Graduation Badges

[deValcourt]

Originally Posted by medals73

I have talked to a fair number of graduates, and this was EXACTLY the way the diplomas and badges were given out when you walked across the stage to shake hands and get your diploma.

No interest in selling (I am not dead yet), but always interest in sharing. :p

Mongolian school diamonds, you want Mongolian school diamonds, a nasty picture, but a start:

Man, I would be in "hog heaven" with a bag like that. I would probably stretch the time out to several weeks examining and classifying each of them. How'd you come across such a haul - if you don't mind divulging any secrets?;)

Phillip

[medals73]

I have been trying to sort out and make sense of these school diamonds for some time. And I have had only mixed success. What Battushig shows is only the tip of the icerberg (more so for these than even the aimag badges, I am discovering). The abbreviations used are also quite confusing. Before 1992, things were pretty organized and pretty clear as schools were State-run and didn't change their names too often, but after 1992 the floodgates have opened. Even the major maker of these badges in Ulanbaatar can't keep up with them. He now gets as many as eight or ten people coming in each week to have graduation badges made for their new (private) school. He used to try to keep a list but has given up on that now as there are too many. Friends are trying to get their hands on a copy of his list as it stood when he gave up.

I have been getting these over several years from friends in Ulanbaatar and on several visits there. During the period when there was a flood of items, these were easy to get. Not so much anymore.

[Bob]

Originally Posted by medals73

I have been getting these over several years from friends in Ulanbaatar and on several visits there. During the period when there was a flood of items, these were easy to get. Not so much anymore.

What do you think has caused the flood to dry out?

[medals73]

My analysis:

1- What came out of the Bank was a flood of nice things at nice prices. Those have now been digested by the collecting community (maybe a dozen serious addicts?).

2- There is not yet a sophisticated network to "harvest" things and bring them to market in UB. What comes, comes, mainly from UB and nearby. (Look at the aimags for which we see many badges and those from which we see almost none.)

3- Prices have risen quickly and outstripped the market.

4- When a fine reference source (Battushig's book) comes, it generates a bubble of interest on its own. As the book ages and goes out of print and stock, the interest ebbs but knowledge is also extended beyond it. (For example, what we did over at the "G"MIC, back then.) But when a second edition comes . . . .

5- To date, it has been largely a numismatic-style type collecting, filling holes in the stamp album. Once you have a G07 or even an A22.1, you don't need another. But when research gears up . . . . (We'll also know which pieces are awarded for something real, which are long service awards, and which are unawarded bank escapees.)

[Esteban_cool]

Here´s a military academy graduation badge. No clues about if it´s for junior or senior officers, but the starting price is 49.99 on epay.

[deValcourt]

Originally Posted by Esteban_cool

Here´s a military academy graduation badge. No clues about if it´s for junior or senior officers, but the starting price is 49.99 on epay.

That's a beauty.:thumbsup I guess I'll have to watch to see how high the price goes.;)

It would be nice if we knew more about it though...(hint hint to our Mongolian specialists out there):D

Phillip

[Tom R.]

I obtained one of these awhile back, and it was sold to me as a Border Guards Academy badge. Have no info otherwise.

[deValcourt]

Originally Posted by Tom R.

I obtained one of these awhile back, and it was sold to me as a Border Guards Academy badge. Have no info otherwise.

That's a very reasonable assumption because of the background color; in fact, I thought about that too. Since I only dabble in these pretties, I'm hardly an expert. But what I've seen so far of Mongolian badges, background colors don't always fit with the Soviet meanings. However, I guess we'll have to wait until somebody who knows more about these speaks up.

Thanks Tom for the input.:thumbsup

Phillip

[medals73]

So far, there hasn't been a lot of luck in matching up these military school badges to known institutions. We've had much better luck with the non-military badges. A related problem is that they weren't worn much, so the photographic evidence is limited (people preferentially wore their foreign Soviet badges.)

The colors can indeed be misleading. Sometimes they are the same as we see with Soviet badges and sometimes they aren't. This is Mongolia after all, so some of what seems to us to be randomness ought to be expected.

Knowing what the abbreviation means will be the key to understanding all these school badges, civil and military.

Some military school badge eye candy follows. Significantly, all these have the 1960-92 State arms. We haven't (yet?) seen any with the 1941-60 arms.

[Esteban_cool]

medals73,

regarding your academy badges, just this one comment: :love.