What's your niche?

[Tommy]

Hey Guys,

When i first started collecting a lot of people told me that in time i would find my "niche" and a specific area of collecting that interested me, right now i'm still focusing on getting "1 of each" and also collecting as many different Red Banner of Labour varietes as i can .

Just wondering what everyone else's collecting areas are? Anyone collect anything really obscure? Has anyone change their collecting goals to set an easier or more challenging one?

I always like to hear the stories of the people that collect the awards, as well as the people they were awarded to!

Tom

[GabrielMk3]

I guess my "niche" is collecting good friends and contacts while collecting DPRK, Bulgaria, SSSR, Norwegian (and Scandinavian), Chinese and Vietnamese items.

I've helped out many of the chaps around the world, resulting in advantages for both sides, and a proper friendship!

[CtahhR]

I'll collect pretty much anything that you can mobilise. I do have personal favourites though;

Documents!
Awards and paperwork to Transcaucasus Railway workers.
Red Stars!
Ministerial Awards of the Russian Federation.
Almost anything Bulgarian, specially the "Red Banner".
PMR (although I don't have much).
Almost anything DPRK, specially Order Of The National Flag 3rd Class.

I'm always on the look out for something that hasn't previously been posted on the forum and then sharing it. I think some folks may be able to tell that with the post counter next to my user name. 4500 images uploaded and on show here on the forum so far and I have lots more for everyone to enjoy.

I only ever started collecting DPRK items to present them to the forum as there was just so little information on the entire internet on the subject. It's been easy to get taken away by the collecting and not so easy to store the goodies when they come in such great numbers.

I've only been (focused on) collecting Soviet awards for 5 1/2 years, Bulgarian for 5 years and DPRK for 2 so hopefully I'll be able to expand on the current foundations. The internet certainly makes collecting easier.

[Tommy]

Thats a lot of niches!

Any reason behind the Transcaucasus Rail items? Perhaps another interest in trains outside of awards or just out of respect due to the sheer scale of the operation?

[CtahhR]

I don't really know how it manifested itself. I do enjoy Railway related items and Soviet items and here you get the best of both?

I like People's Commissariat/Ministry Of Lines Of Communication/Transport items so it points me towards railway items but this is an addiction I can blame on PJS because he has supplied me every Trans-Caucasus Railway item I have, dating from the turn of the 20th century up to the 1980's. Once I got a couple of items and started reading up on the Railway I was completely hooked.

The historical and political importance of the railway line can not really be overstated being as it is a remnant of the "great game", major supply route during the GPW and to this day continues to be a key communication line of the troubled Caucasus. Many other Russian and Soviet railway lines receive a lot more attention (and commemorative awards etc) but this one is my favourite.

Maybe later on I'll arrange some sort of Trans-Caucasus Railway presentation for the forum later.

http://soviet-awards.com/forum/sovie...ily-group.html

[medals73]

A good and reasonable question. Let me try to briefly outline my interests. By way of preface, I should observe that my "magpie" instincts -- that everyone starts collecting with -- have never died and I continue to be attracted by shiney objects that have some history connected with them and some research potential. To paraphrase the old song: "When I'm not near the medals I collect, I collect the medals I'm near."

My core interest has been and remains the awards of South Asia (India, Pakistan, etc.), especially after independence and with a focus on medals to Indians; I have no interest in medals to natives (of the British Isles). I also have an interest in awards of the Indian "Princely" States. This grows out of my profession (history provessor, modern South Asian history). I also dabble in awards of the broadly defined "Arab World".

My interests in directly forum-related items have evolved:
1- labor awards of the "socialist world" (which, in part, is an ideologically based interest); then I added
2- an interest in documented and researchable Soviet groups, especially gallantry groups that included all of the various defense/capture/liberation/victory medals; and then I added
3- an interest in Soviet (and cross-over) groups for the 4th Afghan War and other post-GPW activities.

My "Soviet" interests end with the end of the Soviet Union.

More broadly, but still forum-related, I have developed interests and collections in Mongolia, PDRA (linking back to the core of my interests), DPRK, Romania, socialist Southeast Asia, awards related to the Spanish Civil War, PRC, and other things that may or may not be legal in the USA.

These days, I am not adding much, but working on research and writing instead.

[Tretov]

Cold war generals and marshals - and really large outdoor flags.

[Esteban_cool]

Soviet and East Bloc (DPRK, Romania, Bulgaria) undocumented awards and uniforms.
recently I´ve been focusing on these other countries' awards rather than Soviet becuase of the increased prices.
As soon as I get my first Order of the Red Banner, I think I´ll stop collecting.

[travel-north]

My niche is Soviet WWII medals.

[Keith]

My niche is Soviet Estonian political items:

1. Red banners (the flags) and their documents
2. Local award badges and their documents
3. Documents for members of central committees (especially first secretaries)
4. Mandates
5. Invitations to tribunes for parades
6. Invitations to political meetings
7. Propaganda leaflets (especially from wartime)
8. Political posters
9. Invitations to elections
10. Gramotas
11. Award vimpels
12. Award table medals
13. Personnel files
14. Books of honor
15. Any other unusual awards

I started with the wartime military awards, and it took about a year to get everything that was reasonably affordable. After that, I moved on to the Estonian political items. Started in 1995 or so.

Keith