Albania The Decorations of Socialist Albania 2nd Edition

[Nick]

Eric has yet again been very gracious in allowing all members to have for free the latest edition of his excellent ground breaking work The Decorations of Socialist Albania 2nd Edition.

It is available in PDF (9MB) and as before the work is copyright to Eric Schena.

The Decorations of Socialist Albania 2nd Edition

[Pete A]

I really can't say anything that isn't already said in the thread concerning the 1st edition.

First class presentation, really. While socialist Albania isn't actually in my sphere of interest, I sure did enjoy reading this wonderful guide. Also, I believe that we have many members here, who can be considered experts (or maybe even leading experts) in their own field of collecting - or research - and it would be great to see Eric's fine example resulting more publications like this.

Eric, I hope this "living guide" keeps on living and evolving, and increases not only our knowledge of the subject, but yours as well.

Thanks a lot,

Pete

[Eric Schena]

Thanks for the kind words, Pete! I hope folks find this useful and interesting. Albanian history is very interesting and often ignored.

If anyone has any additions, pictures, errors, or new varieties they'd like to see in a future edition, let me know.

Cheers,

Eric

[Laurence Strong]

Wow, amazing I did not get all the way thru it yet but"Thanks" eric for putting it together.

[Bob]

Hi Eric, in your extensive research efforts, have you also run across a good overview of modern day Albanian awards?

Let me give an example:

http://securingamerica.com/printready/prin...ternational.htm

http://securingamerica.com/node/985

General Wesley Clark was awarded a Skanderbeg... and it looks awfully similar to the one from communist times. What implications could this have?

[Eric Schena]

Hi Eric, in your extensive research efforts, have you also run across a good overview of modern day Albanian awards?

Let me give an example:

http://securingamerica.com/printready/prin...ternational.htm

http://securingamerica.com/node/985

General Wesley Clark was awarded a Skanderbeg... and it looks awfully similar to the one from communist times. What implications could this have?

I have found some information on current Albanian orders and decorations but have not seen any good pics of the current decorations. I have, however, seen a picture of Gen. Clark wearing his Skanderbeg in a photo history of the Albanian military printed a year or two ago and it is most assuredly not the communist one pictured on that website. It actually looks like the Italian/Zogist era officer pinback decoration. What few pics I have seen of some of the Albanian medals show that they have abandoned the Yugoslav style kolodka in favor of the British style straight ribbon. The website of the President's office does have some info in Albanian about the new orders system, but for some reason the site appears to be down.

In any event, if you can read Shqip, here's the text of the law that did away with the old communist decorations:

L I G J

Nr.8113, dat? 28.3.1996

P?R DEKORATAT N? REPUBLIK?N E SHQIP?RIS?

N? mb?shtetje t? neneve 16 e 28 t? ligjit nr.7491, dat? 29.4.1991 ?P?r dispozitat kryesore kushtetuese?, me propozimin e Presidentit t? Republik?s

KUVENDI POPULLOR I REPUBLIK?S S? SHQIP?RIS?

V E N D O S I:

KREU I

DISPOZITA T? P?RGJITHSHME

Neni 1

Dekoratat e nderit u jepen shtetasve shqiptar? ose t? huaj, q? shquhen p?r merita t? ve?anta ndaj Republik?s s? Shqip?ris? dhe interesave komb?tare.

Neni 2

Dekoratat jepen nga Presidenti i Republik?s.

Neni 3

Presidenti i Republik?s jep k?to dekorata:

1. Urdhri i Flamurit Komb?tar

2. Urdhri "Gjergj Kastrioti Sk?nderbeu"

3. Urdhri "Nderi i Kombit"

4. Urdhri "Mjesht?r i Madh i Pun?s"

5. Urdhri "N?n? Tereza"

6. Urdhri "Naim Frash?ri"

7. Medalja e Art? e Shqiponj?s

8. Medalja "Martir i Demokracis?"

9. Medalja "Pishtar i Demokracis?"

10. Medalja "P?r Sh?rbime Ushtarake"

Neni 4

P?rshkrimi i dekoratave, rregullat dhe procedurat p?r propozimet dhe shqyrtimin e tyre caktohen nga Presidenti i Republik?s.

