Voroshilov Academy Graduation Badge

[ericlida]

Guys
I need help.
What do you think about this badge?
What is the price, if it's original?
From the description, it is silver.
Thanks
Eric

[ibaya]

Pretty nice specimen ... I've been trying to get my hands on one for quite a while.

The construction looks consistent with a genuine badge of that type. I take it the enamel work is nice and "full", flush with the edges and not more thinly applied and slightly sunken like later badges. The raised edges of the rhomb look like there's been some abrasion wear of the plating, not unusual from polishing and wear-and-tear. The gold plating on the red enamel star (edges, sunray burst) ... the same kind of silver leaching seen in the thin plating on Orders of the October Revolution?

If this is indeed a fake, it was most likely a genuine higher military academy badge reworked with some plating and a new scroll plate. Original badges were gold-plated silver, too, so not far off the mark.

Interestingly, I haven't seen any many Voroshilov Highest Military Academy badges of the post-unified variety, i.e. no scroll plate. I would figure those would have been more widely distributed, and thus available.

[plmurphy]

This is a nice original piece. I recently purchased one where the screwplate is not the original and it cost me EUR80 so I would say a fair price is in the region of $100 to £120 for one in this condition.

[ericlida]

I tried to buy the badge, but it was sold to another person for more than $400.00. :mad:
Eric

[Lapa]

Eric,

That's a crazy price in my book :confused:

Marc

[Dat Nguyen]

$80.... I giggled

$120.... I laughed

$200... I fell off my chair

$400... 'click'....the sound of my fire proof box locking a similar badge inside. I had to remove my "will" to make room for it.

:chuckle

[Dat Nguyen]

Back in the golden days of soviet collecting, I ran into an American collector at the Frankfurt fleamarket. I notice him everytime I was there, but I could not figure out what he was buying...trying to scope out my competitor, you know.

We started talking and this guy only collects these academy badges. He brought them all up as soon as he see them. He gave me a quick class on buying the silver one first. The following week he gave me a list of all the Soviet military academy. I wasn't sure if all of them produces a graduation badge, but there were at least 3 pages of schools/academy.

Does any one out there know the actual number of just military academy badges?

Thanks in advance for your assistance.
Dat Nguyen

[ibaya]

Soviet military academies - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[ibaya]

I tried to buy the badge, but it was sold to another person for more than $400.00. :mad:
Eric

They say good things come to those who wait, but how about the ones who wait too long? :banghead