03-20-2003, 10:26 AM (This post was last modified: 01-22-2014, 04:13 PM by CtahhR.)
I paid a US dealer $300 for an "M37 NKVD sergeant's tunic". First, it was not M37 but the much rarer M35 (only used by state security personnel from 1935 to 1937). Second, it was not for a sergeant. M35 NKVD ranks are poorly known and extremely confusing. The vendor thought it was a "sergeant of state security", which in the 1930 was actually equal to a lieutenant. But they made a mistake. Same number of stars on the collar tabs but wrong pattern and wrong cuff stars. It was actually a for a "senior major of state security" which really equated to a Kombrig or one star general.
So an ultra-rare M35 NKVD"general's" tunic for $300.
Shot of the whole tunic, sorry it is so fuzzy, fuzzy.
I was in a pawn shop in England and found a tray full of Soviet awards. Most of them were just the common jubilee awards, which the fellow was asking 5-10 ukp (roughly $8-15 USD). Looking further, I noticed a Friendship of Nations order. I asked how much he wanted for that, and he replied... "Now THAT'S an expensive one..." He was very serious about that, and I braced for shock... He continued: "That one is 30 pounds." (!!!) So, for a whopping $46 USD, I walked away with a decent award. I was happy!
My best bargain for awhile was and NKVD gymnastiorka(tunic) m/35 for a mayor in NKVD state security branch with an honored NKVD employee badge for borderguards(green enamel background and an order of the red banner screwback mirror reverse on. The tunic would normaly be about 600 dollars, red banner in fair condistion( some enamel repair 250-300 dollars and NKVD badge 400-600 something I think for this condition. All for the very fair price of 350 dollars. All are genuine. It arrived today.
As the gospel singer say.... Oh happy day!!
Best wishes
So what are the best bargains of the last 10 years?
Personally I picked up an OPW2'85 for about 12 cents. Not to mention an original photograph of a serviceman that opened up a tragic story (that will be presented) for a penny.
Being in the right place at the right time can really help.
Then again on the other side of the coin what are the worst deals of the last 10 years? I saw some unresearched and undocumented ~3.2-3.5 Million Red Stars selling for ~$450 a few years ago with the seller basically promising that they were to snipers at Stalingrad. In reality they were most likely long service awards.
I think a lot of the bargains presented here previously would still be able to be found given the right situations today.