KREU II

MOTIVACIONET DHE KUSHTET E DH?NIES S? DEKORATAVE

Neni 5

Urdhri i Flamurit Komb?tar

U jepet qytetar?ve shqiptar? dhe t? huaj p?r merita t? jasht?zakonshme p?r lartimin e kombit shqiptar dhe t? Shqip?ris?. Ky urdh?r do t? jet? i art?.

Neni 6

Urdhri "Gjergj Kastrioti Sk?nderbeu"

U jepet qytetar?ve shqiptar? dhe t? huaj p?r ndihmes? t? qen?sishme ose akte t? ve?anta heroike n? mbrojtjen, forcimin e p?rparimin e Republik?s s? Shqip?ris?. Ky urdh?r do t? jet? i art?.

Neni 7

Urdhri "Nderi i Kombit"

U jepet qytetar?ve shqiptar? q? me veprat dhe emrin e tyre nderojn? kombin shqiptar brenda dhe jasht? vendit. Ky urdh?r do t? jet? i art?.

Neni 8

Urdhri "Mjesht?r i Madh i Pun?s"

U jepet punonj?sve t? fushave t? ndryshme t? shkenc?s, artit, sportit, drejtimit, prodhimit dhe biznesit p?r pun? t? shquara. Ky urdh?r do t? jet? i art?.

Neni 9

Urdhri "N?n? Tereza"

U jepet qytetar?ve shqiptar? dhe t? huaj p?r akte t? shquara humanizmi ndaj kombit shqiptar dhe njer?zimit. Ky urdh?r do t? jet? i art?.

Neni 10

Urdhri "Naim Frash?ri"

U jepet qytetar?ve shqiptar? dhe t? huaj, punonj?sve t? shkenc?s, artit, kultur?s dhe arsimit p?r vepra dhe veprimtari t? ?muara. Ky urdh?r do t? jet? i art? dhe i argjendt?.

Neni 11

Medalja e Art? e Shqiponj?s

U jepet qytetar?ve shqiptar? dhe t? huaj p?r trim?ri n? luft?n e armatosur dhe p?r veprimtari ose akte t? guximit qytetar n? koh? paqeje. Kjo medalje do t? jet? e art?.

Neni 12

Medalja "Martir i Demokracis?"

U jepet qytetar?ve shqiptar? dhe t? huaj, q? jan? martirizuar p?r veprimtarin? e tyre t? shquar p?r lirin?, demokracin? dhe p?rparimin shoq?ror t? Shqip?ris? dhe t? kombit shqiptar. Kjo medalje do t? jet? e art?.

Neni 13

Medalja "Pishtar i Demokracis?"

U jepet qytetar?ve shqiptar? dhe t? huaj p?r sh?rbime t? shquara e sakrifica t? kryera p?r kombin shqiptar dhe demokracin?. Kjo medalje do t? jet? e art?.

Neni 14

Medalja "P?r Sh?rbime Ushtarake"

U jepet qytetar?ve shqiptar? dhe t? huaj p?r merita t? ve?anta n? sh?rbimin ushtarak n? Shqip?ri. Kjo medalje do t? jet? e art?.

KREU III

DISPOZITA T? FUNDIT

Neni 15

Dh?nia e dekoratave mund t? shoq?rohet me nj? shp?rblim n? t? holla, sipas kritereve q? do t? caktoj? K?shilli i Ministrave.

Neni 16

Dekoratat e dh?na deri n? hyrjen n? fuqi t? k?tij ligji do t? njihen.

Neni 17

Ligji nr.6133, dat? 12.2.1980, si dhe ?do dispozit? tjet?r q? ka t? b?j? me k?t? ligj shfuqizohet.

Neni 18

Ky ligj hyn n? fuqi menj?her?.

Shpallur me dekretin nr.1439, dat? 2.4.1996 t? Presidentit t? Republik?s s? Shqip?ris?, Sali Berisha

Edited October 9, 2006 by Eric Schena

[Lukasz Gaszewski]

Dear Eric,

I deeply bow before you. You did a great job indeed to solve the mystery of the most unknown award system in Europe. Your name will be deeply imprinted in the history of medallic science.

