Early post-war cap stars

[EricFG]

Post your examples here.

One of mine that came in today. Fairly heavy, non-magnetic (either part), brobably brass, with real enamel and traces of the gold wash on the front.
This looks unused. :confused:

[Komandir RKKA]

1955 tompak and enamel made officer's cocarde.

[RichieC]

There also exist two-piece variations of these - both Soviet and high quality German made. Legend has it that these were intended for use by the higher ranks such as Generals and etc...

The example to the left I believe to be German made - as the aforementioned high quality is apparent even in my lousy images... :D

[EricFG]

All I gotta do is think about cap stars and Richie stops by. :)
I notice your example on the right and mine have a rope-like border to the white enamel area whereas your other example does not.
As always you have great pieces Richie. Out of curiousity how many cockardes in your collection dare I ask?

I got lucky on this one from eBay. The picture wasn't that great and this badge was lumped in with about 15 other non-cap badges. I was focusing on the tankers badge and just figure this cockarde was the usual, cheapo aluminium variety. Imagine my gratified feeling upon finding enamel and heavy metal. :)

[RichieC]

Thanks Eric,

I always like discussing these little guys... :thumbsup

I did not even notice that "border" that you mentioned - until you did. I own a lot of German made insignia, not only cap stars and they often vary in design from their Soviet counterparts. For example, the Germans actually made two piece stars.

Here are two examples:

[RichieC]

Originally Posted by EricFG

Out of curiousity how many cockardes in your collection dare I ask?

I really have not counted, but I suppose a few hundred. I have most of them stored in gem cases and they look pretty nice. Perhaps someday I'll get around to sorting them all out and photographing all the different variations so as to share with my associate collectors on the forums.

Lately, I have been concentrating on finding and researching oddities like this gem:

[UQWozza]

Very nice :thumbsup

[Ser-g]

Here are 3 that i have laing around, i always wondered how old they were.

The fist one left came to me on a early m69 kgb cap.
The second one i bought once to finish a cap. but turned out to be different.
The third one came to me with a cap and parade cocard of a m55.

let me know what you think of the age and rarity ?

[EricFG]

The first lacks the rope border, like Richie's DDR-made star. It also has what looks like a lead-based solder on the reverse. My guess is that's the oldest.

It's so hard to tell from the pictures, is it a heavy brass or tombak type metal? I just noticed it's a tw-piecer, that's cool! So I'd guess late 40s/early 50s.

The other two have that light gray or tan solder or adhesive which I attribute to pre-1970 more or less.

The other two are enamel I think? It's hard to tell from the washed out image. Are they still brass/tombak/heavy metal? If so I'd guess late 50s to mid 60s.

And Richie, that Latvian star is sweeeet! Top quality. I'd guess that is where the boys at the "Baltic Mint" cut their teeth.

[Ser-g]

Originally Posted by EricFG

The first lacks the rope border, like Richie's DDR-made star. It also has what looks like a lead-based solder on the reverse. My guess is that's the oldest.

It's so hard to tell from the pictures, is it a heavy brass or tombak type metal? I just noticed it's a tw-piecer, that's cool! So I'd guess late 40s/early 50s.

The other two have that light gray or tan solder or adhesive which I attribute to pre-1970 more or less.

The other two are enamel I think? It's hard to tell from the washed out image. Are they still brass/tombak/heavy metal? If so I'd guess late 50s to mid 60s.

And Richie, that Latvian star is sweeeet! Top quality. I'd guess that is where the boys at the "Baltic Mint" cut their teeth.

Indeed the first one is a 2piece with out the rope.
And very good and nice quality enamel.

The second and 3rd are very heavy and i think not brass bud tombak.
They are both enamel of good quality. the second is slightly bigger in circle than the 3rd one. i guess thats the main difference between them.

hope this helps.