Patriotic War.

[desantnik]

The mystery digit more resembles a "6" than the preceding "5."

[Lapa]

Nothing sloppy here: 580,662

Marc

[marsino]

Hello guys :)
According to you the first number is an eight?

[desantnik]

Agreed, "8".

[shotgun01]

hi guys,

ive been offered this ww2 era Order of the Patriotic War, the seller has told me that its a 1st class issue award.

would you guys say its a 1st class issue with all its gold finnish missing or is it a 2nd class award? (is there any way to tell?)

thanks in advance. :thumbsup

[Tretov]

It is a 2nd class award. 1st class wartime issues were made from several different pieces. The 2nd class just has a separate hammer and sickle.

See ОРДЕНА И МЕДАЛИ СССР

[Auke]

And the 1st Class didn't have a gold finish, it was made of real gold (14 karat), and that doesn't patinate that heavily.

[shotgun01]

thanks for the info guys, very interesting.

i'll have to keep my eyes out for a 1st class. out of interest what is the current price for a basic 1st class Order of the Patriotic War?

[Auke]

In 1965, two Dutchmen, the brothers Gerard and Willem Methorst, were awarded the OPW2. During the war they had been hiding a Soviet soldier, Grigori Ivanovich Skripchenko, who was captured by the Germans near Minsk in 1941 and later escaped from a POW camp, near their home for 7½ months. After the war Willem emigrated to Canada, so on the picture below only Gerard can be seen being given the OPW2 by the Soviet ambassador to the Netherlands, Ivan Ivanovich Tugarinov. Tugarinov said that he hoped that this award would aid in improving further the relations between the Soviet Union and the Netherlands.

[CtahhR]

An excellent story! In a Soviet-Dutch "cooperative" move wasn't begeers asked to produce some Soviet awards in either the 60's and 70's?
The Netherlands may seem to be very much out of the Soviet theatre of the Great Patriotic War but lest we forget the battle of Texel.