by Henry Sakaida & A. Bates
This month's article is a follow-up to the November-December 2002 issue of The Soviet Military Awards Page Digest (see Issue 16, "Wearer's Copy of the Gold Star Medal, Fact or Fiction?"). In Issue 16, we discussed whether or not a "wearer's copy" was ever issued by a Soviet mint. During the research it became clear, in order to resolve this issue we needed an official statement from someone associated with the Russian Mint or the Russian government. In the first article, the Chief Engineer of the Moscow Mint was kind enough to reply to Henry's inquiry:
Dear Mr. Sakaida,
My name is Vladimir Trunov and I am Chief Engineer of Moscow Mint.
First of all I would like to use this opportunity to thank you for your kind attention and confidence that you have accorded to our company.
In reply to your letter regarding some questions about the history of medals produced in Soviet Union please find enclosed the following information :
1. Saint-Petersbourg Mint had been producing the medal Hero of Soviet Union before the Second World War. Moscow Mint started to produce it in 1945.
2. In reference to the question concerning the Hero of Soviet Union medal copies, I inform you that Moscow Mint did not make the official replica of this medal. So there are no valid instructions of wearing this medal. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need any further information.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Moscow Mint wishes you, your family, and colleagues health, prosperity and success.
Yours faithfully,
V.
Trunov
Still, we needed another official to corroborate this information. Henry had a friend contact an official at the Administration of the Russian Federation for State Decorations. The following reply was received in March 2003. (continued)
|
1 OF 2 |
||