Greg Collins

OK, I've finished reading the second volume; an incredible amount of material is covered and beautifully laid out. What an effort on Ralph's part! I do not believe I've ever seen any subject covered so thoroughly. This 2 volume set is, in my opinion, a new benchmark for books covering Cold War memorabilia. Not a catalog to use as a quick reference to see which medal is which- there are other books for that- but, rather, an incredibly in-depth, scholarly approach to orders, medals, badges and other memorabilia directly and indirectly associated with the Ministry of State Security. In describing these items and their associated documents and providing photos of the items being presented and worn, Ralph has given a glimpse of several key personalities as well as some insight into some operational aspects of the organization. It is a marvelous set of books and, as I said before, a must for all collectors of the Cold War.

Kevin, A very Happy New Year, my friend, and a speedy recovery! These were found, actually, in your general "neck of the woods"- Brasov. Looking forward to your future posts. Greg :beer:

This next badge is one I've never seen before and must be fairly rare. It's an "Honoured Radioman" badge from the RPR period. It is numbered and nearly identical to it's Soviet counterpart. I feel quite fortunate to have stumbled across both of these gems.

First, let me apologize for my absence; I see the Romanian section is now mixed with other Eastern Bloc States. I had reached a "lull" with the Romanian collection- just couldn't find anything available- and concentrated on other collections for awhile. I have, however, come by a couple of new and (for me) exciting pieces I thought I would share. The first is one for which I've been looking for quite some time (just ask Kevin). It's a badge "For Merit in the Border Guard" from the RPR period. I managed to get a numbered variant and, while it does have some "character" marks on it, it has taken a predominant position in my collection. I have added it to my Romanian Gallery- have a look when you get the chance.

Dan, Looks good to me. Greg

I received my copy yesterday and, though I haven't read it through yet, I have had the opportunity to give the book a fairly thorough "going over". It is, simply, stunning. The amount of material is, well, overwhelming and beautifully presented. Magnificent. I heartily recommend this book, along with volume 1, to all collectors of the Cold War.

Well, Frank, it keeps me off the street... and besides, I'm not a completest, at least not with these.

Absolutely, Christophe, all the awards for deeds "above and beyond" applied to all conflicts. But this was all I could come up with for "in service in an area". When I was in the Navy (US), we had two such awards (I got both of them). One was the "Navy Expeditionary Medal" and the other was the "Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal". Both were for operating in an area of conflict (war zone) in which no other campaign medal applied (El Salvador, Grenada and Beirut, for example). The Navy medal was awarded when it was a purely naval event; the Armed Forces medal when all services got a piece of it.

The only award I can think of is called "To a Warrior-Internationalist". It is described as an "Honorary Badge" and was primarily given for Afghanistan, although it may have been given for other later conflicts as well. It was not in existence at the time of Viet Nam. Here's an example from my collection:

My best guess is within the last 5 years. This is the period that I began to see them.

This is an example of an unofficial Soviet veteran's medal, manufactured as a fund raising item for a veterans' organization (it is not Umalatova nor is it CPRF). I believe I've seen this medal-type in, at least, 3 variations to cover different conflicts in which the Soviet Union was involved; Afghanistan, Angola, Viet Nam. This particular example is the Viet Nam variant, as indicated by the bar across the ribbon.

Well, Father Frost's visit is on the horizon and the daily stampede at the local Wally World is now in full swing. The one good thing about the winter stampede versus the summer stampede is that people tend to wear more clothing during the winter stampede, thus saving the ocular nerves from the shock of 230+ pounds squeezed into "Daisy Dukes" and tube tops, as is the usual fair during the warmer weather here. Whew! I either need to quit going there altogether or move closer to the nearest college town (in my case, Charlottesville, Virginia) where the sights are bound to be easier on the eyes. Edited a couple entries in my USSR gallery a few minutes ago due to recently acquired documents. If you get the chance, check out the "Defense of the Caucasus" entry. Nice document and I.D. for a female nurse with the 7th Independent Division. A Georgian document was added to the "Veteran of Labour" as well. Also, within the next couple of days, will have a new item and edit in my PMR gallery- check that out; the new item is fairly interesting. Getting ready to establish a new gallery for Soviet (and bloc) Veterans badges... it's a new interest of mine that is largely spurred on by Paul Schmitt's most recent book, "Soviet Second World War Veteran Badges". Looking forward to that; should begin in a couple of days. That's about all... other that working and collecting, I continue playing music here in the "sticks". Put down the 12 string acoustic and got out the old Tele just yesterday. Been on this jazz and old '50's kick lately. Until My Next Entry, Take It Light, Greg

