DDR My first DDR buys

[Grant Broadhurst]

HI All,

Here are the fruits of my first venture into DDR awards , i will be adding more to this thread as i get them .

Comments welcome ! :

[olivyaya]

Nice KG set !

[Grant Broadhurst]

Nice card box marked " Kurt 1968 "

[olivyaya]

Nice card box marked " Kurt 1968 "

What is the pin like at rear ??

[Paul R]

Dont get too sucked in. It is a slippery slope.

Lots of variety + very inexpensive price tag= Addiction!

[Grant Broadhurst]

Yes the wife is pleased that i,m buying a medal for ?5 instead of ?50 or ?500 !!

As i,m on a budget DDR stuff is ideal , i think i,m a junkie now i,ve bid on 3 more !!!

I also have a helmet packed away somewhere and i got given a DDR flag when i went to see my wife,s family in Buren last year .

I,ll post a pic of the back tomorrow for Olivyaya .

Edited February 21, 2007 by Grant Broadhurst

[Hauptmann]

Hi Grant,

You're off to a great start. And yes... it's "extremely" addictive as are several of the other Warsaw Pact countries. I've been into Bulgarian and am going strong on Hungarian as well along with my main Soviet collection... and even that has a few offshoots. So much variety and often for extremely low prices. For what you had in your 57's you would probably have a world class DDR collection!

Keep up the great work. Before long you'll need a new wing on the house.

Dan

[Grant Broadhurst]

Thanks for the comments Dan ,

Although i am determined to stay focused on East German awards or i,ll just be buying everything that crops up on Ebay again !

Straight away the Reichsbahn stuff caught my eye ( as i,m a train driver ) , there really is a lot of variety to go at .

Here is the pic of the back as promised . simple pin and hook :

[Grant Broadhurst]

Here are 2 that arrived this morning :

I think they are Police graduation badges , any addition info appreciated !

[olivyaya]

Thanks for the picture !!!!!!!!!!

[Hauptmann]

Here are 2 that arrived this morning :

I think they are Police graduation badges , any addition info appreciated !

Hi Grant,

Yes, they're Police granduation badges. Here are my two for comparison:

I believe the one on the left (like yours) is for NCO's and the one on the right is for Officers.

A very nice pair you have. I especially love the yellow colored bottom of the case on the left one.

Those will go nice with those "new additions" you've got coming soon.

Keep up the great work!!!!

Dan

[Hauptmann]

Nice card box marked " Kurt 1968 "

Hi Grant,

Now you'll need the silver and gold cased. The gold's are a bit harder to find but none of these are expensive... although they are very nice and rather hefty. I initially turned my nose up at them when I started out... but over time I learned to love them. Am getting ready to send a bronze and silver over to Vic to get him started on a set. So you'll be in a little competition with him for the gold.

Nice box! Mine are all in the white plastic cases... so assuming your's is an earlier issue. Shame it doesn't have the full name or other info written inside.

Great piece!!!!

Dan

[Grant Broadhurst]

Thanks for the info Dan !

I didn't know there were different colours of the police graduation badges , so many badges so little time

Here are 2 more that magically appeared on my doorstep this morning ! :

Marksman bagde in gold , is this just for the workers militia or all armed services ?

Edited February 24, 2007 by Grant Broadhurst

[Grant Broadhurst]

medal and ribbon , looks fairly worn . I need a case for this ! :

[Hauptmann]

medal and ribbon , looks fairly worn . I need a case for this ! :

Hi Grant,

Ooooh! See, that series is one of my all time favorites. I've got a full set and a partial section set going. I grab those whenever I see them cheap. Just love the design and colors. But when you find them, be careful to check both the back (top and bottom) and the edge for any silver marks or serial numbers as the early ones have those. They don't turn up often and sadly I have yet to get any of the early ones... but I want one/some bad!!!! I'm also hoping for a documented set at some point. And although rare from what I understand... one documented to a collective (has a special case/urkunde) is like dream of dreams.

Easy part on the cases is that except for the really super high Orders it's seems 99% of their medals came in those same clear plastic cases with the foam rubber base. They turn up in bunches over here on Ebay quite a few times a year... like $10 cases for $10 or thereabouts. Not too hard to find. My problem is I need one of the ribbon bars for the same one you have... I see the medals... I see the medals with the ribbons but so far no one has just the ribbon. All my others have the matching set except one of the bronze.

But that's a great one in my eyes. And it's got a really super look to it. I think you got a real prize there... but then again I'm just super hooked on this design. Let's put it this way... had I seen it for the right price I'd have grabbed it in a heartbeat and started on yet another set. Love em'!!!!

Dan

[Hauptmann]

Thanks for the info Dan !

I didn't know there were different colours of the police graduation badges , so many badges so little time

Here are 2 more that magically appeared on my doorstep this morning ! :

Marksman bagde in gold , is this just for the workers militia or all armed services ?

Hi Grant,

Okay, not positive but I believe these are the people's militia ones. There's a bronze, silver and gold but otherwise they're all the same. The armed forces had the schutzensnurs just like in WWI/WWII, etc. But again if one of the other members knows for sure (Oh Torsten... we need you!!!! ) please jump in and let us know. But rest assured you won't have any trouble finding the rest of this set for cheap!

Check out my thread:

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=8727

On the first pic you'll see the set of three of these in their riker.

Also you'll see my Verdienst medals in posts further down and there are also some examples shown from other collections both on bars and with serial numbers and silver content marks. Hope this helps.

Dan

[Grant Broadhurst]

Thanks for the info Dan , yep i,ll have to get me some reference books / CD-roms if i,m going to go the whole hog and start to collect " en masse " !

[Paul R]

It is a real bummer that there are not too many collector's reference books out there... yet!

Maybe one day!

[Grant Broadhurst]

Yes , i,m sure if Bender released a good DDR awards reference book it would sell well .

I can dream !

[Hauptmann]

Hey, push comes to shove we may have to just pool our resources, put our noses to the grindstone and do some up for the common good!

Perhaps that can be another club project for down the road like the one on wound awards of the world.

Dan

[Gordon Craig]

Thanks for the info Dan !

I didn't know there were different colours of the police graduation badges , so many badges so little time

Here are 2 more that magically appeared on my doorstep this morning ! :

Marksman bagde in gold , is this just for the workers militia or all armed services ?

Grant,

These badges are just for the Kampfgruppen. They come numbered from 1 to 10 and in three grades; Silverfarbe; desgl. and bronzefarben.

You mentioned books earlier. There are lots of good books in German but with the high number of pictures the language is not a problem for those who do not read German. Good luck on your DDR collection. Collecting even part of what is out there is a life long quest.

Regards,

Gordon

Edited February 26, 2007 by Gordon Craig

[Grant Broadhurst]

Thanks Gordon

Arrived this morning , another Bronze reservist medal in card case :

Edited March 3, 2007 by Grant Broadhurst

[Grant Broadhurst]

more arriving !

Here are a set of Pestalozzi medals for " Youth Service " any info appreciated !

[Grant Broadhurst]

Silver reservist medal in plastic case

[Grant Broadhurst]

Silver sports badge

Edited March 5, 2007 by Grant Broadhurst