Christian Zulus

Dear Christophe, I assume, that's a mere "copy" - just look at the quality . According to literature, no "unissued" Victories do exist. Best regards Christian

Gentlemen, GMIC-Yugoslavia has right now over 900 postings and more than 10.300 views. That's much more, than GMIC-Albania & GMIC-Cuba together , who started earlier with their own GMIC-sections. Many thanks to all contributors and to our native experts . Communist Yugoslavian Awards are highly interesting: - great designs & well manufactured - low number of issued items - still very moderate prices at the market Best regards Christian

Gentlemen, it would be great to get the results a.s.p. . Many thanks in advance . Best regards Christian

Gentlemen, we have already 4 victories at the quiz of Ex-YU-GMIC-members: 3x Ivan ("Priamida") and 1x Filip ("Drugo") . Best regards Christian

Dear Christophe, congratulations to your victory #19 . I just came home from cd-recordings with the Serbian pianist Natasa Veljkovic http://www.veljkovic.net - Robert & Clara Schumann. So, I just saw the result of Ivan's question . I had been a good and rather difficult question, despite the fact, that our comrade showed a Polish uniform . Best regards Christian

Market price for a YU-Flag 1cl, cased + documents ? Gentlemen, o.k., if Milan says, that the laws of market economy are ruling even the market for YU-Awards, what would be the present price for a YU-Flag 1cl, cased + documents ? EUR 1.300,- are too much, but what price can I offer to the dealer ? Many thanks for your advice . Best regards Christian

Good question, Ed . Well, I guess it should be about 30 %, but in most cases it is far more: 50 % or even up to 100 %. It's rather easy to bring them by train, bus or car to Vienna, Munich, Milano or Zurich. The Hungarian custom & border guards can be nasty, but if you are EU-citizen and travel with an EU-registered car, they wouldn't check your luggage in a comprehensive way. But if you bought the awards at a regular shop and you have all the papers, then you can also declare the items at the HU-customs. So, the EU-dealers shouldn't add not more than around 30 % to the dealers prices in Belgrad or Zagreb, I think. But according to market-laws, capitalism & Karl Marx, the price for a "YU-Flag 1cl" should be all over the world ident . Best regards Christian

Thanks, Sasa . What would you regard as a fair price - around EUR 800,- ? Best regards Christian

That's true . Also the gold-wash of the basic star, which always appears to be silver, had been far too thin. So, I haver never seen an October Revolution with a fully preserved gold-wash . I have a rather late OR s/n. 86.619 in my collection, which shows small traces of the orginal gold-wash. The decline of Soviet Economy is also represented in the manufacture (not the design!) of the OR . Best regards Christian

Dear Dave, many thanks for your commentary . Well, infantry had been the main force in WW II and also the backbone of the Red Army. So killing Hitlerites with the gun happened rather often . My "Glory-Trio" to Serg. Gnitienko http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5536 has also these rather "typical" citations: Glory 3 cl: For rescuing 4 (four) severly wounded comrades from the battle field under risking his own life (Crimea, april 1944). Glory 2 cl: For killing several Nazi-soldiers (Crimea, april 1944). Glory 1 cl: For killing 20 (twenty) Nazi-soldiers ("Operatian Bagration", Latvia, Jeglava, august 1944). O.K., the citation for the 3cl might be something special . Coming back to the present market situation of Soviet awards & groups: If you look around at the big dealers websites, you still find a handful of highly interesting groups - some of them already completly researched! - with price tags of under USD 1.000,-. Also Helsinki auction showed rather moderate results in the field of awards to partisans, NCOs and privates. So I think, that collecting interesting awards from the Soviet Union is still possible for smaller budgets, if you don't focus at the high-end orders or full Glory-sets & HSU-sets. Best regards Christian BTW: Many thanks again for publishing your outstanding reference-book about the citations . That has been an outstanding phaleristic & historic work .

1st class, cased + documents in Vienna for EUR 1.300,- Gentlemen, a complete set of a 1st class, cased + documents is offered in Vienna for EUR 1.300,-. The recipient should be a minister of Romania. The condition of the set is good, but the sash is already faded out in terms of colour. What do you think about the price ? I guess, that it is a bit over the current market situation, even if confered to a promint Romain minister. Many thanks for your advice in advance . Best regards Christian

Gentlemen, my friend from Belgrade, who gave me the AK-badge, visited me in Vienna and told me, that this Aero-Klub-Badge is 100 % pre-communist and the 2nd version, which had been issued in the 1930s. Best regards Christian

Gentlemen, that's the link to the catalouge for communist YU-items of tommorow's auction in Belgrade: http://www.snd.org.yu/katalog/categories.p...d=22&page=1 Some interesting items and the prices (in EUR) are quite moderate . Best regards Christian BTW: Maybe somone of our native members could post the results (incl. fee & taxes) .

