR seal, blue banner below with "Academia Militara Generala", un-numbered on screw back. 1965 until ?. -Type 5, V1= Larger RSR seal, blue banner below with "Academia Militara", un-numbered on screw back. Some undetermined dates between 1965 and 1989. -Type 5, V2 (pictured below)= Larger RSR seal, blue banner below with "Academia Militara", un-numbered with a full-closure, pin back. ?-1989. I'm pretty sure this is fairly accurate.

Picked up another Military Academy badge recently that I thought I'd share. It's a post '65, un-numbered with a screw back.

Gordon, I would have figured that, as Mielke was the sweetheart of the SED for so long, he would have had it for sure... maybe it's just not considered a high enough award to list. As I already pointed out, the award did not come cased with an interimspange; Megan already posted a rear view of my medal in post #1 in this thread.

Yes... either velvet or, possibly, velour.

All those ribbon bars and no indication of either militia or security... wow. May be the first time I've seen this given the quantity of bars to look at. So many RPR's, too! Love the cloth types; I've not seen those before, either. Great haul, Kevin! :beer:

Lukasz, The presentation case (not plastic but dark blue leatherette covered, velvet lined with inscription on the inner lid) has a recess for the medal but no provision for a ribbon bar. I have never seen it on a ribbon bar but, then again, I haven't seen all ribbon bars. I would like to get a good, close look at Erich Mielke's ribbons- the answer to your question may well be there.

Kevin, I see what you mean... I stand corrected; mine is definitely a 2nd type. Thanks. Blue would have been a nice touch, though...:cheeky:

Not to doubt you, Kevin, but I can't seem to find an example of black, red and blue in Bartel's. According to what is presented in his Band 1, that's a type one (174a). If, however, new research has brought forth the existence of the type you mention, my apologies.

Everyone who worked in the public service sector (government employees, military, police, etc.) received it. The military version had the same medal with a red ribbon on a five-sided suspension with the date plaque positioned just below the top (opposite the clasp).

The logo/icon on the back is the Staatswappen, or State Seal, of the DDR. With regard to rarity: this is not a particularly high dollar medal, however you are quite right in that it isn't encountered that often. I would say that it is one of those fairly rare medals that is not particularly sought by collectors. In the East German category, the armed forces awards and, of course, MfS/Stasi awards seem to take center stage and, therefore, command higher prices.

Paul, Yes, as Speedytop pointed out, this award is for Merchant Seamen; the award for the Navy would be the National People's Army (NVA) Medal of Merit, which was for all the armed forces and came in 3 classes.