USSR,
Fakes are very convincingly made these days. If you do not know what to look for, you may very much be convinced that what you received through the mail is kosher. Several months or years down the road, the buyer will discover the truth when he wants to realize his "investment".
The key is education. Fakers are not resting on their laurels, and are always improving their wares, making them more and more convincing. For example, they are now paying attention to the handwriting style used in specific SN intervals, and faking that too. Some medals are now faked almost to perfection (Odessa, Partisan 1 and 2), to the point that it has become impossible to give a 100% opinion if the medal is not in pristine condition :mad:
As collectore, we should stop and use what we have (supposedly!) between our ears. Of course, we are all on the lookout for bargains, stroke of luck and the like, and it may happen, once in a great while. But generally speaking, there is no such thing as free cheese, especially if it is coming from the Baltic countries. Remember that these guys were an integral part of the Soviet Union, that many of them have family on both sides of the border, and that, even if most deny it, they do speak Russian. They KNOW what things are worth, especially that Russians are coming regularly to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. So, anyone if free to believe in fairytales if they want, but remember, when you shell out your hard-earned money, you should be buying the piece of metal, not the story.
Marc
PS: I have a very strong suspicion that the $12,000+ HSU group that he sold not very long ago also had some "creative" elements included.
Fakes are very convincingly made these days. If you do not know what to look for, you may very much be convinced that what you received through the mail is kosher. Several months or years down the road, the buyer will discover the truth when he wants to realize his "investment".
The key is education. Fakers are not resting on their laurels, and are always improving their wares, making them more and more convincing. For example, they are now paying attention to the handwriting style used in specific SN intervals, and faking that too. Some medals are now faked almost to perfection (Odessa, Partisan 1 and 2), to the point that it has become impossible to give a 100% opinion if the medal is not in pristine condition :mad:
As collectore, we should stop and use what we have (supposedly!) between our ears. Of course, we are all on the lookout for bargains, stroke of luck and the like, and it may happen, once in a great while. But generally speaking, there is no such thing as free cheese, especially if it is coming from the Baltic countries. Remember that these guys were an integral part of the Soviet Union, that many of them have family on both sides of the border, and that, even if most deny it, they do speak Russian. They KNOW what things are worth, especially that Russians are coming regularly to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. So, anyone if free to believe in fairytales if they want, but remember, when you shell out your hard-earned money, you should be buying the piece of metal, not the story.
Marc
PS: I have a very strong suspicion that the $12,000+ HSU group that he sold not very long ago also had some "creative" elements included.