Frank, Hate to say it, but I have had to add shipping to the cost of awards for some time now to determine cost vs value. More and more, I try to buy from a seller here in the US because, while his/her price may be a bit on the high end, their shipping is usually a whole lot less, bringing the final cost down below what it would have cost to deal, say, with a seller in the UK or beyond. Of course, this can severely limit your selection but, if you can wait, the item will usually turn up closer or the price will go down from the distant seller making his/her shipping cost (when added to the item) seem more reasonable. Unfortunately, the narrower your search (take for example PMR items), the fewer the sellers and, alas, the higher probability you'll wind up a victim of their shipping method. And now, of course, we're having issues with our postal system :-(

Been awhile since I posted to this blog; haven't had alot to say, really. With the end of autumn and the coming of winter we're often plagued with grey days- lots of cold rain and mud. A sort of yearly depression sets in which evaporates around April. The only feeling I remember that approximates this is the feeling we got when we were at sea for long periods; up early to work at least 8-10 hours, in the sack for a couple hours, up for 4 hours of watch, back in the sack for a couple of hours, then do it all over. On the frigate (my first ship) the machinery got the fresh water, so it was weeks without a shower and your skin turned graphite grey from the grease that was used on virtually everything. All you saw was black sea that you sailed with 45 degree rolls and 10 degree pitches and you became a sort of zombie, doing everything from memory and with a blank, unemotional stare. It became difficult to sleep at times, so everyone carried these incredibly long, boring pocket novels that could knock you out by the fifth page. Of course, then you would hit a port like Olongapo, in the Philippines (!!!), the ship would hook up shore water, you'd take that "hollywood" shower and hit the beach, find comfort for the evening and all would be set right. Alive again! So, come on April! I have been able to add a couple of items to the collections, which I've already posted in the appropriate galleries (have a look- they are recent). Also have a lead on at least 4 new medals from the PMR (Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic- also called Transnistria, an unrecognized, breakaway country (from Moldova) which kept most of it's former Soviet emblems... even the flag). I hope to get them by the new year. My PMR gallery is probably the most complete, with one possible exception, collection of PMR items anywhere so feel free to visit and leave a comment or two. Well, that's all for now, Greg

Yeah, I've seen those as well on our favorite auction site. The dealer also sells falange items. Seems to me that, as long as I've been collecting, I would have come across a couple of these badges before now. As it turns out, they are all new to me. Nice looking- cool- but suspect as genuine historical items. I'd have to see more in corroborative research.

The only badges/medals I know of were made for veterans of the Spanish Civil War; I don't know of any badges that were produced for the anti-fascist side during the war. The DDR made one medal and several reunion badges (I have three) and Bulgaria made one medal. That's all I know of.

Very nice 1st variation. Welcome!

The full name in Hungarian is Dolgozó Ifjúság Szövetsége (DISZ) or the Union of Working Youth. The badge would have ceased to be awarded when the DISZ was disbanded in 1956.

Added a few more pieces to the collection today... three medals to the PMR collection which I've already posted and one more veteran's medal (80 Years VDV) which I have yet to post. Two of the three PMR entries are Black Sea Cossack awards, one of which is quite rare in it's configuration. Have a look... Congratulations to all the Photo Contest winners. I really enjoyed all the submissions I saw, both winning and non-winning... nice work! Was somewhat disappointed that no Soviet or Soviet bloc items made the cut- maybe next time. Unfortunately, it seems our recent earthquake has caused some plumbing issues in the house and has caused the bulk of my concentration to be channeled in that direction. I have a "bandaid" on it at present, but am considering a nearly complete redo for the next several days as winter is coming. Just what I need at this point. At least I have a block of time (6 days) off to do the work. Until next entry... Greg

A reprieve from the cold for a few days... temps soared into the 60's and, as I am off, got alot of work done around the house today. More tomorrow prior to returning to the grind on Friday (yes, I am on shift this weekend). This evening I got a chance to scan some DDR documents for the MfS (Stasi) sports organization, Dynamo and will couple these scans with their badges and add to my DDR collection tomorrow at some point. Two of the documents contain actual signatures (not stamps) of Erich Mielke, the Minister of State Security. Also, two more badges and a book arrived from a contact in Chisinau earlier today... the book is a 2010 coffee-table book of PMR awards and medals given by the government to visiting entities. I already have the 2004 edition, so these are a full set of available books on the subject. The badges are both for the MVD there and one is the PMR's version of the old KGB "egg" badge- very excited to have one of those. It appears in both books and is considered an important militia award. Hope to take images of both for the PMR gallery tomorrow. Also got the idea of adding images of the books I use in collecting to the galleries- this may be of interest to those seeking information on a particular branch of awards collecting. And, as I consider these books to be an integral part of the collections to which they're affiliated, why not? While I don't generally share my sources, I can at least share the sources of knowledge. May help someone. The judging of the photo competition must be in full swing by now and I do not envy the job of the judges. I saw so many really good images submitted. The good thing about being behind the commercial photography camera is that, other than your own impression of whether or not you've answered the customer's visual challenge, the customer's check say's you won. Pretty simple. So, in the spirit of that, I leave you with an image I shot back in the late '90's. As you can see, it was made into a poster. I shot it on 4" x 5", asa 50 Ektachrome with a Sinar view camera, 2400 watt-second Speedotron Black Line lighting system, set the type on an IBM pc and delivered it to a printer in Richmond who could handle the sheet size (one measure was 26" as I recall) and supervised the printing- 4 colour process with a varnish coat over the image of the girl to make it "pop". It was aimed at the Virginia Military Institute during the decision making process of whether of not to go co-ed. I understand Dabney Coleman (actor- you may remember him as the boss in "9 to 5") took 125 of them back to Hollywood with him. Apparently he attended VMI and was there on Alumni Day when the posters hit. Greg

