Albanian Attack!

[Bob]

Here's an overview of my small but growing Albanian collection. Awards clearly more "sober" than your typical soviet collection I guess but I actually like the basicness / crudeness of them and the symbolism is quite strong on some as well (especially like the Skanderbeg!).

Other great point: items rarer than a tractor lenin cost less than an odessa medal!

[Eric Schena]

Hi Bob:

Great stuff! You have quite a few really nice medals that'd love to have in my collection myself

Indeed, many may be crude but they tell a story that has been very neglected in the west (or heck, the outside world when they were still under Hoxha's thumb). With a collection like yours, you have an encapsulated history of Albania's alliances from after WW II all the way to Alia's downfall in 1991/1992 just by looking at the makers and the quality.

Cheers and good luck with your collecting!

Eric

[Bob]

Hi Eric - and it's very pleasurable to collect an area which doesn't have so many "competitors" / colleagues - a real adventure.

My collection has progressed since this photo. In a few days when back home I'll post 2 new badges (one of them numbered) I received recently.