The next, and higher, order is the Order for Distinguished Services in Defense of the Social Order and the Country - 3rd Class (Ordinul "Pentru servicii deosebite aduse în apãrarea orânduirii sociale ºi de stat") awarded to Colonel Stancu Marin on August 21st, 1973. President Ceausescu's "franked" signature is at the bottom.
The second image is the order in box- note the small Republic (RPR) seal on the ribbon bar.
"We are Marching for the Victory of Communist Labour" V.I. Ulyanov (Lenin)
05-30-2009, 04:48 AM (This post was last modified: 07-12-2009, 09:39 PM by Greg Collins.)
Finally, the boxes themselves. The higher order, on the left, is in a typical box of that level of order with the name of the order in gold paint on the cover. The lower order is in a heavy gauge plastic box with the name of the order embossed on the lid. Except for the lack of a ribbon bar on the first (lower) order, this is exactly how the orders were presented.
"We are Marching for the Victory of Communist Labour" V.I. Ulyanov (Lenin)
Recently came by the RPR document for the Order for Distinguished Services in Defense of the Social Order and the Country - 3rd Class (Ordinul "Pentru servicii deosebite aduse în apãrarea orânduirii sociale ºi de stat"). It was awarded August 18, 1959 by Ion Georghe Maurer (President 1958-1961) to Comrade Major Ioan Tacaks. Unfortunately, the medal (red star with large RPR seal; 5 side suspension; blue ribbon with three narrow red stripes at both sides) was not included so I'm still looking for one. Am happy to have the document as I've never seen one before. The paper is "pinkish" in colour. The signatures appear to be stamped. The Secretary's name is Gheorghe Stoica.
I'm not 100% sure about this, but this may be an instance of where the document is more valuable than the medal.
"We are Marching for the Victory of Communist Labour" V.I. Ulyanov (Lenin)
A couple more recent acquisitions... if you go back you'll find a 1959 document for the Order for Distinguished Services in Defence of the Social Order and the Country - 3rd Class (Ordinul "Pentru servicii deosebite aduse în apãrarea orânduirii sociale ºi de stat"); well, here's the Order itself, finally. This was given from 1958 through 1965. Finally married the order to the document!!! Hoorah!
Not much happening with the back except for rivets...
A detail of the front... dunno why, but I get an urge for strawberries when I look at this star.
"We are Marching for the Victory of Communist Labour" V.I. Ulyanov (Lenin)
These two are on their way in from the "Great White North" and I couldn't wait to show them. The seller sent these pictures.
The first is the badge version of the one in posts #30 and 31 with "Romania" instead of RPR on the banner. According to Greg this was the last type of these produced before the end of communism in Romania. The seller openly admitted that there is a dark spot in the enamel on the 4 o'clock upper arm that is a factory defect, but considering the rareity and the price he gave me for both badges, I'll take a manufacturing defect over a bad repair job anyday.;)
The second picture is of the Order for Distinguished Service in Defense of the Social Order and Country - 2nd class (similar to the one in post #3). And the seller is holding a 1st class order of the same for me until funds are available (i.e. until after I pay all my real bills). Since Greg was kind enough to sell me the 3rd class version - and get me hooked on Romanian security items, I hope to have all three by Christmas.:yahoo
More pictures when they arrive and a new display planned for when I have all three!!
As Alexei always says, collecting can be habit forming...:D
11-24-2009, 02:00 PM (This post was last modified: 11-24-2009, 02:07 PM by Greg Collins.)
Phil,
I hope this news will not disappoint... the first order you depict, and the one I gave you some background on, is not a Securitate award. It is the Order for the Defense of the Country, 2nd Class and is, in fact, an Armed Forces award. On the good side of things, it's a great award to have and, as I said before, in the configuration you have ("Romania" on the lower banner) is the rarest form of this particular award- the "bottom" fell out prior to more being made. It is, incidentally, the only award that changed the State seal four times as it was initially awarded in 1949. The Securitate award which most closely resembles this award- and is the Securitate "equivalent" award- is the Order for Distinguished Service in Defense of the Social Order and Country - 2nd class as awarded during the RPR period (RPR on the lower banner of the seal, 1958-1966) and then again in a "transitional" version with RSR on the banner from 1966-1968. After that, the award was totally redesigned and appears as the second award you picture.
I'm enclosing a very poor image of an RPR Order for Distinguished Service in Defense of the Social Order and Country - 2nd class. It is not in my collection. Though the image is bad, you can readily see the differences between it and the Order for the Defense of the Country, 2nd Class; larger seal and no star and swords in the background. Oh yeah, one more thing... these gizmos start at about $400 bucks (US) in Romania.
"We are Marching for the Victory of Communist Labour" V.I. Ulyanov (Lenin)
11-25-2009, 03:07 AM (This post was last modified: 11-25-2009, 03:16 AM by deValcourt.)
It's okay Greg, I am fully aware of what the star-shaped badge is - I bought it as part of the deal that got me the 2nd class securitata (and hopefully the 1st as well). Though I mainly go after law enforcement and state security pieces, I have nothing against a beautiful (and in this case rare) award, regardless of branch of service. I hope my crazed, joyful wording did not sound like I thought both of them were Securitat items.:)
I'm just so happy to be able to find genuine pieces to go with the one you got me started with.:thumbsup What is going to take me the longest time is trying to put together "a brief history of of time" for Romania in the 20th century. I'm still buried in books on the rise, evolution and fall of the Soviet Union and my interests have branched out to Mongolia, Bulgaria, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary - and of course, Romania, so I will be very busy with my history lessons our teachers in the US conveniently forgot to discuss when I was going to school...
The picture you posted may not be of one you own, but it is certainly very cool. Who knows, maybe one of us will come across one someday, but at $400, it may just be "crossing" my path.:rolleyes:
The seller is not your regular ePay type and his experience in Romania makes him a good source for information (and awards). I invited him to drop in on the forum and check it out, so who knows, we may hear from him before long - and I suspect he'll come to this thread first.;)
OK, these are, at least for now, the final entries I'll be making in this thread as my Securitate (Interior Ministry) collection is probably as complete as it is going to get. I don't have everything, but I have been able to amass those items that are within my reach and means, and I am very happy with the collection as it stands. A great friend- an Irishman in Transylvania, Kevin Arthur Ryan- has facilitated so much of this, as well as an ongoing stream of information about the Securitate gotten from private interviews with individuals who were in positions to know. I cannot thank him enough.
First up, a 3rd Class Order for Distinguished Services in Defense of the Social Order and the Country. This is the transitional variant that was awarded between 1966 and 1968- note the RSR on the banner.
"We are Marching for the Victory of Communist Labour" V.I. Ulyanov (Lenin)
Now an image of the full progression of the 3rd Class Order for Distinguished Services in Defense of the Social Order and the Country. The two "hanging medal" types, RPR and RSR, flanking the completely redone final type of the award.
"We are Marching for the Victory of Communist Labour" V.I. Ulyanov (Lenin)
Greg Collins Wrote:Now an image of the full progression of the 3rd Class Order for Distinguished Services in Defense of the Social Order and the Country. The two "hanging medal" types, RPR and RSR, flanking the completely redone final type of the award.
Mighty nice set there Greg. By now you know I'm more medals and badges than cloth, but the insignia are excellent as well. I especially like the picture with all three 3rd class orders.:thumbsup
