Your first expensive order/medal

[Eryk]

Paying more than $200 for a group rather than an individual item is more like the normal situation now but for a single piece (with or without the document) it is still quite a rarity.

Collecting is obviously all about connections.

$200 is a poor benchmark for "expensive" in 2014, IMO. At least for Soviet awards, in the unconnected retail market. That's said by me, who does consider $200 to be pretty expensive. That's why the vast majority of my collection are campaign medals, CSMs and Bravery medals. Second tier is OG IIIs, RS and OPW IIs, with only a few RBs, OPW Is, and rarer. (And even that's understating it if shipping, documents and research are taken into account.)

Not that "expensive" $250 Lenins wouldn't be nice.

[UQWozza]

My first $200+ purchase was a double ORS + CSM researched group to an Uzbek Leningrad defender which I got from Desantnik. I quickly followed that with a sub 100K type 1 Bravery medal (also from a former forum member).

Simon