We seem to be forgetting the serial numbers, so I thought I'd post some scans from my collection.
Here's one:
Magnified section of an Order of the Red Banner of Labor, type 6, variation 2. Old serial number was polished off and a new one engraved with rotating tool to match that in the original award booklet. Sloppy job, I've seen better.
Order of the Red Star and Order of the Great Patriotic War 2nd class with fake serial numbers. Original serial numbers were replaced with fake ones to match those in the original award documents. On both medals borders of the polished area are clearly visible. Letter "D" for duplicate on the Patriotic War is intended to add to its value and explain the stamped serial number.
Medal for Combat Service with fake serial number. Same technique - old serial number was removed and replaced with a new one. Note the widely spaced and too small digits. This medal was part of a documented group and came together with a similarly messed up Order of the Red Star.
Old serial number on this Order of the Red Banner was erased, and new one hand engraved over it. Obvious and sloppy fake, they even erased part of a letter in the mint mark. The medal itself however is quite interesting, and is a conversion from a screwback type - note the deep indentation in the center where the screwpost was, and the seam where a small piece of silver with ring was added. This conversion was probably done by the owner of the award, and it's a shame that somebody had to mess it up.
Order of the Red Banner of Labor type 5, var. 1 with fake serial number. Flat reverse makes these pieces easy victims to this kind of "modification", and in this case the bad guys have done a very good job - old serial number was carefully erased, and a new one engraved over it, fake patina is not that obvious. The surface under the new serial number is slightly uneven, and there is no original "pebbling" left, the number is cut a little too deep, and I don't like the style of the digits.
Well, I am impressed. The back of this Red Star was polished with some kind of power tool to errase old serial number. This tool had left noticeable concentric rings. "Pebbling" was restored with some kind of sharp tool, which apparently was also used to cut the new serial number. There is no indentation under the new serial number. Fake patina is not that evident. This was of course done to match serial number in the original award document.
I am very impressed! This is probably the best job I have seen so far. The entire back of this Order of the Great Patriotic War 2nd Class was polished to errase the old serial number, "pebbling" is left only on the tips of the star. They had finished the job with some kind of wire brush to hide traces of polishing, serial number is nicely engraved, and there is only a very minor indentation under the new number. This piece was part of a larger group with original Order of Nevsky.
The back of this Red Star was all polished and the original number was erased. This is something that I see very often, but look how nice the fake number is.
