I guess you start understanding why we are always requesting hi-res scans or pictures. The Devil is in the micro-details these days...
Marc
Very much so. It's similar to the XX jubilee medal KDVR has. Everything that can be seen from the pictures is where it is supposed to be, but because of the high quality and quantity of fakes, I can't (and shouldn't) say for sure.
I haven't been mocking either you or Alexei when I started asking for better photos.:D At least most rare badges are a bit easier to nail down - IMHO, that is.
Were the first, solid silver versions of both medals always made with the flat or sheared suspension ring (as opposed to later variations with only round rings)?
12-12-2010, 05:51 AM (This post was last modified: 12-14-2010, 04:12 AM by deValcourt.)
Alexei is right. It looks like it might be OK, but I sure can say from these scans.
Now, despite what you may have been told, if the scanner is not a good one for anything other than documents or photos (like mine - or this one), then don't even waste your time trying to scan medals. With some practice and either a steady hand or an inexpensive small tripod, even a halfway decent digital camera can yield better results (for the threads on the forum at least) than most scanners. [See Eric(FG)'s photographing tips all over this forum - or I'm sure he'd be happy to point out the threads for you if you PM him.]
And just a tip if you don't have a digital camera at the moment: they are all over ePay for various prices (many under $100) and if you get one with at least 4 megapixels - some are available cheaply with 12-14 MPs. They are cheaper than a good scanner and you can use it to take pictures of the family Christmas morning as well.:D
Back to the medal - from what I can guess at seeing, the patina is either perfectly beautiful or well applied by the previous owner/maker. The suspension ring also looks like it might be a problem, but that waits to be seen (pun intended).:)
I have to say that I never understand why someone will go through the trouble of trying to get blades of grass, bush leaves and rocks, but screw up the lettering so badly.
Really, the details are pretty good on the obverse - not perfect, and the laurel on the reverse isn't bad either, but the lettering is awful. Some of the letters aren't even finished and wear can't be blamed for that.
These are almost as commonly faked as the Protecting the Public Order medals. Very often now you will see what sellers are calling "restrikes" and they may actually be made from mint dies (though I doubt it), and though many of them make great "space fillers" they can be spotted because of what seems to be a "brushed" appearance which I guess is from cleaning off the surfaces after too rapid cooling. (I think there are some examples in this thread of what I'm talking about.)
Despite the rambling, this medal is not one of those "restrikes" - at least from what I can see.
