Soviet OGPW1st to Romanian General

[NavyFCO]

This is quite an oddity that I picked up at the SOS this past weekend. It is a Patriotic War 1st awarded to a Romanian General. On the obverse it looks... normal. On the reverse though is a different story!

[NavyFCO]

Here's the reverse. Very nicely and professionally converted to a pinback! I have to take it to my jeweler to see if he can remove the pin clasp and get the number off the award to be researched.

Dave

[Riley1965]

You're right! It's a beautiful conversion. The first time I've ever seen this. I hope your jeweler is very good. Serial numbers are not engraved very deep into the badge. I worry about some numbers being unretrivable.

Doc

[Guest Rick Research]

How do you know it belonged to a Rumanian General, then?

If you've got some other attribution, wouldn't it be better to work that way? (Rumanian archives?....)

Once the pin is altered in 2006... it is altered forever in 2006.

And if you go through that and the number is scratched down flat so the catch solder adhered better...

then all you have is an altered damaged conversion with no number.

But even IF the number IS intact under there, and research CAN be retrieved from that:

what are you going to do: leave the pin swinging loose so the number shows, or...

solder it back up and say to future buyers "trust me, it's under there?"

I wouldn't poke around at it.

It's too bad the number is covered, but I can't think that anything done to it now will improve it any.

And I hope you took lots of showwwwwwwwwwwww photos. The Stayathomes are getting restless....

[NavyFCO]

Rick:

As of right now, the way I see this medal is that it's pretty much worthless to the majority of Soviet collectors because of the removed screwpost. Where it's valuable is in the fact that it's a foreign award, but without the proof of that, it once again falls into the worthless category. So, were I to remove the later pin, photograph the number and then re-attach the pin, I would be able to research it and attempt to prove who it came from.

The Romanian General story is nice, and is fairly valid considering the source... the seller was a Romanain who was splitting the large group of a Romanian General and had earlier sold the guy's Kutuzov 3rd with the same pin alteration to it. Unfortunately all the documents had been sold off earlier and the guy didn't remember the General's name. Luckily, it was cheap and worth the risk on it. After all, it is at least a pretty medal to display! But, if I can prove that it belonged to a Romanian general, then it will be both pretty and pretty cool at the same time!

Dave

[Dudeman]

It's your choice, but I'm afraid the number may be scratched up too bad. To make the solder apply easier, you want a rough surface that a jeweler would probably file up. Also, you're taking a risk that the heat from either melting the solder or reapplying it could crack the enamel. You're trying to get a serial number that you're going to pour another $75 of research/translation into even if you get it. It's interesting enough as is.

[Bryan]

Like Dudeman says it is your choice, but if it was mine I would also leave it like this. I would never alter any of my medals only to do research. I have 2 Yugoslavian awards that were converted to a pinback and I would prefer to leave them as they are. I guess I'm a purist.

[Stogieman]

Hi Dave, I think I'd leave it the way it is... it has value to you, does it not? Too bad you couldn't have arrived a little earlier and maybe have snapped a photo of the other conversion/documents...