Here are my two latest additions to my collection of Mongolian Badges.
One of them is the piece I had to resolder the screw, mentioned on another thread. Which one?... I let you find out ;)
I'm starting with The Best Herder Type I (or J 01 on Dr. Battushig's book).
This is the lowest S/N I've seen so far, #15.
Front, back and the screwnut, a quite small one. There is what seems to be a mark on it, but I just don't know if it's indeed one, or if it's a number, in which case it looks like a #8. Would it be the screw for this Badge with S/N 8 ? I have no idea, and would like that other members (Ron, please check yours) with similar pieces check their screwnuts to see if they all have a mark or a number.
Thanks in advance.
This is part of a document, which remains pretty mysterious to me.
Central to the traditional Mongolian economy and culture were/are the famous "five snouts": Horses, camels, cows/yaks, goats, and sheep. While a declining number of Mongolians are engaged in herding, the horse still occupies a major place in Mongolian society and the sheep are a significant factor in the economy.
As central as herding has been and still is to Mongolian life, the distinctive herders' badges -- displaying the "five snouts" prominently -- are emblematic of Mongolian phaleristics. I'll try to provide an overview of these here and hope others can expand the knowledge base.
Type 1.2 -- Mongol legend, crude construction, mirror reverse, engraved number.
Presumably, this is a late variety where the serial number is engraved rather that being integrally cast into the badge. To date, only a few specimens have been reported: Low = 396/High = 399.
Type 2.1.1 -- Mongol legend, silvered bronze, mirror reverse, serial number at 10 o’clock.
Probably a transitional redesign. Strangely (as often happens with Mongolian awards -- think "Polar Star"!), the serial numbering seems to start over. The observed serial number range is Low = 32/High = 496.
Battushig J02b var.
I have several documents for this type 2 badge, I'll post them once I'm done with the badges.
Type 2.1.2 -- Mongol legend, mirror reverse, serial number at 7 o’clock.
While I remain unconvinced that, unless there are clear serial number "blocks", the placement of an engraved serial number means anything, I am showing these variants as separate sub-varieties. And I am fully aware as to how quickly this sort of micro-classification exercise can get quite silly.
The observed serial number range of this type is Low = 221/High = 4100.
Type 2.2.3 -- Mongol legend, flat reverse, silver.
At the end of this "Type 2" range, these badges were made in silver rather that in (sometimes poorly) silvered bronze. The observed serial numbers range is Low = 4164/High = 4586.
