Soviet Full Cavaliers of the Order of Glory - Present Day Market Realities

[slava1stclass]

Gents,

  This OGI is currently at auction in the former Soyuz.  The opening bid is set at $8,450.00 with a BIN price of $11,500.00.  

  The recipient was a Guards senior sergeant serving as a T-34 tank gunner in a tank regiment subordinate to 4th Guards Tank Army when recommended for his OGI.  In late April 1945, he participated in the capture of Potsdam followed by the capture of Prague in early May.

  In addition to his three Orders of Glory, he was one of the very few Full Cavaliers to have also been awarded three Bravery Medals (BM).  His first BM was awarded for bravery while serving his sentence in a penal company.

Regards,

slava1stclass

[slava1stclass]

Gents,

  This OGII to a Full Cavalier is currently available on the well-known auction site for a BIN price of $975.00.  A sergeant major assigned to an independent self-propelled artillery battalion subordinate to a rifle division, he was serving as an assistant platoon leader when recommended for his OGI.  He was also awarded a CSM during the war.

Regards,

slava1stclass   

[slava1stclass]

Gents,

  This Full Cavalier group is currently at auction in the former Soyuz.  The opening bid is set at $9,645.00.  The recipient was a sergeant serving as a squad leader in an independent sapper battalion subordinate to a rifle division when recommended for his OGI.  His ORB resulted from a front commander-level downgrade to the original recommendation for the Hero of the Soviet Union title.

Regards,

slava1stclass

[slava1stclass]

Gents,

  This Full Cavalier set is currently available with a West European dealer.  The asking price is $11,060.00.  The group includes many of the Full Cavalier's additional orders and medals such as his ORS and CSM as well as various defense and capture medals. 

  It should be noted, however, that the OGII and OGIII are not original to the recipient, but rather OGIIIs whose original serial numbers were eradicated and the serial numbers corresponding to this Full Cavalier's awards substituted in their place.  The OGII in this set is in fact an OGIII that has had its central medallion gilded to represent an OGII.

  The recipient was a Guards sergeant major serving as a reconnaissance scout assigned to an independent Guards reconnaissance company in a Guards rifle division when recommended for his OGI for action in the Battle of Berlin.  It is also interesting to note he received his OGIII for valor while serving his sentence in an independent penal company.  This fact is addressed in my book Onward to Berlin!  Red Army Valor in World War II The Full Cavaliers of the Soviet Order of Glory.

Regards,

slava1stclass

Edited November 4, 2020 by slava1stclass

[slava1stclass]

Gents,

  This OGI is currently available at the well-known NYC-area dealer.  Price:  $9,800.00.  The recipient was a Guards senior sergeant with duties as a squad leader serving in a Guards engineer-sapper battalion subordinate to a Guards engineer-sapper brigade assigned to 69th Army.  He was awarded his OGI for valor during the first days of the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation in the vicinity of Lebus, Germany.  He was also awarded the ORS, BM and, as detailed in my book, was one of the very few Full Cavaliers to have been awarded the Partisan Medal (Partisan Medal Second Class in his case) during the war.  

Regards,

slava1stclass

[slava1stclass]

Gents,

  This Full Cavalier "set" is currently available on the well-known auction site.  Asking price:  $15,000.00.  I say "set" because the OGII and OGIII are not original to the group.  They are OGs that have been altered to match the recipient's actual OGII and OGIII serial numbers to make it appear as a complete set with the corresponding increased value/price tag.  The OGI is original.  It was circulating on the market as a loose/single piece some 10 years ago.

  The recipient was a Guards sergeant major with duties as a radio station chief serving in an independent Guards reconnaissance company assigned to a Guards rifle division in the 28th Army when recommended for his OGI.  In addition to participating in the capture of Königsberg and in street fighting during the Battle of Berlin, he was also awarded the OPWI, OPWII and ORS during the war.

Regards,

slava1stclass

[slava1stclass]

Gents,

  This OGI just popped up in the former Soyuz.  Unclear if it is for sale.  The recipient was a senior sergeant commanding a 45mm cannon crew assigned to a rifle regiment in a rifle division subordinate to 3rd Army.  A recipient of the OGII and two OGIIIs during the war, his OGI was issued in August 1955 to replace his erroneously issued second OGIII award.  He was also awarded the OPWII, ORS and BM during the war

Regards,

slava1stclass

[slava1stclass]

Gents,

  Well, it appears Zhukov appreciates the information contained in my first book.  ?

rozenas.pdf (ceu.edu)

