Victory.

[matteti]

Hi Bundtrock,
Since you talk about copies, there is a huge variety and sprectrum of quality. Some don't look at all like the genuine order, while some are more similar. So it's very difficult to give an estimate of what a copy is worth. My own experience is that 99% of the copies are not very convincing and would be a total waste of money even as a filer for such a rare award. If you check on the well known auction site at the moment for a seller from Germany who is selling copies of Orders of Victory for a while, you will see they sell between 60-150$ approximately. However, if you compare their look with Eisenhower's order as shown on the forum (http://soviet-awards.com/order_pics/...victorydet.jpg), you will see the color is not even close and the "diamonds" are not as big and don't cover the background "silver" as much, the Kremlin looks like made of plastic, etc..

Personally, I don't see the value of this. However, if it was a museum copy made of real Rubies and Diamonds, then it would be a different story! ;)

[Jeffrey Meffert]

"Personally, I don't see the value of this. However, if it was a museum copy made of real Rubies and Diamonds, then it would be a different story!" ;)[/QUOTE]

Sometimes you just really need an order of glory to finish off a uniform, hence the value
PS: The only genuine soviet items are the OPW and the parade mount of 4 medals on the second tier. The foriegn orders on the bottom row are not what MSU Meretskov won, but I could never find reasonable copies of the norwegian orders and substituted some equally fancey yugosloavian pieces. I've since replaced the OPW with a replica of his actual order

[GabrielMk3]

What Norwegian orders did he receive? I might take a look around...

[marsino]

Originally Posted by Jeffrey Meffert

PS: The only genuine soviet items are the OPW and the parade mount of 4 medals on the second tier. The foriegn orders on the bottom row are not what MSU Meretskov won, but I could never find reasonable copies of the norwegian orders and substituted some equally fancey yugosloavian pieces. I've since replaced the OPW with a replica of his actual order

Jeffrey, why Meretskov has received two Orders Yugoslavians?

Герой Советского Союза Мерецков Кирилл Афанасьевич :: Герои страны

Awarded seven Orders of Lenin (01/03/1937, 21/03/1940, 02/11/1944, 21/02/1945, 06/06/1947, 06/06/1957, 06/06/1967), the Order "Victory" (8.09 .1945 - № 18), the Order of the October Revolution (02/22/1968), four Orders of the Red Banner (22/02/1928, 03/02/1938, 11/03/1944, 11/06/1947), two Orders of Suvorov 1st class (28.01.1943 - № 14, 21.02.1944 - № 105), the Order of Kutuzov, 1st degree (29.06.1944 - № 287), a weapon with the Honorary Golden State Emblem of the USSR (02/22/1968), medals, and foreign awards: Grand Cross of the Order St. Olaf (Norway, 1945), the Order of the Legion of Honour Commander degree (USA, 1946), the Order of the State Banner of the level 1 (Korea, 1948), the Order of the Sun Siyaschego level 1 (China, 1946), the Medal "For Victory over Japan "(MNR, 1946), medal" for the liberation of Korea "(North Korea, 1948).

[CtahhR]

I have often dabbled with the idea (and only the idea) of purchasing one of the ever available Order "Victory" replicas, fakes, copies or whatever else you'd like to call it. There is the fact that it is of outstanding beauty and although I have not yet written off ever having a real one in the collection the reality of the fact is that that's not very likely.

The thought process is a rather conflicted and confused one but thoughts arise such as "what would I do with it?", "will the quality be any good?" and the overriding thought is always "why spend money on a fake when it can be spent on something real?". That for me is always the last thought rendering the rest of the entire "oh that looks nice" etc situation moot.

Right now I don't think I'm selfish enough to buy a copy of this order just to look at, not when I can look at pictures of the real thing for free although I may be missing a point here.

[Bundtrock]

I think this one is just absolutely BEAUTIFUL, I am in the process of acquiring orders / medals / badges that are affordable to me now, with this one though, there are only 20 in existence, one is in private hands, I think it is just pretty much impossible to ever have a real one, so I would consider a reproduction at some point, just to have and look at, I THINK.

I am growing and developing, my attitude may change over time though.

[Christophe]

Originally Posted by matteti

Hi Bundtrock,
Since you talk about copies, there is a huge variety and sprectrum of quality. Some don't look at all like the genuine order, while some are more similar. So it's very difficult to give an estimate of what a copy is worth. My own experience is that 99% of the copies are not very convincing and would be a total waste of money even as a filer for such a rare award. If you check on the well known auction site at the moment for a seller from Germany who is selling copies of Orders of Victory for a while, you will see they sell between 60-150$ approximately. However, if you compare their look with Eisenhower's order as shown on the forum (http://soviet-awards.com/order_pics/...victorydet.jpg), you will see the color is not even close and the "diamonds" are not as big and don't cover the background "silver" as much, the Kremlin looks like made of plastic, etc..

Personally, I don't see the value of this. However, if it was a museum copy made of real Rubies and Diamonds, then it would be a different story! ;)

A few years ago was for sale on a well known NJ dealer a "museum copy" of the Order of Victory. It was of a very good quality, the best I have seen on the market so far. Price was in the range of US$2,000 as far as I remember. I have kept the pics somewhere, but where ? :confused:

Ch.

[Jeffrey Meffert]

I didn't say Meretskov won 2 yugoslavian orders. I said I put two there to fill in the empty order loops on the uniform. Actually one may have been a US Legion of merit converted to pin back. It's hard to say. At the time of victory parade, he did not have all the orders this uniform has spaces for. By the time the m45 was phased out, he had more awards (some chinese and korean) than would have fit on this tunic. Perhaps some museum somewhere used their imagination. The other, awarded in 1945 was the norwegian Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav. Here he is (with yugoslavian place fillers). High quality replica marshal stars, by the way, cost as much as nice quality order of victory replicas.