Veteran Badges

[Alexander Wolf]

Thanks Lapa. Any ideas about these two?

[ericlida]

Alexander,

These are also commemorative pins.

Eric

[Chuck In Oregon]

I collect early aviation, and of course this one doesn't count. However, it is interesting nevertheless. I am aware the the KGB had a naval arm and I think they had an air arm, but I'm not sure. Anyway, this badge suggests to me that they did. Does anyone know more about this badge?

Chuck

[desantnik]

Heavier brass badges were made in E. Germany and not in the USSR. They are usually considered rarer than the usual aluminum ones.

[Nota Bene]

Desantnik,

Welcome to the forum.

I will respectfully disagree, I haven't seen a single brass veteran's badge, not made in the Soviet Union.

Alexei

[desantnik]

Four individuals from whom I puchase veterans medals in the FSU and collect them themselves have separately told me the heavier brass badges where made in East Germany. The weight and "look" are not the same as Soviet znachki. Also, the screwbacks when present are not analgous to Soviet ones.
Apparently this was akin to the US military getting unit coins and other appurtenances made in South Korea.

[Lapa]

Desantnik,

I would tend to agree with Alexei, for the simple reason that I bought some of those brass badges directly from the Mint ( Монетный Двор ) in St Petersburg, which had produced them.

Marc

[desantnik]

I believe the FSU collectors that told me they were made in E.Germany due to the size of their collections and knowledge on the subject (not my specialty, but of interest). For starters, the heft of the badges is not duplicated in any post 1950 Soviet badges with the sole exception even approximating them I know being the PVO air defense badge. Other seemingly more prestigious badges such as Supreme Soviet member badges don't even come close. Additionally, the look of the badges including design and metal does not seem Soviet. In the same way that Russian gold jewelry is different from American in that it is pinkish whereas American gold is yellowish, the baser metals also don't seem to match other Soviet badges. Another strike against the Soviet mint theory is the heavier badges I have seen with the screwback plates, or even the suspension pieces for that matter, don't have "Monetnii Dvor" on them.

I don't dispute you purchased the badges on the grounds of the mint (presumably in St. Pete). I have been to the mint four times from 1988-2000 and have not seen an official "mint store." As hard as I tried, I couldn't find anything approximating a mint museum to visit either. There are vendors and even a souvenir store on the grounds where most things not even mint-related can be bought. Are the badge(s) you purchased stamped "Monetnii Dvor"? Just because the badges were sold on the grounds of the mint isn't a smoking gun.

When all is said and done it's not a big deal, but I think the issues of foreign manufacture cannot be easily discarded. Perhaps there is a correlation between Soviet units serving in the DDR and their associated veterans' organizations "back in the USSR" that arranged the special issues or orders for the badges.

I'll ask my POCs if they have anything in a published reference or can shed more light on the subject.

[Lapa]

Desantnik,

The badges I bought were marked either ЛМД or Монетный Двор. Now, I am well aware of the official/semi-official/not-official-at-all variations that exist when it comes to sellers. However, next to the St Petersburg Mint, inside St Peter and Paul fortress, there is an official Mint store, called Нумизматический Салон. They sell mostly the current commemorative coinage, mint and proof sets, and when I went there, they incidentally told me that they had a few soviet badges left. They were absolutely delighted to get rid of these, and needless to say, I simply packed up on these. I specifically asked them about their origin, and they explained that they had been produced up to 1991 right here at the StP Mint, and after the end of the Soviet Union they were simply thrown in a box at the bottom of a cupboard. To top it up, I even got an official invoice FROM THE MINT for clearing Customs.
I am not saying that some brass badges were not produced outside the Soviet Union, but I do affirm confidently, based on my personal experience and contact with collectoirs in the St Petersburg area, that some were actually made at the Soviet Mints.

Marc

[Nota Bene]

Desantnik,

I am certainly not an expert in this field, but in my line of business I have seen hundreeds if not thousands of those badges, and I have never seen a single badge (aluminum, brass, bronze, or whatever), made outside the Soviet Union. Some recent veterans' badges have unusual attachment clasps, similar to what you would see on US lappel pins, but they are still made in Russia with imported clasps.

If you have a badge, that you suspect was produced in GDR, I would love to see it.

Alexei