12-16-2007, 01:09 AM
ANZAC Wrote:An interesting tale if it's true.
I picked up an item from a gentleman today who collects Soviet uniforms. He related a story to me of how he lived in and worked in the Ukraine for 6 years.
Not advocating for the authenticity of course, but wouldn't the time frame be important? Ie, which 6 years was he there, and when did the transaction take place?
My understanding is that right after the fall was a chaotic time. Many people had little idea of value outside of their experience in a largely closed society with a centrally controlled economy. Was there even the notion of paying big bucks to "collect" things that had little intrinsic value? Even today we hear of orders and medals being melted down to reclaim precious metal, netting a fraction of what the melter could get if they simply sold it on eBay. And this is going on two decades after the economy opened up. $5,000.00 is a lot of money now, even moreso back then. True, not to a collecter of militaria for a uniform owned by one of the greatest generals of WWII. But even now if I showed my wife a picture of it (and it was authentic), without explanation, and said I was going to break into the piggy bank for a spare five grand, she'd look at me funny.
Anyway, 100 to 1 it's a fraud. But more specifics about the timing would be interesting.
