Imperial Russia Word to the wise

[TacHel]

Just as a warning to new collectors...

Many Russian medal makers are now producing excellent (museum quality) copies of pre 1917 Russian military (breast) badges. I found dozens on their web sites and they are now showing up on eBay. Some sellers are correctly identifying them as modern copies but many others are not either through lack of knowledge or lack of scruples.

You can be certain that it is only a matter of time before aging techniques are used on these badges to make them look like authentic period pieces. So we're back to the old adage "Caveat Emptor".

Just FYI.