Hungarian Soviet Republic - Military cap badge

[Gordon Craig]

The particular period of time this cap badge fits into leaves at somewhat of an orphan. The Hungarian Soviet Replublic only lasted from March 12, 1919 until the beginning of August of that year. A total of four months. The second communist, or Soviet, government in world history. The one in Russia being the first.

The link between these two governments is easy to see in the use of the hammer and plow symbol which was used by the Soviet government in Russia until they adopted the hammer and cyle as the state symbold.

This is a two piece metal badge the back piece being a star with rays emenating from the centre out to the points of the star. There are two holes in the star to allow the prongs on the hammer and plow symbol to pass through the star and be used to hold both pieces to the cap.

Regards,

Gordon

[Gordon Craig]

The reverse of the badge.

[GC*]

Oh Gordon, what a wonderful hat star!

I always loved the hammer and plough design and it took me definitely some time to find an RKKA star which I can be quite sure is an original (the one showed in my profile pic). So many copies are circulating of it and so many actually original types and variants of that star have been produced that nearly everybody told me it is quite impossible to be 100% about the originality of such a star..

Anyway, your cockade is truely amazing. I recently spent 5 months in Budapest and I did search for such a star, meeting however poor results.

My compliments for it, definitely a great piece. Hope one day I will find one as well to add to my collection!

Thanks for having shared these pictures.

GC

[Gordon Craig]

GC,

Budapest is a great city on many levels but truly a Mecca for militaria collectors. With monthly militaria shows and so many militaria stores I was never at a loss to find something to do. Didn't always have enough money to do what I wanted!

Regards,

Gordon

[Greg Collins]

Gordon,

This is, more or less, a rhetorical question, but I have often wondered whether or not the plough was an inspiration from the Irish Republican Brotherhood which Lenin called the first Red Army.

[Gordon Craig]

Greg,

It will have to remain rhetorical. I think the plough was used at first to represent the peasants but who really knows why it was selected? Or for that matter, why it was changed to the sickle.

Regards,

Gordon

[GC*]

Gordon,

A great city indeed! In terms of militaria then, I was astonished by the number on militaria shops, but also by the fact that various sellers at flea markets do sell absolutely interesting militaria, original and cheap (for cheaper prices than in shops I had the chance to buy a number of hat badges, medals and other very intereting militaria and memorabilia).

Then of course I found also tons of replicas, high and low quality, but in some time I made it to star some kinf of relation with two sellers, hungarian and russian, who never disappointed me.

Finally, in Hungary, as I am sure you know, there are also a big number of former soviet bases that I had the chance to explore..also finding several very interesting things! I will show them soon here on the forum.

I do hope than soon I will be able to enrich my collection with a Hungarian Sovietr Republic cockade like yours, Gordon!

Regards,

GC

[Gordon Craig]

GC,

Looking forward to pictures of your "finds" on the ex Soviet soviet bases.

Regards,

Gordon

[Ulsterman]

very,very cool. Bela Kuns' republic huh? A bloody time in history. If that cap badge could talk!

[GC*]

Gordon, I just posted some pictures of my findings in the Soviet area of the forum. Your comments would be very appreciated!

Thanks.

Regards

GC