Regards,

slava1stclass

Onward to Berlin Cite in Academic Paper.pdf

Edited January 23, 2021 by slava1stclass

[slava1stclass]

Gents,

  For the first time in several years, there were no Full Cavalier items up for auction in the recently concluded annual "The New York Sale":  2021 The New York Sale Russian Orders Medals

Regards,

slava1stclass

[slava1stclass]

Gents,

  In early December 2019, this OGI (serial number 1966) to a Full Cavalier sold on an auction site in the former Soyuz for $8,091.00.  When recommended for his OGI, the recipient was a Guards sergeant major serving as a platoon leader assigned to a submachine gun company in a Guards rifle regiment subordinate to a Guards rifle division.  His division was subordinate to the 1st Baltic Front at that point.  His OGI, however, was not authorized until December 1980.  It was issued to replace an erroneous second award of the OGIII which he received during the war.

Regards,

slava1stclass

 

Edited March 2, 2021 by slava1stclass

[slava1stclass]

Gents,

 

  This is one of two OGIIs awarded to this Full Cavalier during the war.  It sold at auction in the former Soyuz on March 14, 2021, for $802.00.  The recipient was a senior sergeant serving as a gun crew commander in an anti-tank artillery regiment subordinate to 11th Tank Corps.  He was recommended for his OGI for valor during the Battle of Berlin.  In addition to his four Orders of Glory, he was also awarded an ORS and BM during the war.

 

Regards,

 

slava1stclass    

[slava1stclass]

On 27/09/2018 at 19:54, slava1stclass said:

Gents,

  Currently available in the former Soyuz.  Asking price:  $30,500.00. 

  The set includes a duplicate/replacement award booklet which the Russian Federation issued on June 2, 1994.  It's the first time I've seen such a booklet with a Full Cavalier set. 

  He was a sergeant major and recon squad leader in a rifle battalion when recommended for his OGI.

Regards,

slava1stclass

Gents,

 

  Still available on the well-known auction site.  BIN price was dropped to $31,000.00 on March 21, 2021, after having been at $38,500.00 for quite some time.

 

Regards,

 

slava1stclass

[slava1stclass]

Gents,

 

  This extremely worn OGII to a Full Cavalier is now at auction in the former Soyuz.  The current bid stands at $363.00.  The recipient was a Guards senior sergeant and squad leader assigned to an independent Guards sapper battalion subordinate to a Guards rifle division in the 1st Belorussian Front.  He was recommended for his OGI for valor during the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation in April 1945.

 

  He was also awarded an ORB, ORS and two BMs during the war.

 

Regards,

 

slava1stclass

[slava1stclass]

On 29/03/2021 at 13:49, slava1stclass said:

Gents,

 

  This extremely worn OGII to a Full Cavalier is now at auction in the former Soyuz.  The current bid stands at $363.00.  The recipient was a Guards senior sergeant and squad leader assigned to an independent Guards sapper battalion subordinate to a Guards rifle division in the 1st Belorussian Front.  He was recommended for his OGI for valor during the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation in April 1945.

 

  He was also awarded an ORB, ORS and two BMs during the war.

 

Regards,

 

slava1stclass

 

Gents,

 

  The opening bid of $363.00 was not met and the auction ended with the item unsold.

 

Regards,

 

slava1stclass  

[Tupper]

Here a bother full set. Sold on April 2nd 

[Ferdinand]

That set is completely doctored. The Glories are fake altogether, or at the very least they are doctored third class pieces with bogus serial numbers. The Red Star is a real wartime piece, but has a fake postwar serial number. The entries in the booklet are also fake.

[slava1stclass]

Gents,

 

  A very nice OGII awarded to a Full Cavalier that is presently at auction in the former Soyuz.  The current bid stands at $462.00.  The recipient was a corporal with duties as a senior forward observer in an artillery regiment subordinate to a rifle division in the 1st Belorussian Front.  He was awarded his OGI for action during the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation in April 1945.  He was also awarded a CSM during the war.

 

Regards,

 

slava1stclass   

[slava1stclass]

Gents,

 

  This set to a Full Cavalier is currently available with an American dealer.  The asking price is $12,750.00.  The recipient was a Guards sergeant major with duties as a forward observer squad leader assigned to a Guards rifle regiment subordinate to a Guards rifle division in the 1st Belorussian Front.  He was recommended for his OGI for valor during the Battle of Berlin.  Additionally, he marched in the Victory Parade in Moscow on June 24, 1945, and would later serve as a guard at the Nuernberg War Crimes Trial in Germany in 1946.  He was also decorated with two BMs during the war.

