Fake Chinese medals

[Ulsterman]

My cousin sent these to me. They are brass,(well, alloy anyway-brassy on the outside)) filthy and apparently came from a box filled with football badges, stamps, girl guides pins and other bric-a-brac. I suspect they are crap, but I know next to nothing about PRC awards. Anyone seen these before?

[Ulsterman]

the backs:

[Guest Darrell]

I know nothing about Chinese medals, but these look convincing to me. If I was trying to peddle medals off on tourists, I'd be willing to bet they would be in lot better shape than these. Nice and shiney and with new sparkling ribbons.

[Kev in Deva]

the backs:

Hallo Ulsterman

I brightened the picture, now they look more like medals, not sure what for, service in the Mighty Red Menace

Kevin in Deva.

[Ulsterman]

Thanks Kev!

They are cheaply made-but real Vietnamese ones I have were also made out of old fish tins, so who knows?

Still, I suspect they're rubbish, but you never know.

[Kev in Deva]

Thanks Kev!

They are cheaply made-but real Vietnamese ones I have were also made out of old fish tins, so who knows?

Still, I suspect they're rubbish, but you never know.

Hallo Ulsterman, the interesting thing to look for are the pre-Communist medals that turn up amongst the other stuff, some were issued under Chaing-Kai-Shek before Mao took over and remember "One mans Junk is another mans treasure"

Kevin in Deva.

[Dolf]

Ulsterman,

The one on the left is the Soviet-Chinese Friendship Medal (there are a few variations of this one, visible on the reverse, either something written or a date, etc; will try to find pics and will posts later) but yours doesn't seem to have the right suspension or ribbon.

I can't identify the other on the right.

Hope it helps,

Dolf

[Dolf]

Ok, please check this other thread on the Soviet & Eastern Block Orders, Medals & Decorations, here:

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2344

Dolf

[Guest Rick Research]

Yup, among the tsunami of fraudulent PRC medals which at this very moment are destroying the real collecting market for these before it even exists.

The same-all suspensions are a tip off. When last I saw a batch of these-- and they are normally found by the 100, the "ribbons" were all cut out of red plastic shower curtain type material. These appear to have "improved" to actual ribbon ribbons, but are still frauds with fantasy suspensions designed to make them look old.

BOTH should be enamelled, not paint. Typical of these frauds, they were apparently cast from originals which had the enamel smashed out to make a better mold impression. The one on the right is #771 in the PLA Museum Collection book, and should be gilt, with red star arms, white inscription banner, blue sky, white ships and planes, green sea, and the soldier in blackened looking bronze:

[attachmentid=41805]

Illustration ? 1996, "Illustrated Collection of Badges in the Chinese People's Revolutionary Military Museum."

This was for a November 1951 conference of the 3rd Field Army.

[jinjin]

The name is "华东军区暨第三野战军"第一届英模大会纪念章"（1951)

[jinjin]

[Guest Rick Research]

Yes, we see many FAKE and fantasy PRC awards over here. I do not know where they are coming from.

Our major difficulty is of course the LANGUAGE, and lack of really good information that we can read. I have that book, and sadly do not even know the AUTHOR'S name or names. All I am able to read in Chinese are the dates, though I can manage most of the European languages.

I became interested in decorations of the Chinese Civil War and Korean War period through medals that I found in Soviet Russian groups, such as this unlisted Shanghai Air Defense Order:

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2337

I am very pleased about being able to document that Shanghai award, since it is not shown in either the PLA Museum Catalog book or the new one Jinjin has shown above.

For me, the many different LOCAL awards, issued by different Fronts or by different provinces make these Chinese awards as interesting in all their variety as the federal awards of Imperial Germany, with all the "local" awards there.

I suppose whoever the makers of the fake and fantasy awards are, take advantage of our lack of knowledge to produce their fake awards. Unfortunately that has destroyed the market for REAL awards of a tremendously important and intersting period of Chinese history.

This is a good thread to add any future FAKE PRC awards to, but I will also try to list olde threads showing REAL awards.

Dolf listed the one for the Sino-Soviet Friendship Medals already. Here is one WITH the Soviet awards, to a radar technician:

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=6655

Here are awards from the Civil War period:

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2423

Here are awards for the Korean War period:

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2425

[Dolf]

The only two Chinese Medals I have.

One of the types/variations of the Sino-Soviet Friendship Medal (wouldn't mind at all to have the other t/v Rick has ). So, there are 5 types (variations?) of this one, right? Four have something written on the reverse (three of these also have a date, 1951, 1952, 1953 and one has no date), one has nothing on the reverse, like mine. Am I right Rick?

Obverse.

Dolf

Edited January 26, 2013 by Nick

[Dolf]

Same, reverse.

Dolf

[Dolf]

And the Medal for Liberation of North China 1950.

Obverse.

Dolf

[Dolf]

Same, reverse.

Dolf

[Guest Rick Research]

Yes but yours are real, not fakes.

[Dolf]

QUOTE(Rick Research @ Jun 2 2006, 20:22 ) ←

Yes but yours are real, not fakes.

Rick,

Yes, I know

Unless you mean that for good ones I should have posted them in another thread?...

Dolf