Posts: 26
Threads: 1
Joined: May 2012
Reputation:
0
Thank you for the input. By the way, this button with a few more like this, plus the 1980s aluminum versions came from Moscow around 1995. Either from old Arbat or Izmailovo flea market. By holding and looking at this brass button, I don't see how someone would go through the process of making this a "fantasy" piece since the machine process is perfect and would take very specific and expensive equipment to manufacture this. Especially being made in the early 1950s. I believe we got these for 10 for $1. Back in those days, you could trade used Levi's jeans and old runners for orders, medals and badges! But it would be cool if Elvis's picture was on it! Thanks CtahhR for that analogy......:laff
Posts: 1,822
Threads: 186
Joined: Mar 2003
Reputation:
0
That could also be a button made for the SovietUnion by outside contractor - East Germany did some stuff for the Soviet Army (like ammo poaches) and there are known privately made visor caps from GDR as well.
Peopleoutside Soviet Union would not know the meaning of the ribbons and would see asymetry as a mistake that needs correcting.
Posts: 1,822
Threads: 186
Joined: Mar 2003
Reputation:
0
The US-made LL buttons I have seen were only the non-general ones (with star and H&S) and they were made of plastic-like material.
If, for example an officer serving abroad (like in DDR for example) was promoted to general, or simply the uniform reform was implemented duringhis service there, he would as usual get thematerial and money to go to a GUT store to have a newuniform tailored for him. With the central planning, I find it verylikely that a voentorg outside USSR would not have any stock of general's buttons, so they would have to order it localy. So, a design goes to the factory and they see that the seal on them is asymetric - so to make it look better, and correct the "mistake", they add one more ribbon. Noone cares - or takes a notice for that matter. This is how I see it, but that doesn't mean it had to be that way. Nor did it have to be in GDR. The button actually makes me think of Czechoslovak buttons.
And if they knew... Well, my parents (and to some extent, so did I) grew up in the Warsaw Pact country, they had obligatory Russian classes and were quite well educated, but still they had no idea what the ribbons on the Soviet seal stood for. Nor did my grandfather who spent a few years in USSR and even had a short service period in the Red Army. That wasn't a very common knowledge, unless someone was educated from the early years in the USSR.
Posts: 26
Threads: 1
Joined: May 2012
Reputation:
0
Thank you Al! Wonderful explanation and history. So glad to hear your story and it makes perfect sense.
Best regards,
SJ
Posts: 2,449
Threads: 371
Joined: Oct 2004
Reputation:
0
To comment on the DDR manufacturing issue - I have several DDR-produced veteran badges, some of which have spelling/language errors not immediately obvious to a non-Cyrillic reading producer and apparently passing some kind of quality control.
Examples of the DDR badges are on page 38, 54 of Soviet Second World War Veteran Badges. The error is on 25, forgetting the "cup" above "Π" - a mistake that would not have been made by a literate Russian speaker.
