How families (groups) get broken up...

[Kirchgoens]

For months, I've known that my girlfriend's uncle had a group belonging to his uncle, a veteran of the GPW. I had never seen it, but understood that its centerpieces were an OL and ORB. Sometimes her uncle would ask me about values (not knowing I knew he had the group). He and his wife work hard and live off small pensions. I hoped he'd keep his dad's stuff in the family, but I also figured he'd be smart enough to talk to me if the need for cash or simple greed took over. He didn't...

I ran into his yesterday, and he asked me if I was interested in buying an OL. I asked him if he had a document for it, and it was part of a group. He said he only had a xerox copy of the document, but that it had been part of a group. I asked him who's award it was. He then finally told me it was his dad's. I asked him where the rest of the group was. He said he had sold everything else separately, including the document listing all awards.

It turns out he had piecemealed out his dad's entire set except for the one that was too expensive for most anyone around to buy. He also probably got-lowballed pretty badly, but he didn't say. He had xeroxed the booklet, and sold each piece with a copy of the booklet except for the ORB (which I guess got to stay with the booklet).

I told him that it all would have been worth more if he had kept it together, and that I would have given him a fair price. He looked a bit sad at that point, and said that he didn't know that sets were worth more. I also think he had been too embarrassed months ago to tell me he was going to sell it all.

I believe this sort of story is typical of the former Soviet Union, and explains why we see these broken up. The families simply don't see the value in the docs or the synergy of the set. They sell it off piece by piece for a bit of cash every so often throughout a period of time. In this part of the world, you can work your ass off for a lifetime, and then get a pension worth about $40/month that won't cover the apartment utilities you now have to pay. Sometimes it's simply about making ends meet.

As an aside, my girlfriend remembered the old man who had won the awards. She said he was a wonderful and accomplished old guy who was known to have had a distinguished wartime record. Now it's all gone...

...Brian

[desantnik]

And how many times I've seen this happen.

One of the pieces highlighted in Echoes of War was given to me by the recipient's widow after she and our family struck up a good friendship.

The widow told me at the funeral a few years prior (in the mid-90's) a voenkomat officer approached her and told asked for her husband's medals. He only picked out the Belgrade with document and left her the rest "to remember her husband"... I guess he showed restraint - he could have taken the entire group...

[ekclete]

Sorry to say that this sort of thing is not specific to USSR awards. I also collect USA valor groupings and this sort of things happen all the time. Just plain frustrating, irritating and so on. Clete

[andrew6767]

Originally Posted by ekclete

Sorry to say that this sort of thing is not specific to USSR awards. I also collect USA valor groupings and this sort of things happen all the time. Just plain frustrating, irritating and so on. Clete

Add Australian to that list. All Australian WW1 and WW2 service medals have the recipients name engraved on the rim of round ones and the back of stars , yet you see plenty of single medals on Ebay in particular.

I am happy to say that I recently aquired my grandfathers 5 WW2 medals which he applied for 62 years after the war ( at my request ) as he refused them at the time. It was important to me to get them and I will ensure that they will never be sold or seperated ( I am brainwashing this in to my 11 yo son who will receive them on my death.

62 years...they were a long time coming