I would like to add Albanian ribbons to my http://www.medals.lava.pl site. I do hope you will not object if I use the information from your book, all credits to your work being given of course.

I have been desperately trying to find out any images of current Albanian awards - all in vain so far. I have contacted various Albanian institutions, but they have all a strange habit of ignoring any letters directed to them

Congratulations again on the excellent work!

Lukasz

[Eric Schena]

Hi Lucasz:

Thank you for your very kind remarks. I am also working on a third edition presently, but i have no idea when it will be finished.

I would like to add Albanian ribbons to my http://www.medals.lava.pl site. I do hope you will not object if I use the information from your book, all credits to your work being given of course.

I most certainly do not object - I would be honored to have some of my research on your fantastic website (which I use all the time when I do some research into Polish decorations). Let me know if there are specific things you need and I would be happy to help you out.

I have been desperately trying to find out any images of current Albanian awards - all in vain so far. I have contacted various Albanian institutions, but they have all a strange habit of ignoring any letters directed to them

You are not the only one who has had that problem . I have a friend who has been desperately trying to get any info out of the Albanian govt on their current awards and, like you, his letters disappear into the aether without a trace. I guess trying to shake off 50 years of forced secrecy is a hard habit to break.

Cheers,

Eric

[albania]

hi! this is the best work and effort i have ever seen. I was surprised to see the history of my country displayed in a great manner. Erich congratulations! If I were the president of Albania I would award you with Skanderbeg 1 class I woud need your help in one thing: Since I work with medals and orders I would like to know what would be relatively good price for my medals when I put them on ebay? I dont want to be overcharging or selling them cheap. I am located in Albania and I was proud to see your work.

thank you

Albanian Navy Command

ens Elvis Cenko

[Guest Rick Research]

Welcome!

When a collecting field is as new as this, it is always difficult to find a "market price" for things which are too scarce to have an "average" price.

I know when the German Democratic Republic and Soviet Union collapsed, everything was very cheap. 15 years later, now that we KNOW numbers awarded and have a lot of information, prices are

so sometimes it is better to wait and see.

A "good" price TODAY may be 10 years from now.

[albania]

Welcome!

When a collecting field is as new as this, it is always difficult to find a "market price" for things which are too scarce to have an "average" price.

I know when the German Democratic Republic and Soviet Union collapsed, everything was very cheap. 15 years later, now that we KNOW numbers awarded and have a lot of information, prices are

so sometimes it is better to wait and see.

A "good" price TODAY may be 10 years from now.

thanks nice advise

[Eric Schena]

Hi Elvis and welcome!

Thank you so much for your very kinds words on my modest book about your nation's awards for which I am most grateful. I would love to know any contributions, feedback or corrections you may have, especially since you are a little closer to the "action" (so to speak) than I am

As for your question regarding prices, Rick did indeed put it quite accurately. I purposely avoided giving rarity statistics and prices because of a couple of factors:

1. There are precious few solid statistics regarding how many exist or were even awarded.

2. Some of the types of awards from the 1980's are starting to appear more frequently (comparatively speaking, of course), so prices are going to fluctuate wildly. I think some of these are coming out of the unused stocks at the President's office (at least that is what one of my friends from Tiran? told me).

3. There are so few devoted collectors for Albanian medals (I only know of maybe 6 or so folks) that the market is rather small right now. That is not to say it won't grow, it's just not on the same scale as USSR decorations.

I know that does not help you a lot, but we are all still learning so much about your nation's awards...

G?zuar!

Eric

[albania]

Hi Elvis and welcome!

Thank you so much for your very kinds words on my modest book about your nation's awards for which I am most grateful. I would love to know any contributions, feedback or corrections you may have, especially since you are a little closer to the "action" (so to speak) than I am

As for your question regarding prices, Rick did indeed put it quite accurately. I purposely avoided giving rarity statistics and prices because of a couple of factors:

1. There are precious few solid statistics regarding how many exist or were even awarded.

2. Some of the types of awards from the 1980's are starting to appear more frequently (comparatively speaking, of course), so prices are going to fluctuate wildly. I think some of these are coming out of the unused stocks at the President's office (at least that is what one of my friends from Tiran? told me).

