Glory.

[slava1stclass]

Doug,

I think you're absolutely correct regarding having a complete "package" of awards to a given Full Knight. Unfortunately, it's something that one encounters very infrequently. For the purposes of this ranking I consciously elected to focus exclusively on the core element - the Orders of Glory and their associated documentation. If the set includes one, more or all of the Full Knight's additional awards the associated effect on the grouping's value is clear.

You raise a good point concerning a set that has both the Ordenskaya Knizhka and the Full Knight booklet. As you correctly stated, this too, is encountered less often than one would think. I'll consider modifying the ranking to take this into account. In my heart of hearts, however, I personally do not believe that having the OK in addition to the Full Knight booklet adds greatly to the desirability/collectability of your average Full Knight set unless the OK indicates additional awards and the awards are included/available with the group. Nonetheless, great observation/suggestion.

Unfortunately, very early on (i.e., the early 1990's) as Glories started to make their way out of the former Soyuz, many Full Knight sets were unintentionally broken up. The emphasis was on the 1st Class given its status/gold content. The associated 2nd and 3rd Class awards were simply disregarded. As the collector market began to develop in the West, the demand from historically-minded collectors for complete Full Knight sets made itself known and these break ups became less frequent. What this collector demand also spawned, however, was the appearance of slight of hand attempts to compile a Full Knight set after the fact by jury rigging 2nd and 3rd Classes to "match" the legitimate 1st Class as a set.

As a final note, judging from the numbers of genuine "loose" Glory 1st Class orders I personally observed in the early to mid-90's (as they first hit the streets in the West), to own a legitimate, matched Full Knight set (regardless of whether it has accompanying supporting documentation or not) is an accomplishment in and of itself.

Thanks again.

Regards,

slava1stclass

To all,

At the moment, a well-known dealer is offering a Full Knight set with one accompanying order and many additional medals and badges. As proof of its authenticity, he is including color photos of the Full Knight Award Booklet, the Ordenskaya Knizhka and the Voenny Bilet. No original booklets are included.

While I can understand why the booklets may have been retained by the family (and hopefully not by potential forgers), for the price he's asking, one would be better served by acquiring a set with at least one of the aforementioned documents in hard copy (as opposed to a photograph).

Although acquiring an authentic, complete Full Knight set (with or without documentation) is an accomplishment in and of itself, the presence of the accompanying booklet(s)/paperwork should factor into the price - either upwards or downwards. For that reason alone, I personally would steer clear of this set.

Regards,

slava1stclass