 

Regards,

 

slava1stclass   

[slava1stclass]

Gents,

 

  At present, the inventory of Full Cavalier-related items across major U.S. dealers remains low/static with minimal sales action.  Most sales are transpiring in the countries of the former Soyuz.

 

Regards,

 

slava1stclass

[slava1stclass]

Gents,

 

  Let me preface this post by stating that while this OGII and OGIII are not associated with a Full Cavalier, they are indeed special in and of themselves in that they were awarded to a Hero of the Soviet Union (HSU).  As we know, four Full Cavaliers of the Order of Glory were also awarded the HSU title.  Less well known, however, is the fact that slightly under 100 HSUs were also awarded the Order of Glory Second and Third Class.  This recipient is one such example.

 

  These OGs recently sold separately at auction in the former Soyuz.  Opening bid on the OGII was $700.  It sold for $701.  Opening bid on the OGIII was $200.  It sold for $251.

 

  The recipient was a Guards private serving as a squad leader in a submachine gun company in a Guards rifle regiment subordinate to a Guards rifle division assigned to 8th Guards Army when recommended for the HSU title.  He and his men gallantly fought off a large German counterattack on the night of March 24, 1945, using a large quantity of captured German Panzerfausts.  They destroyed 11 armored personnel carriers, three tanks, five self-propelled cannons; killed 250 and captured 30 Germans.

 

  Beyond his Gold Star Medal and Order of Lenin, the two OGs were the only other decorations he received during the war. 

 

Regards,

 

slava1stclass

Edited July 21, 2021 by slava1stclass

[slava1stclass]

Gents,

 

  This OGI was awarded to Guards sergeant major who was serving as a recon platoon leader assigned to a Guards tank brigade subordinate to a Guards tank corps in the 3rd Guards Tank Army, 1st Ukrainian Front.  It was awarded for valor in fighting to capture the city of Czestochowa, Poland in January 1945.

 

  In addition to his three Orders of Glory, he was also awarded an OPWI (downgraded from the original HSU recommendation) and two ORS during the war.

 

Regards,

 

slava1stclass  

[slava1stclass]

Gents,

 

  This very nice OGII was awarded to one of the very few Full Cavaliers who was assigned to a Guards airborne unit.  As a Guards senior sergeant, he was recommended for his OGI while serving as a gun commander in a battery assigned to a Guards airborne artillery regiment subordinate to a Guards airborne division in the 53rd Army, 2nd Ukrainian Front.  Additionally, he was among those Full Cavaliers who saw action against both the Germans and the Japanese.

 

  In addition to his three OGs, he was also awarded an ORB (for action against the Japanese), ORS and BM during the war.

 

Regards,

 

slava1stclass

[slava1stclass]

Gents,

 

  This set to a Full Cavalier is currently available with an online dealer at an asking price of $16,900.00.  The OGII and OGIII are mint-issued official duplicates.  The group includes the recipient's Full Cavalier booklet.

 

  When recommended for his OGI, he was a Guards sergeant major serving as the senior enlisted man in a machine gun company assigned to a motorized rifle battalion.  The battalion was subordinate to a Guards mechanized brigade in a Guards mechanized corps assigned to the 2nd Ukrainian front.  The action cited in his OGI recommendation occurred in Hungary in December 1944.

 

  His three OGs were his sole decorations during the war.

 

Regards,

 

slava1stclass

[slava1stclass]

On 07/07/2018 at 07:23, slava1stclass said:

Gents,

 

  This thread has come a very long way over the past 12 and one-half years. 

 

  Having just surpassed 50,000 unique views and with almost 700 replies, it is by far the most popular non-pinned active thread in the entire GMIC Russia forum - thank you. 

 

  Here's to the next 50,000 views!

 

Regards,

 

slava1stclass

 

On 07/07/2018 at 15:17, Egorka said:

Let’s do it! 50001

 

Gents,

 

  In a span of just over three years, this thread has been viewed an additional 50,000 times now hitting the 100,000 unique views mark - the first thread in GMIC's Russia forum to do so.  By far, it remains the Russia forum's most popular non-pinned active thread.

 

  Thank you for your continued interest.

 

Regards,

 

slava1stclass 

[BalkanCollector]

7 hours ago, slava1stclass said:

In a span of just over three years, this thread has been viewed an additional 50,000 times now hitting the 100,000 unique views mark

 

Congratulations on this significant milestone! I've been watching this thread for 3 years now and I always look forward to your next post. You are doing an important work of documenting full cavaliers' single medals and groups and the current situation on the market.