Imperial Russia His Grandfather's Things

[Chuck In Oregon]

This last trip I was negotiating (through Boria) with the family of a pretty famous Soviet Georgian writer. They had a nice documented set that included a Friendship of Nations and an October Revolution. Very nice things, to be sure, but a little light on the gee-whiz factor.

We got to the point where I said "Sorry, but I just won't pay that much." They are very tuned in to Moscow prices and somewhat to internet prices. They think they should get what I can buy things for in the states, which just isn't going to happen for most things.

They passed along to me "We can't go any lower on the price, but what if we throw in a couple of his grandfather's things?"

Well, let's see what you've got. Turns out that they had two items.

The first is a medal from the Russian-Japanese War. Extremely nice condition, almost no wear, good patina with some staining. Not something that would take your breath away, but not bad either. Here it is:

[Chuck In Oregon]

Well, darn. I didn't think that loop would throw my scanner off. Seems that it did, though. I apologize for the blurries.

His grandfather had been, as best as I could understand it, the chief of Tskhinvali Hospital (or Ambulance, I heard both words). Tskhinvali is the capital of South Ossetia, a hotly disputed "breakaway region" of modern Georgia. There was a very ugly Russian-supported war there shortly after the collapse. Georgia lost. Another topic, though.

This gold jeton is dated Jan. 1, 1893. It is in Russian on one side and Georgian on the other. It weighs 7.7 grams. It is a jeton of appreciation "From the Dukes and Citizens of Tskhinvali Region", or so it was read to me.

So yes, I did buy everything, but really only to get this jeton, which I love. It fits nicely into my collection of Imperial medical awards.

Enjoy.

Chuck