Soviet Plastic Medal Bars

[Guest Rick Research]

Gerd: I wonder in Scan #45 if the first two awards are supposed to be Valor Medals with inaccurate edge stripes because the centers are GRAY, not pale blue? The edges certainly are what they should be for Red Banners Of Labor but the color is off. 9th ribbon there is 1975 Jubilee. I've never seen the 1970 Ministry of Defense in that spot before, usually it is last.

Scans #s 46 and 48 must have belonged to the same person. Again, I think the painter didn't get the stripes any more accurately than on the Victory Over Germany in that last photo I posted above. Looking at #46 by the colors (accurate) rather than the stripes, what I see is

Order of Lenin, Order of the Red Banner of Labor (dark blue edges, pale blue center-- edges not accurate here), Order of the Red Star, over Valiant Labor Medal, Defense of the Caucasus, and Labor Victory Medal.

Now if these two bars are a set to the same person, you have a REAL wartime Lenin for something special to a civilian and then what would be by 1947 and 1949 regulations for the railways (a good guess, I think, for this kind of group) a 15 Years Service Valiant Labor and by 1949 regulations a 20 Years Service Red Banner of Labor.

#47 is a style I really like with little gold bars between the colors simulating real cloisonn? enamel.

Great bars!

Oops you were still posting, so I missed the last one to a career officer circa 1958-60. OPW2 and Valour Medal for the War, Red Star and MMM for long service before his 20 Years M1958 long service medal. And is that a TIN backing plate? First time I have seen one as neatly manufactured as that-- they usuaally are quite crude brass backings.

[Gerd Becker]

Rick, thanks a lot!

I agree on the one in scan 45, they are most likely Bravery Medals. Which makes it even better imo. And you are probably also right on the two bars belonging together. Didn?t notice it yet. Thats indeed a very nice and interesting combination with a wartime Lenin, great!

Nr. 47 is indeed very nice with the gold bars. This one is unfortunately broken right after the VoG-Medal.

I have another interesting bar, which i will post in a seperate thread, so keep your eyes open. Its eiter an interesting original or a weird put-together...

The last one, i posted, is indeed a tin-backing plate, which is painted in a gray color.

Looks like i got some nice ones in this lot

Thanks again

Gerd

[Gerd Becker]

And here is another nice Ribbonbar with an interesting combination.

ORS, Bravery Medal, MMM, Lenin Centenary Medal, Defense of Stalingrad (Or Partisan Medal 1st class?)VoG, 20 and 30 years Victory in GPW, Capture of Budapest, Capture of Vienna, Liberation of Prague, Valorous Labor in GPW, 50 and 60 years Armed Forces.

[Gerd Becker]

Don?t you wish, you had the serialnumbers to the awards on these Ribbonbars?

Here is one, i would love to have the serialnumbers.

OPW 1st class, 2 X OPW 2nd class, MMM, VoG, 20,30 and 40 years Victory in GPW, Capture of Berlin, Liberation of Warsaw, Veteran of Labor, 50 and 60 years Armed Forces of the USSR.

[Guest Rick Research]

Nice painted ones! The first one from today has no Veteran Of Labor Medal, so he was still working in 1978-- with no state awards but the 1970 Lenin Jubilee.

The second fellow must have been a war invalid to have received a 1985 Patriotic War 1st Class then. I agree-- a strange and interesting war record with TWOPatriotic War 2nd Classes and a MMM!

[Gerd Becker]

Nice painted ones! The first one from today has no Veteran Of Labor Medal, so he was still working in 1978-- with no state awards but the 1970 Lenin Jubilee.

The second fellow must have been a war invalid to have received a 1985 Patriotic War 1st Class then. I agree-- a strange and interesting war record with TWOPatriotic War 2nd Classes and a MMM!

These are both not painted ones, but the ones with plastic ribbons! The colors are just great (my scanner doesn?t show it properly) ,i?ll try to make a good photo in better light tomorrow.

Yes, indeed its an 1985 Jubilee 1st class on the second one, didn?t think about that. Thanks! Still, would love to know more about this fellow...

Why didn?t they think about a better solution of the the precendence of the Stalingrad/Leningrad-Partisan 1st/2nd class medals Would love to know, if thats a Stalingrad or a Partisan-Medal...

[Bryan]

I've got few "plastic ribbon bars" in my collection, but I have never had until now a "plastic medal bar". Here is my first one.

I like it a lot. If anybody has a plastic medal bar for sale, I would gladly buy it. :)

[Bryan]

Reverse

[Guest Rick Research]

:cheers: Nice one! These are so fragile after 60 years, keep it wrapped up very well in something that won't crush or crack.

It must have seemed like a good idea back then, but these are incredibly brittle now. Yours is :love:

[Alfred]

Nice Bryan,

this plastic ribbon bar arrived today in my mailbox.

regards

Andreas

[Hauptmann]

Hi all,

Okay... this one is... lets say on the razors edge of being here... but as there's a ton of plastic... and they are ribbons and since I've been told from on high that it's okay to put it here I'm going to pop it in.

It's the only one Rick or I have seen. Just got it in and it's a beaut! Hoping more info comes to light on these.

It's rather hefty, extremely well constructed and built like a brick battleship. The ribbons are the standard cloth types but under the D shaped lucite covers which are embedded into the plastic (not sure what type... reminds me a bit of bakelite... I know I've seen it before) backing. Well made pins on the back which include hook at the top as you can see for extra support. Only drawback is the backing is white... perhaps for a white uniform? Would certainly stick out like a sore thumb on the other color uniforms.

No makers marks unless they are well hidden somewhere.

Note it even has inset dividing lines in the plastic between the rows.

Edited October 25, 2009 by Hauptman

[Hauptmann]

Here's an end on shot showing the D shaped lucite in the plastic backing.

And the reverse showing the attachment pins.

Edited October 25, 2009 by Hauptman

[Hauptmann]

And last but not least a closer shot.

No idea if this was perhaps a prototype and they decided it was too labor intensive or cost prohibitive or what. Would absolutely love to know the history of it.

Anyhow as always comments or further information are welcomed.

Dan

[Guest Rick Research]

:Cat-Scratch: Absolutely SUPERB!!!!

Very very strange. This wouldn't have been worn on ANY kind of uniform--

It dates between 1985 (jubilee) and 1988 (NO jubilee), for a retiree (Veteran of Labor) who was a war invalid (jubilee OPW 1st Class). While he was still on active duty in 1948, he was out before having 10 years time in-- no MMM (so that is a "real" Red Star) and thus would not have been granted pemission to wear a uniform with rank insignia.

The craftsmanship is superior to EVERYTHING I have ever seen, including bars made for generals.

I wonder if this could be a literal "one off," made by someone with skill and access to something like denture-making tools? It looks as if it must have been "cooked" somehow to squoosh the rows together-- and seat the ribbons-- but without burning them. Cold-setting plastic... gloop of some kind?

Truly a gem.

PS Congrats on getting the side view!!!!