Dear Alex, such uniforms are rather rare to see at official posters or photographs - and these comrades didn't wear their uniforms at work . Best regards Christian

Dear Christophe, you forgot at the #1-section Filip (Drugo) . Serbia (Ivan & Filip) already scored 4 victories . Best regards Christian

Dear Alex, many thanks for showing the posters to us and for the link . The poster in your post #3 is interesting, because the comrades show non-military uniforms. I guess these are uniforms of coal miners and the comrades are receiving their HSLs from Stalin. The comrade shaking hands with Stalin might have on his right chest the badge "Honored Coal Miner", which was instituted in 1948 . I showed such a badge (late version) in that thread: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=17942 The orders & medals we can see on the comrade with Stalin are: - HSL - Lenin - RBL - Medal for Reconstruction of the Coal Mines of Donbass http://www.collectrussia.com/DISPITEM.HTM?ITEM=17186 Best regards Christian

Dear Gerd, well, I hope so . But some weeks ago Alexei mailed to me, that he is too much engaged at the "other" Soviet forum, so he can not participate in an active way here at GMIC . Best regards Christian

Gentlemen, that seems now to be a fact, that the s/n. of the OKs doesn't match the "might-be" s/n. of the Victory . Maybe the clerk in the office took the Victory-OKs in an art of "random-principle" . Who got the Victory shown at the series of photographs ? Best regards Christian

Gentlemen, it HAS to be Antonov, because all others had been already Marshals long before they got their "Victory". So, he got #11, but should have got #10 . Maybe a clerk in the office spoiled one of the "Victory"-OKs, threw it away and went on with the next number ? We know a wide range of cases of clercical mistakes .... . Just an idea, to explain the "wrong" number .... Best regards Christian

Gentlemen, well, I think the providing of a serious authentication service + some trading with Soviet items doesn't seem a contradiction to me. Maybe Alexei might also focus on YU-Awards : You still get them in rather large numbers and at rather reasonable prices AND there is a growing demand in the collectors community for these items . Best regards Christian

Dear Ed, many thanks for that really great link . I specially love that poster, which is outstanding in terms of artistic viewpoint, but also in terms of ideology: I remember the late friend of our family here in Vienna, Rosa Jochmann http://www.frauen.spoe.at/jochmann/ , who had been at the KZ-Ravensbr?ck, who told to us, that their hope at the Nazi-Concentration-Camp had been: "Wenn russische Panzer rollen, dann bedeutet das Freiheit!" ("When Soviet tanks roll, then this means freedom to us" (in the KZ). The Red Army liberated Majdanek http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majdanek , Auschwitz http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auschwitz_concentration_camp , etc., etc. Soviet tanks played an important role in these operations. So, Soviet tanks are to me a symbol of the liberation of fascim in Europe! BTW: I assume, that the T-34 - besides the heroism of the Soviet people - has won the GPW . I am happy to have (nearly) all of our "inspirational music" - also in many GDR-interpretations - in my vast CD-collection (producing CDs - classical music - is one of my main fields in business ). Best regards Christian

Dear Alex, that would be great, if you could start a thread which (rather) unknown posters & pictures of comrade Stalin here at GMIC . Best regards Christian

Dear Ivan, you have to give a new question to us . Best regards Christian

Gentlemen, at least the OKs - order booklets - of the "Victory" have a s/n. . Best regards Christian

Gentlemen, Alexei has only closed his website, which doesn't mean, that he is out of business . Some weeks ago - I tried to motivate him to participate at GMIC (he is already member) - he told me, that he is rather busy with other activities. For example Paul doesn't have a special dealer's website (the "official" PMD-website is also closed) at all, but offers frequently highly interesting items (Christophe is always faster than me ) at the "other" Soviet forum. Sasa shows almost nothing at his dealer's website http://www.paretski.com/index.html , but you can phone him at his mobile and visit him in Berlin (he is one of the big international dealers for Soviet items). From the economist viewpoint we are now confrontated with following situation: Almost no supply from the RF AND an increasing demand of that items inside the RF. If some items get some miles outside the RF - like the Helsinki-Auction -, that's great luck for us, I think. Gentlemen, we have to accept, that the Soviet Awards are THEIR national heritage and the upper middle-class in Russia has now the money (and the specific interst) to buy them. RF isn't anymore "Ghana + intercontinental nuclear rockets" . I think, that Alexei, Paul and all the others will still offer highly interesting items & groups at the specific platforms in the www. At least we have Igor, as the "big dealer", who offers documented groups - look at the lower ranked items - http://www.collectrussia.com/showcat.htm?cat=Doc.%20Awards and some other items at really fair prices. Well, the process which takes it's toll, can anyone read about in the writings of Marx, Engels & Lenin - that's capitalism. Best regards Christian