Soviet Medals

Medals Commemorating Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945

Medals Commemorating Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945
20th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Established 7 May 1965. Awarded to all servicemen and employed civilians of the Soviet Armed Forces who actively participated in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, to partisans and members of clandestine underground organizations who operated within occupied territories of the USSR, and to those previously awarded with medals "For Victory over Germany" or "Victory over Japan".
Type 1 A
	No further information. full obverse pic detail pic
30th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Established 25 April 1975. Same requirements for award as 20th Anniversary medal (see above). Three variations exist, all with the same ribbon and obverse. For military service, with the legend "To the Participant of War" on the reverse. For distinguished labor, with the legend "To the Participant of the Labor Front" on the reverse. For special military delegations arriving in Moscow to take part in 30th anniversary celebrations, only the legend "XXX years of victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" appears on the reverse. All are made of Brass. 11,000,000 were issued to military participants, 3,000,000 were issued to labor front workers, and 5,000 to members of foreign delegations.
Variation 1 A
	Military version. full obverse pic detail pic
Variation 2 R1
	Labor version. detail pic
Variation 3 R4
WANTED	Foreign version.
40th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Established 12 April 1985. Same requirements for award as 20th Anniversary medal (see above). Three variations exist. For military service, with the legend "To the Participant of War" on the reverse. For distinguished labor, with the legend "To the Participant of the Labor Front" on the reverse. For special military delegations arriving in Moscow to take part in 40th anniversary celebrations, only the legend "XXX years of victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" appears on the reverse. All are made of Brass. 8,000,000 were issued to military participants, 3,000,000 were issued to labor front workers, and 5,000 to members of foreign delegations.
Variation 1 A
	Military version. full obverse pic detail pic
Variation 2 R1
	Labor version. full obverse pic detail pic
Variation 3 R4
	Foreign version. full obverse pic detail pic

Rarity Key

A: Abundant, readily available, often in wholesale quantities.
C: Common, always available. Occasionally in quantity.
R1: Usually available without a long delay. Difficult to find in quantity.
R2: Scarce to rare, less seldom available.
R3: Rare. Difficult to find.
R4: Very rare. Demand outstrips supply, and specimens, when available are often eagerly sought.
R5: Extremely rare and seldom available. Collector may have to search for a few years to locate one.
R6: Of the highest rarity. Very difficult to obtain.
R7: Almost never available. Most collectors will not have a chance to acquire these pieces.
R8: Never been on the market. Almost impossible to obtain.
R*: Not available for collections.

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Serial Numbers Database

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