Soviet Slava 1st Up for Bid

[slava1stclass]

Gentlemen,

Although too late to help the hapless bidder;... Maybe someone could show an example with a ?5? in a serial number below 597?

Best wishes,

Wild Card

To all:

It appears the bidder may not have been that hapless after all. I have come across an image of an original Slava/Glory 1st Class with a flat-top "5" in its serial number. The serial number of this example is within 50 numbers of serial number 597 seen above.

It appears that good 'ol # 597 was a real find after all.

Regards,

slava1stclass

[Stogieman]

Well, if it's legit, he has a heck of a deal for himselves.

[NavyFCO]

Anyone know what the current value on a Glory 1st trio with Cavalier book would be worth? I've recently been consigned two sets, but don't want to let them go for much less than "market value".

Dave

[Stogieman]

Hi David, Alex in Ohio has a set with research for ~$5700, I have not seen another full set that I remember. Alex's has not sold yet. What else comes with the group(s)?

[NavyFCO]

Hi David, Alex in Ohio has a set with research for ~$5700, I have not seen another full set that I remember. Alex's has not sold yet. What else comes with the group(s)?

There are two groups... One has all three glories and the Cavalier document, the other set has two glories (1st and 3rd) with order book (and a nice copy photo of the recipient only wearing the two Glories - the 2nd class was lost and never replaced).

What's nice about the sets is that they have 1) consecutively serial numbered 1st class Glories and 2) both the Glory 1sts are two-digit serial numbers. Both sets are researched, with full PMD certificates and the like.

Dave

[Stogieman]

Wow David, I should be so lucky to have consignors like that.........

[Stogieman]

David.......... sorry I was wrong. The group Alex has is asking $7800- and unsold.

[NavyFCO]

David.......... sorry I was wrong. The group Alex has is asking $7800- and unsold.

Yeah, I think I'll be shooting in the vicinity of about $10,500 for the pair of groups... I think that's about reasonable "collector" (vice "dealer") pricing. I just wish more were available at the moment to compare to!

Dave

[Stogieman]

Any other medals, etc. with these besides the Glories?

Odd that he never replaced his missing piece!?

Sorry about the pricing error...... going from memory on one cup of coffee this AM was a bad idea!

[NavyFCO]

Any other medals, etc. with these besides the Glories?

Odd that he never replaced his missing piece!?

Sorry about the pricing error...... going from memory on one cup of coffee this AM was a bad idea!

Rick:

That's okay... I need at least two cups 'o joe to get rolling in the AM myself.

Here's a pic of the original recipient of one set, the one missing his 2nd class Glory. Apparently it wasn't that big of a deal to him to have all three... I guess when you had the "pretty" gold one, what much else was there to prove?

Dave

[NavyFCO]

And here's a closeup... you can definately see where the 2nd class is missing...

[slava1stclass]

Anyone know what the current value on a Glory 1st trio with Cavalier book would be worth? I've recently been consigned two sets, but don't want to let them go for much less than "market value".

Dave

To all:

As with anything else, completeness of the set as well as condition of the orders themselves are critical components in establishing an asking price. My recollection of these sets is that they weren't primo in terms of condition. This was especially true for the set containing the Cavalier Booklet and all three Orders of Glory. Hope this helps.

Regards,

slava1stclass

Edited March 28, 2006 by slava1stclass

[order_of_victory]

Dave,

Chris James, www.medalsandmilitaria.co.uk, has a cavalier set for set without COA for 2700 GBP

Order of Victory

[Riley1965]

It's a very nice looking cavalier set. If only I had $5,600. Can I pass the hat?

Doc

[NavyFCO]

Dave,

Chris James, www.medalsandmilitaria.co.uk, has a cavalier set for set without COA for 2700 GBP

Order of Victory

He's had that one for sale for a while and I've inquired about it before, but have never heard from him. I'm guessing that he's shut down shop? (Or just doesn't like me for some reason?) At $5600, that group is priced $2000 less than the only other out there for sale right now and that one has the original document. Something's wrong somewhere......

Dave

[Stogieman]

I saw and inquired on that one as well. His site hasn't been touched in forever and I have had zero responses to multiple inquiries about many things over the last year!

[order_of_victory]

The lasttime I contactedhim was in 2004

He has added some China: Medal for the Korean War of late, so I dont know whats going on with him.

I will contact him off the email address I have for him and see If I get any response

[NavyFCO]

I just heard from Mr. James this morning about the Glory Cavalier set. Here's his response:

"Sorry this turned out to be incorrect.The 1st Class was a replacement (in gold).The 2nd & 3rd are the original.

