HSU number 135 and Lenin 2888 set

[Tal Inbar]

Suddenly, there is a reserved price...

[Stepanovich]

This group had a reserve from the beginning.

[Nota Bene]

I hope you are not seriously considering it.

Alexei

[Stepanovich]

Alexei,
I'm not sure who your post was directed to, but if it was to me....I would never consider a purchase at this level without documentation, research and the opinion in writing of a highly respected expert. (You)

No, I'm not considering it.
Steve

[Nota Bene]

Steve,

I am sorry, for some reason I thought you were interested. Of course, this lot is fake, which includes the document. The HSU star is a very crude approximation. Makes me wonder if any of those bids are legit.

Alexei

[Art]

Fellow Members,

I was sent this by a known high-end collector who wishes to remain anonymous:

"First of all, about the hero star being offered on ebay, there is one glaring mistake which you should know about! I took these photos (note: this person supplied images of his three HSU's, which aren't included at his request) of my 3 medals...the middle and right are Type 1s. Look where the serial numbers are stamped on mine, then compare them with the one on ebay. Do you see the problem? The one on ebay is stamped much lower than mine!

Also, the border ridges seem to be much more pronounced than mine, like on a Border Reverse Glory Medal. Turn to Paul McDaniel's book, page 35 and take a look at the reverse of two medals...7231 (fake) and 3287 (real). Look at the raised border ridges on the fake...same as the one on ebay. It is too pronounced.


The suspension frame and plate is phoney.

Take a look at the Ordensakay Knizka...on the right. The cover looks worn, but the pages look new! Then there is the problem of the burn!
What was that about?? All the order booklets I had had the Russian "Gold Star" STAMPED with a rubber stamp, not handwritten. Check it out in McDaniel's book, page 390. But the big boo boo are the 2 identifical photos of the recipient. Now look very closely...the one on his hero booklet is real. But the one on the Ordenskaya Knizka is a copy, like a scanned copy. How do I know. Simple. The original has 2 specks on the right border...and the one on the Ordensakaya Knizka has the same specks, but the whole picture looks cleaner. And look where they stamped it...right below the guy's collar tab in the Hero booklet...and the stamp in the Ordenskaya Knizka is almost right on withe color tab! That tells me that the guy who faked it, took the rubber stamp and very carefully tried to place the stamp there to mimic the one in the Hero booklet. It would have been more believeable if the stamp was off a bit...the counterfeiter tried to do it perfectly and over compensated.

I would hate for any friends to get screwed by this. But I agree, the "consignment" and sold "AS IS" are two giant red flags!!! And yet, look at all those bids!!! Are they shills or dummies??

Can you take this and post it for me, minus the photo of my hero stars?
Thanks!"

[Eryk]

Originally Posted by Stepanovich

I would never consider a purchase at this level without documentation, research and the opinion in writing of a highly respected expert.

Words to live by!

[Nota Bene]

Art,

Thanks for posting it, and thanks to the anonymous collector for his opinion. I just want to add that everything, I mean every possible detail about this HSU star is wrong, from an ugly suspension to the huge serial number.

Alexei

[ericlida]

Originally Posted by Nota Bene

Steve,

I am sorry, for some reason I thought you were interested. Of course, this lot is fake, which includes the document. The HSU star is a very crude approximation. Makes me wonder if any of those bids are legit.

Alexei

I am not sure about other bids, but one is mine.:(
Thank you guys for your expertise and help. I would get in trouble with this lot. :confused:
Long live the Forum!!!! :thumbsup

[Henry Sakaida]

Very interesting analysis from alot of people! Thanks to all of you!

Several months ago, I saw an offer on ebay for a Hero star with a booklet. The Big Red flag? Surely you all must have caught it...the serial number on the star matched the serial number of the printed award booklet!!!!! So I decided to have "fun" with the seller and see what was going on. I wrote and she responded, saying that she was selling it for her husband and didn't know anything about these things! The next day, she had taken it off ebay! I told her that she would never be able to sell it to a serious collector unless she was willing to guarentee authenticity or have a COA from Paul McDaniel.

On the German stuff, I saw several Knights Cross oakleaves and oakleaves with swords suspensions coming out of Russia on ebay. One oakleaves cluster looked burned like it was in the oven. I think it was heated so that the seller could stamp L/12 and 800 onto the soft metal. I guess they want you to believe that they ripped them off from a Russian war museum. Some of the real stuff have been ripped off and made their way here.

There are clever people on the other side scheming this very minute to separate YOU from your hard earned (or ill gotten!!) money! You don't know them, yet you might be tempted to bid $$$ on an item sight unseen. I prefer to buy from reputable dealers or reputable collectors because they have done their due diligence and would never purchase a fake for resell...and they guarentee what they sell. Why take the risk yourself? Put the risk on them. You pay more, but you will get the real deal. Ebay is great for low end stuff, but when you get above $XXXX and the seller says "Consignment" , SOLD AS IS, and NO RETURN, compose yourself and say: "I am NOT a sucker, I am NOT a sucker, I am NOT a sucker!!!"