Soviet The Order of the Red Banner of Labor

[Ferdinand]

Today this Order of the Red Banner of Labor arrived, one of my favorite orders. Its serial number (79085) is relatively low, since approximately 1.260.000 RBLs were produced. De order below was produced around 1948.

I like that it's completely original with steel suspension with frontplate and old ribbon. Unfortunately the enamel on the red star is slightly damaged. Also, there's a scratch below the two rivets on the reverse, a result from storage. Often the back of de order was flipped onto the back of the suspension, where the pin scraped the back of the order.

Below a close-up of this - in my opinion - beautiful piece.

After the war new types were produced. All types of the order were 37 mm wide, but every new type was lower. The order above (and on the left in the scan below) is a type 3, also known as 'Long Oval' (48 mm high). De order in the middle below is a 'Short Oval' (type 5, 45 mm high), and the order on the right (type 6) is only 44 mm high. There also exists a type 4, 'Semi-Long Oval', 46 mm high, which I'm still looking for. Besides all of this there are differences in the flatness and shape of the hammer and sickle, red star, dam shape, overall thickness, etc.

[Ferdinand]

And here's a comparison shot of a type 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.

From left to right:

- Type 3 ('Long Oval', 48 mm high, ≈ S/N 21000 - 134500)

- Type 4 ('Semi-Long Oval', 46 mm high, ≈ S/N 134500 - 195400)

- Type 5 ('Short Oval', 45 mm high, ≈ S/N 195000 - 386500)

- Type 6 ('Ring Reverse', 44 mm high, ≈ S/N 368500 - 1293000)

[Bryan]

Thanks for the comparisons Auke! :beer: