Soviet My (small) soviet collection

[Mossy]

Ive just started collecting soviet items, and this is how the collection looks so far. but some of the soviet medals out there look great, so it shouldnt stay this small for long.

to start with, a few bars. the medal for valour is numbered 1099585.

[Mossy]

medal bar 2. any one able to tell me what the medal on the end is?

[Mossy]

and finally, an order badge of honour ( numbered 879,906) and a patriotic war (number 4890366).

every one needs a patriotic war, a great design.

ps. sorry about the scans, i was using a friends scanner. mines currently not working. smegging thing.

Edited September 29, 2005 by Mossy

[Guest Darrell]

medal bar 2. any one able to tell me what the medal on the end is?

It is the Medal for a Veteran of Labour - Established by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on April 29, 1974. The medal was awarded for long term labour service. Over 3,650,000 were awarded.

Obverse:

Edited September 29, 2005 by Darrell

[Guest Darrell]

Reverse:

[Guest Rick Research]

That Valor Medal serial number range dates from the first half of 1944. There SHOULD be a WW2 Victory Medal on there, but isn't--

one of the things (like with GERMAN stuff) we have to watch out for are parts bars.

By contrast your second one looks absolutely spot on as the lower row of a two-row array like my "Bottom Half of a Rear Admiral" thread. The Veteran of labor should be firther forward by precedence, but we OFTEN find them mounted oddly at the whim of the retiree-- and very often not mounted in groups at all, but kept out individually to be worn as the wearer saw fit: odd individualism at play with this award!

The Badge of Honor dates from 1972/73, which seems "late," but for anybody old enough to remember that dark decade, it seemed at the time old Leonid was going to make that final spurt and win out as the West went all doom and defeatist.

The 1985 jubilee OPWs are numbered, but those don't mean anything. They matched the heavy paper award booklet, but always come with preprinted stamps and nominal dates for the 40th anniversary, meaning only that the veteran was still alive at the time.

[Mossy]

Thanks darrell!

Rick, i think you are probably right. the valour medal is pretty beaten whilst the other three are rather clean, althought that might just be an age issue.

sam.