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    "Otlichnik" (Excellence) badges


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    Anybody here that collect the different types of Excellent Baker etc. badges? These badges are one of my personal favourite areas of collecting. Only problem is that they are so faked nowadays angry.gif

    This is how I display them or at least all the different variants. Yes, I do have some variants other than the ones shown.

    /Kim

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    Guest Rick Research

    No problem for my semi amazing almost super powers to fix! beer.gif

    I wish I could say the same thing about my COMPLETE lack of experience with these badges. I got a couple 10 years ago when everything was flooding west "cheap" and there were no rrference books and

    you guessed it

    they were FAKE. speechless.gif Even then! wacko.gif

    So I have personally avoided these ever since, and know nichevo about them.

    Please post away any you have, and side by side "Good versus Bad" would be a great help!!!

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    Thanks Rick! beer.gif

    The badges are very well faked nowadays. So I don't think you can tell the good from the bad without "hands-on" knowledge, sometimes not even then. But I can show one of the older type of fakes. The only one in my collection, at least I hope so...

    This is a very bad Exc. Pontoneer. As the pic show it actually fell apart. Making it a three part badge. cheeky.gif

    This is one of my first badges of this kind. Bought in St Petersburg with two other, also fake. This was in -94, so it's a 1:st generation fake.

    /Kim

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    This is a good one. Notice that it is a bit less flat than the other. It also has a thick screwpost. This used to be a good way of telling fakes from original stuff. All the early fakes had a thin screwpost.

    The elongated shape is WW2 issue, the other one I posted imitates a later issue. This shape is now very popular with fakers as it's WW2 issue, made last year.

    I might add that I had some negative comments about the originality of this badge on antoher forum. But I belive it's good as does a dealer I had contact with. No, I didn't buy it from him tongue.gif

    /Kim

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    Gerd I don't know, although I remember seeing somewhere that the sniper badge was for an amount of confirmed kills (I maybe wrong)..these badge's follow a long tradition of best awards....below is a 1911 Best Shotist..

    Chris

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    A short guideline through the history of the excellent badges:

    1. Excellent serviceman of the RKKA

    This badge was founded at 14. November 1939 from the council of people commissars.

    There are two versions of the badge.

    1. with s/n smooth surface backside

    2. without s/n mirror backside

    highest observed s/n 21.558

    The badge was given to soldiers, political workers, commanders and other leadership persons. It was given for best results in political work, combat training and good discipline.

    2. Excellent badges WW II

    There are 24 different excellent badges. They were founded by the Supreme Soviet of the UdSSR. (1942-1947)

    These badges were given to soldiers and NCO?s of the different branches of the army, navy and air force. They has been worn on the right side of the uniform. These excellent badges has been awarded after the sucess of an education/training year and respectively after a sucessfull ending of an seminar/training course. For some excellent badges the recipant have to solve shooting taks with specified results. (like sniper, machine-gunner, artilleryman..). For other badges like excellent cook the recipant had to perform best services in excellent cooking, to comply work hygiene, to deal savly with the material)

    and so on.....

    Dates of issue:

    21.05.1942:

    excellent sniper

    excellent artillery man

    excellent tanker

    excellent mortar man

    excellent maschine gunner

    excellent torpedo artificer

    excellent submariner

    19.08.1942:

    excellent sapper

    excellent mine-layer

    04.11.1942:

    excellent medical service

    21.12.1942:

    excellent serviceman railroad troops

    10.03.1943:

    excellent scout

    03.04.1943:

    excellent signaller

    05.04.1943:

    excellent pontonier

    30.04.1943:

    excellent serviceman anti aircraft

    08.07.1943:

    excellent cook

    excellent baker

    excellent driver

    excellent road worker

    10.09.1943:

    excellent tractor driver

    10.06.1947:

    excellent sniper

    3. Excellent badges 1957

    In April 1957 the minister of defence established 3 new excellent badges. One for the army, one for the air force and one for the navy. They replaced the 24 different excellent badges.

    3 dates from excellent badges are missing. Help needed!

    excellent fireman

    excellent aviation experts (2 varations)

    remark: the excellent fireman badge was the only badge which was further awarded after 1957 when the excellent badges were replaced by the three badges.

    Edited by Alfred
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    • 2 weeks later...

    Very nice and informative reply Alfred! beer.gif

    I have looked in the Borisov book of army badges. I think he gives the date of the MVD ukaz for fire figther 20 june 1947. The Air force soldier badges has year only, 1947.

    I also checked this rather intresting site,in russian, about the badges. There he gives an other date for fire fighter badge. But I think he's mixing it up with another, the MVD fire figther. Anyway: http://www.znakisssr.h15.ru/

    Nice pics of the award documents.

    Also the badge you listed in 1947 as sniper should probably be rifle man in English.

    /Kim

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    • 2 months later...

    3. Excellent badges 1957

    In April 1957 the minister of defence established 3 new excellent badges. One for the army, one for the air force and one for the navy. They replaced the 24 different excellent badges.

    3 dates from excellent badges are missing. Help needed!

    excellent fireman

    excellent aviation experts (2 varations)

    remark: the excellent fireman badge was the only badge which was further awarded after 1957 when the excellent badges were replaced by the three badges.

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    • 2 weeks later...

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