3. There are so few devoted collectors for Albanian medals (I only know of maybe 6 or so folks) that the market is rather small right now. That is not to say it won't grow, it's just not on the same scale as USSR decorations.

I know that does not help you a lot, but we are all still learning so much about your nation's awards...

G?zuar!

Eric

[albania]

Erich thank you for your quick answer! I have started using your descriptions on my sales for albanian medals. I mentioned your book to a merchant in Kruja and he asked me to have one copy, so i will print one and give it to him if that is ok.

It started as a job for some pocket money for me but I am fascinated by the interesting subject and I have the urge to start one collection myself. Since a kid under communism I used to collect coins so I guess is in me somehow. I love history and is there any better way to learn and teach history than this? I am already shipping to Israel, france germany and usa that means that there is a modest but interesting geographic dispersion of people interested.

Being a officer in the navy (ensign) I have some access to gov offices. if you need any info pls let me know.

Second topic is communist pins and badges which I have access to a large quantity. What do you think about those? is there a market. they have an interesting make, design, and meaning.

As far as your book: there will be a day when pupil will be better than his teacher but until that day I remain your pupil.

best regards

thank you again

[Lukasz Gaszewski]

Dear Eric, Dear All,

I am glad to inform that the Albanian section has been added to medals.lava . Please have a look at http://www.medals.lava.pl/al/al2.htm. Thank you Eric once again for the assistance. The page would not be possible without your excellent work.

Lukasz

[Eric Schena]

What an absolute first class presentation that is, Lucasz!

I am thrilled and honored to have been able to offer you some assistance.

Cheers,

Eric

[Gerd Becker]

Once again, Eric, great work I am going to expand my Albanian Collection a little in the future and your book will be most helpful.

Thanks for your effort!

best regards,

Gerd

[albania]

hey Lukasz! indeed a very nice presentation. congrat

[Bob]

Uhoh... there I was thinking, good, found a nice little country to collect medals from that nobody else is interested in and I can already see the signs similar to what happened with Mongolian awards a year or so ago

[Belaruski]

SIMPLY STUNNING!

THANKYOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THIS!

I had an interest in Albanian awards but didn't know what I was looking at until now. This is a simply superb guide! Many thanks again!

[Bob]

Coming back to this thread, so much progression has been made in the area of Albanian collection - for a large part due to Eric's work which has "opened up" this area of collecting by documenting in a well structured way the awards in his English (very helpful!) document, the changes during history, etc.

Over the past year or two on this forum we've uncovered numbered Skanderbegs (and the informal feedback is still that these CAN be researched in the state archives!), deputy pints, hero star and hero of labour star, etc.

Looking forward to the next phase:

- there is an Albanian member of this forum working on a book + exhibition... should be well worth a visit to Tirana!

- more and more award documents have come available offering both interestingly designed documentation (Albanian awards may be a bit crude vs. other countries, but the documents are great!) and some nice personalized reasons for awarding... hopefully more to come!

- and then sights will be set on finding some elusive awards... such as the Laureat of Albania prize (seen by very few people sofar, and no picture available yet)

2008 promises to be an interesting year for Albanian awards (although one needs patience... things get uncovered at glacial speed - but that's better than not at all )

Wish all Albanian awards enthusiasts a fruitful 2008

[922F]

Thanks again to Eric for all his sincere effort, dedicated research & ground breaking work and Bob {for refreshing the topic}!!

[Megan]

Having (finally!) settled down to read the 3rd Edition - I have a week off so decided to do something about the People's Republic of Albania - I am well impressed by a magnificent work.

[Explorer]

Isn't there already a 3rd edition of this book available? I think I once had it.

Is it possible to get it?

[Belaruski]

I'd also be interested in a 3rd edition! I know Lame's work is out now, but I still use Eric's book as my reference!