DutchBoy

That's an awesome Soviet collection, Ed! I know this area of collecting is not your mainstream (but it is mine) but that's a MASSIVE set of pieces as a side line. I hope to have maybe just one of those super-rare pieces as my crowning glory one day. p.s. My deep-dish variation Nevsky is my crown jewel in the Soviet field right now. I'll get it researched soon. Damn, I love that piece though....

Johann Baron von Plessen and his wife had 5 children. His son Karl Leopold Peter Baron von Plessen was born in 1938 in Rome, so this confirms that von Plessen was already living there before the document you have was issued. A pair of twins was also born to them in Rome in 1940. see: www.thepeerage.com http://www.thepeerage.com/p4760.htm#i47600 Matt.

Hero of Bulgaria star: One sold a few months ago on eBay (a real one) for just under $900. A dealer informed me late last year that one should run around $1,200 or more, if you can find one. Total issued for this medal is only 58! And almost all of those were issued in the 1950s for service in WW2. Also, the 2 Bulgarian cosmonauts were awarded Heroes of Bulgaria titles (like Soviet cosmonauts received the Hero of the Soviet Union.) Hero of Socialist Labour: around 1,700 issued, and they go for around $400 - $500. The latest variation has the mint mark on the edge of the 5 o'clock arm as opposed to on the surface of the reverse. Keep this in mind if you don't see mint marks on the reverse...

Thanks Michael, Another thing that should have tipped me off was that the bidding was slow, and I picked up the piece for under $300. Official wearers copies already run you close to $200, and they're not even made of gold. So as a placeholder in my collection it actually serves rather nicely. At least I learned a good lesson, to never take the "no fakes (yet)" assumption for granted, and still examine the piece thoroughly before buying...

Here's some pics of the case...

I have seen fakes of the Hero star of Bulgaria. I also thought there were no fakes, and so I bought with confidence. (Yours looks legit by the way). The fake was in hindsight not totally convincing. The loop on the fake was too big, the surface front and back was too shiny, whereas you should see more of a matte effect, especially on the reverse. My fake also had no mint mark, and once I held it in my hands it showed signs of casting (subtle signs of metal shrinkage from cooling around the letters on the reverse). But I took it to a jeweller and he told me it WAS made from solid gold (10K or 14K). It also came in a real Bulgarian Hero Star case (an older version of the case you have, which is the 1980s generic "high-award" case without the order name on it). Since someone went to a lot of trouble to make my fake (and out of real gold) and in a real Hero box, maybe it's a once-off piece. I haven't seen any since, and the seller later sold what appeared to be a truly genuine one. Actually I'm still holding out hope that it IS real, just a late unknown variation. Wishful thinking perhaps?......

Ed, Impressive collection in Patiala! But it's a long way to go, so I'll just have to make do with the one in Holland next month...But please post some pics if you end up going. Patiala made ome very beautiful orders.

I am going to visit the Neherlands in may, and I'm going to go to the Het Loo palace which houses the museum of the Dutch Chancellery of Orders. According to their website they hold the largest collection of orders and medals in the world, so this should be interesting! Will post pics when I return. www.paleishetloo.nl

Truly one of my all-time favourite orders...great acquisitions guys!!

Hi Dolf, Awesome collection! Is that a real Order of Glory 1st?