A Mission for a Righteous Collector...

[RedMaestro2]

Recently I noticed a seller on e$cam splitting a very nice documented group into a number of different lots. I tried to reach an agreement to purchase the entire set and keep it together, but the seller demanded a price far beyond my meager student resources. So I have posted this announcement here in the hopes that someone will be interested in acquiring the set and saving a wonderful piece of history from destruction. PM me and I can send you the auction information.

Thanks,

-Alex

[andrew6767]

Is the seller in Australia ?

[Auke]

Yes, I noticed it too. Do you mean the Lieutenant Khachaturyan group? This seller (from La Crescenta, California) splits groups a lot. I tried to convince the seller to keep all the parts together, but he answered:

Many of my customers collect items from WWII period only and some of them don't collect documents, that's why I've decided to divide this group.Also because of the pretty big insertion fee I paid and a "bid" on one of the items from this group ("Berlin") I can't set them up together anymore.Sorry about that.

As he obviously prefers money over keeping history intact, I then offered him a great offer for the entire set in the hope to convince him to sell it all to one buyer, but no:

Thank you for your offer, but I have a policy not to cancel any bids (the "taking Berlin" has it) and also I've received several offers from other clients similar to yours and decided to leave items as they are.If the lot won't sell-I'll just relist it for a fixed price.Thank you again for your offer and interest.

I'm not going to bid, because I would have to enter really high bids to make sure I win all the 'parts', in the end buying the group for maybe 3 times the market value. It's simply not worth that, especially not if in the end I don't win one of the auctions... I HATE these people!!!

[Tretov]

The name Katchaturian (spelling) sound so familiar. Can you send me a link to the auction?

[Auke]

Well, there is also a well-known Armenian composer with this name, Aram Khachaturian.

120444693377 is the number of the auction of the WW2 awards. Check the links at the bottom of his description for the other items of this group.

[RedMaestro2]

That is indeed the group! Note: the links at the bottom of the description leave out one of the documents, but you can find that through the seller's store. I would have just posted the links and auction number myself, but I wasn't sure if that is against forum rules.

The asking price is high even if you win all of the lots on one bid. However, since only the Berlin medal has bids, you might decide to fight for that one and then try again to negotiate with the seller again when the rest of the items don't sell.

I'm glad to see in interest in saving the group! I hope someone finds a way to keep it intact.

-Alex

[deValcourt]

The sad truth of the matter is that too many people are concerned ONLY with the money and more often than not, they don't know what they have and base the price of items on what they saw something similar go for on the e-place. How, if possible, to fix this I do not know. I haven't bought anything off of that place in a long time and stopped scanning it for the most part because every time I try to make a "reasonable" offer on an item that is clearly over-priced, I get the same responses all collectors get who know anything about what they are looking at. And when the stuff keeps recycling in my "watched items" all I can do is hang my head. Frankly, I'm just getting tired of trying with these "sellers." That is the main reason I've only been buying from folks here and one other seller I trust that I actually found via Facebook - go figure.

Phillip

[AllThingsSoviet]

I don't even understand why somebody would get involved with Soviet medals if they aren't interested in history. I'm sure there are easier and more lucrative ways to get money.
How they can handle any quantity of medals and documents and not develop and appreciation is beyond me.

RedMaestro, your 16 and into soviet militaria?! Fantastic! I started when I was 20 and I thought that was young.
Can I ask what got you interested?

[RedMaestro2]

Originally Posted by AllThingsSoviet

RedMaestro, your 16 and into soviet militaria?! Fantastic! I started when I was 20 and I thought that was young.
Can I ask what got you interested?

Well, I've always been interested in history. For example, I have done Civil War and Revolutionary War reenacting as a fifer for many years. But what sparked my interest in the USSR was two things. First, in school one day I all of a sudden I suddenly realized how little I knew about the eastern front during WW2 and the Soviet Union in general. So I started reading about both. Second, I saw an article in businessweek about militaria collecting (unfortunately, I didn't save the article and I have never been able to find a copy of it since). It mentioned Soviet items briefly and included a picture of an ORS. A while later, I saw one in a coin market and, remembering the article, bought it as curiosity. Over the past two years I've gotten more and more into it. What I love most about the hobby is the possibility for research and actually finding the story behind an award. That makes it much more meaningful than, say, an lone iron cross.

My mom, of course, would have preferred I never found the hobby, much like the wife of the average collector As long as I stay focused on medals (so as not to fill the house with piles of "junk" like trench shovels and bayonets), pay for everything with money I earn, and get good grades, though, she'll let me continue. That makes for a great incentive!

[Commissar]

Awesome!
I started when I was 15.
I got my first visor cap and have had a fascination with Russia since I was five.
There is something magical about that country.

...Why somebody would get into this hobby without any passion for it is beyond me, I find it terribly addicting.