It's being relisted at ?995."

As Paul Harvey always says... "Now you know the REST of the story..."

Dave

[NavyFCO]

As with anything else, completeness of the set as well as condition of the orders themselves are critical components in establishing an asking price. My recollection of these sets is that they weren't primo in terms of condition. This was especially true for the set containing the Cavalier Booklet and all three Orders of Glory. Hope this helps.

This is one of the more frustrating aspects of this hobby for me, and honestly it makes me a bit ill.

I've been offering the groups around to a very limited extent, but so far no takers for the pair. This is mostly because of the condition of the group with the three Glories and the Cavalier booklet. That's a fact of life, I'll probably have to split the group up, which is kind of sad to do with consecutive serial numbered awards.

The thing that angers me most though is that most people thus far are interested in one of the groups where the Glory 1st is a PMD "8 out of 10" for condition, but the Glory 3rd is a "2 out of 10" for condition. What's sickening about it all is that I know some of the people interested in the group will end up throwing out (or at least selling separately) the 3rd Class Glory because it's not in "primo" condition, yet the Glory 1st is, and they believe that the lesser condition medal brings down the desirablility of the group.

Geeze... I wish I could go back in time 63 years and tell the recipient: "Hey, can you PLEASE not wear your medal in combat? Yeah, thanks... it will be worth a lot more later on if you don't..."

What irritates me over the whole thing is that if these were Glory 1sts awarded in the 1950s and never worn, I could have sold these multiple times over by now. Yet, these were some of the very few awarded during the War, and the worse conditioned set of the pair was actually worn in combat and later in the Victory Parade in Red Square! But no.... were it issued twenty years after the War and sat in a desk drawer, it would be much more "saleable" than one of the very few that actually was in combat.

Now if that's not irony, I'm not sure what is...

Dave

[slava1stclass]

To all:

If one's decision process in buying a set gave more weight to its history versus the condition of the orders themselves, one shouldn't be faulted. At the same time, however, to expect to reap fair-market value when one decided to part with a less-than-ideal condition set (when others in far better condition are to be found on the open market) is somewhat naive.

Yes, the historical element counts, but condition is equally important. In this case, one can't expect to receive current market value and may/should expect to settle for less. That's something one should have considered when acquiring the set in the first place (if the intent was to sell it somewhere down the road).

Regards,

slava1stclass

Edited March 29, 2006 by slava1stclass

[Stogieman]

I guess this makes me the oddball then. While I was heavily warned to stay away from damaged stuff when I wandered down this lane....... to me, if it came with the group, so be it. He wore it, he was proud of it, it was his. Damage/condition was irrelevant if it was correct to the group. Having said that, I will shy away from groups with extensive amounts of damaged pieces...... but one damaged/lesser piece in a nice group? I would have no problem with that!

[Ed_Haynes]

Personally, I prefer the "worn and loved" look to the "numismatically virginal". For me, it is about history and not just the "twinkle". Yet, ideally, I'd rather not have something that looked like it had been chewed and ingested and ___ by goats, yet, if the history of a piece or group is good, . . . ??

Another member for the oddball club??

[slava1stclass]

To all:

I couldn't agree more. The condition/degree of damage plays an important role in driving the price equation. Nicks, scratches and even the despised "gold check" gouges are one thing. Orders that have been virtually rubbed clean of any identifying features (other than the outline of the order itself), however, is quite another.

Regards,

slava1stclass

Edited March 29, 2006 by slava1stclass

[NavyFCO]

I couldn't agree more. The condition/degree of damage plays an important role in driving the price equation. Nicks, scratches and even the despised "gold check" gouges are one thing. Orders that have been virtually rubbed clean of any identifying features (other than the outline of the order itself), however, is quite another.

Since a good number of the people on this thread probably don't know what we're talking about, here's photos of the group in question. First, a photo of the front of the three Glories...

Edited March 30, 2006 by NavyFCO

[NavyFCO]

Now, here's a picture of the vet wearing this exact bar. Call me crazy, but I'd personally rather have a bit more wear than numismatically "acceptable" in order to know that these things were worn with a lot of love and care for many years. The original recipient was quite a famous character - one of the most famous Glory Cavaliers, and an icon where he lived. So, the history is a bit stronger with these than the overall condition of the set... the buyer for these will be someone (like me) that appreciates the history behind these more than the physical condition.

And slava1stclass, I'm not nearly as naive as you think... I think this group's worth perhaps 40% of what is currently being asked for the one legit group for sale right now (maybe around $2500-$3000 at best).

Just my two cents...

Dave

Edited March 29, 2006 by NavyFCO