Mervyn, Already have the diploma- summa cum laude, no less- and worked in the field for nearly 15 years. The reason I do what I now do... well, it's a sordid story with a sad ending. Let's just say that an individual from old money made a drastic mistake that hurt him a little (lots of old money) and hurt those around him a whole lot (no job- out in the street). Some of those people had to find a job fast that would pay the most considering where they were. At least one of those people got lazy with the constant paycheck and did not look for another job associated with his career :-) Greg

I have just submitted what may be my final entry into the contest and, as I poured over the work of the last couple of days, I can really see the "commercial" in the Commercial Art/Photography degree... overworked, clean, "just so". The artwork I do is basically the same. It's all good, and I'm glad I know how to do it, but there are times I wish that my art was more relaxed, "free-er" and with more expression. Seems I'm a good technician but I wonder about "artist"... but, hey, I am what I am (to paraphrase that sage of my past and fellow sailor, Popeye). Anyway, have a look. These were Orders given to the Romanian Securitate- State Security- and are quite nice looking trinkets. They seem to echo the feeling of the Carpathians, or, at least, the feeling we often impose on the Carpathians since reading Bram Stoker's opus. Come to think of it, I may try at least one more tomorrow. All this refection has given me an idea for something in the way of the Order of Labour. We'll see... Greg

Off this weekend after two hellish days which culminated in very nearly a fight (yes, the physical kind) between myself and another supervisor in front of both officers and offenders- not good. I believe I may have some anger management issues; of course, it could be that I've come to the realization that I do, indeed, have an expiration date and no longer wish to waste the time I have left on bull sh*t, regardless from whom it may come. Oh well, three days to cool off. Put a few new entries in the Photo Competition. All are of pieces in the collections and are "straight" photography- no weird post shoot manipulations. Reasonably dramatic images taken with a 7MP camera with a mounted flash against a black background of an item combined with a close-up of the same item and cropped in a suitable way. Anyway, have a look and tell me what you think. I chose a few of my most appealing (not necessarily the most valuable) awards- mostly for their enamel work. The idea was to concentrate solely on the beauty and craftsmanship of the award with no distraction. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the images. Greg

Well, I'm sitting here bemoaning the fact that my vacation has come to an end; at 0545 tomorrow I will return to the title "Sergeant" and attend morning muster at the "joint". I have enjoyed being called "Mr. Collins" and/or "Greg" these past eleven days. Did run into an ex-convict while shopping locally, but for the life of me I cannot remember her name. I guess when you deal with 1200+ on more or less a daily basis this is bound to happen. Wished her well; hope I don't have occasion to "welcome" her back. Returned from D.C. earlier today (a bit after noon). It was good to see my Mother- it has been a year since we last saw each other although we talk by telephone at least once a week. She still has some of my best artwork and photography on her walls- Mothers are like that. Thought about entering some in the competition although I don't think that would be fair as they have already appeared publicly in print and/or exhibition. Returned to a couple of goodies- no "great shakes" but nice additions to the collections. One interesting piece is a Rakosi-era tennis medal which I've placed in my Hungarian gallery- have a look. Nice, cased little medal. I believe I paid $6 for it. Also got word that the guy I deal with for Pridnestrovie (PMR) items has found me a copy of the latest "coffee table" book of awards the government produces for visiting big-wigs; I already have the 2004 edition, so I'm looking forward to the updated book. Should take about 3 weeks to arrive. A couple of other goodies will come with it- including a PMR MVD "egg" badge which is quite rare. The temperature here continues to drop. Today it struggled to get out of the 50's because of the winds (gusts of 35 MPH). Not really cold unless you're used to 70's or higher (which we are). I'm no fan of winter as I no longer ski or skate (used to live in Montreal- long ago). Will cut this short as I have to get some sleep soon. I don't know why, but the trip to D.C. is only 120 miles and yet it always seems soooooo long and really tires me out. Perhaps it is going from a rural, and fairly empty, environment to an overgrown, congested environment. Who knows? Greg