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Soviet Titles And Prizes Physical Characteristics, History, Types/Variations, Identification, Collecting Stories, anything relevant to the collecting of authentic Soviet Titles And Prizes (Звания И Премии СССР) is here.

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Old 03-16-2008, 01:05 PM   #31
Nota Bene
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Sebastien,

Why would the museum do that? They have experts, that understand the importance of preserving historical artefacts as they are.

Alexei
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Old 08-30-2008, 11:33 AM   #32
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Re: Mutilated History

Could it be possible--and I know it sounds far-fetched--that the offending person could have known what this really is but actually thought that he or she could cut it up and sell for bullion for more than the piece is actually worth? A few years ago, I worked in a jewellery shop and we got all kinds of things in "scrap" gold that had either historical or numistmatic value. I was a starving student then so I could not rescue all of these things but they were given by people who had no idea of their true value and most of the time I tried to get them to reconsider melting down these things but alas, most of them replied curtly "melt it anyway". I did not see anything like this but I did see a US CIB in sterling silver and rescued it and took it to my coin dealer who said it was likely to have been awarded in the WWII era.

In any case, it is really sad to see items like this treated this way, no matter the reason why it was done. Things like this happen daily and we do not know about it so just think, gentlemen, of how many awards and coins, etc. have been destroyed either out of ignorance or of need.
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Old 08-30-2008, 06:12 PM   #33
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Re: Mutilated History

Bogdan,

I suppose anything is possible. Still, what a disrespect to the Hero, who deserved this award!

Alexei
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Old 08-30-2008, 10:20 PM   #34
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Re: Mutilated History

Just over a year ago, I watched someone in a Tashkent bazaar put maybe 50+ Maternal Glories (all three classes) and OPW'85's on a scale to weigh, buy, and melt down for lower-grade silver. That, even now, is not an unusual sight (albeit the numbers of awards are dwindling). I've got a big bag of suspensions that still have the VL and DL ribbons on them because some dude in the Ferghana Valley had ripped them off the medals, and then sold the medals by weight for melting. Another time I went to buy a couple wartime BM's from a guy (we had pre-arranged to meet). When I got there, he had half as many as he had promised. It turns out that the day before he had sold three of them to a local jeweler at the melting price (lower than I was going to give him). I asked him why he did it. He said "it doesn't matter to me who gets them, I just wanted the money." I've got a couple MH's floating around the house missing their gold stars, long since removed for the tooth caps Alexei speaks of above (and judging from the number of gold teeth I've seen, a lot of awards went the way of the dentist). As you roam the former SU away outside of places like Kiev, Moscow, and St.P. (especially in some of the other republics), things are not so prosperous, people are not so well off, and (in some cases) history is being rewritten or even slowly erased.
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Old 08-31-2008, 06:48 PM   #35
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Re: Mutilated History

Kirchgoens,

What can I say, buy as many of those awards as you can and sell them here on the forum. You will be saving them from destruction and making money in the process. :)

Alexei
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Old 09-01-2008, 12:16 AM   #36
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Saved orphans...

I did nab up some of those to-be-melted awards, so I've got spares sitting around the house, especially the three MG orders, the Mother medals, and also un-numbered BM's, CSM's, VL's, and DL's. I couldn't buy them all. :( I think I have a couple early MG versions too, but often missing the mirror-back suspension. I've also got a couple MH's without the gold star if someone is looking for a relatively cheap way to fill a hole in the collection. I've also got a couple spares of the MH doc's (both sizes, sometimes in matched pairs). Every so often I also have spare boxes for MH (blue) or regular (red) awards if someone needs such a thing.

If someone wants something in particular, I'll see if I can find it. I'm pretty sure I can often find it for less than many of the online guys. I don't often post stuff for sale because I usually don't have time to break out the camera and do the Photoshop work to make the images look good. Since it's only a hobby, I've got to go to work and pay the bills first. ;) But... hunting for the stuff (medals, orders, labor banners, statues, docs, books, etc) is fun for me, so let me know what you want out there and I'll see what I can do.

I've got a ton of military stuff now, but I'd like to get much of it researched first. Then I'll start letting it go after I pick my favorite stories. :) It's taking forever to get docs back from the G-researcher man though. :( I've got so much to research that I really need to find a discounted way of doing it.
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Old 09-17-2008, 12:38 PM   #37
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Re: Mutilated History

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nota Bene View Post
Bogdan,

I suppose anything is possible. Still, what a disrespect to the Hero, who deserved this award!

Alexei
Alexei,

I do fully agree with you and feel that this piece deserves as honorable treatment as the Hero who was decorated with it. It just bothers me that a thinking person would do this so I would rather believe that this was a person who was either out of their mind (no disrespect to anyone intended) or incapable of knowing that this piece deserves more than being mutilated like this. I guess to me, a thinking person doing this to this award is the same as doing this to the Hero who earned it.
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Old 09-17-2008, 03:12 PM   #38
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Re: Mutilated History

Guys,

I agree on the principle of this, but don't forget that we are philosophizing on full stomachs. When dire necessity arise, you don't always have a choice.

Marc
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Old 09-17-2008, 05:01 PM   #39
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Re: Mutilated History

Marc,

I suppose it's possible, but if I were a starving person, needing money right away, I would most likely just sell the medal.

I guess it just pains me to see this.

Alexei
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Old 09-18-2008, 12:03 PM   #40
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Re: Mutilated History

I see your point Marc but I still have to agree with Alexei. Sell the whole thing in time of need, don't destroy/mutilate it.
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