Order of Friendship 2nd opinion

[kmoney10]

Hi All,

I am trying to get a second opinion on the friendship order found on ebay. Also if anyone dealt with this seller: https://www.ebay.com/usr/psysheja
Seems like he is selling on consignment, because i question the authenticity of some of the other items he is selling.
But i don't see anything wrong with this one...

I do apologize for the crappy photos, but that's all he is got.

[Leaftree]

kmoney10,

These to me are one of the Soviet Unions more eye pleasing medals.
The pictures the seller has provided are not very good, but upon closer inspection I think I can see the details or lack of that indicate that this medal is a fake.
- Details of the scroll and enamel are sloppy.
- Hands do not look like originals (look at the thumb to the Right of CCCP)
- The wreath at the 6 o'clock position.

Here's a link to another forum that has an excellent thread by JapanX on the fake:
Fake Orders of Friendship of Peoples: Baltic Vintage - Russia: Soviet Orders, Medals & Decorations - Gentleman's Military Interest Club

Hope that helps,

Regards,

[Marcel Banziger]

When I look for items on Ebay I always follow one important rule: if the provided pics are crappy there is usually something to hide (especially with the more expensive items like this order).
I don't have one of these myself so I can't compare but what Leaftree says makes sense. And I was aware of that thread provided in the link which is indeed a really good read. Matt from Sovietorders has some excellent photos online as well so these are great for comparison.

So based on Leafree's opinion plus reading that mentioned thread on the other forum my conclusion also would be that this is a fake. But again, my opinion is purely based on the above plus comparing the one that started this thread with the high quality pics on Matt's website.

As a sidenore: these are indeed among the most beautiful awards that I know of!

[kmoney10]

Thank you for the contribution, I decided to stay away from this seller.
A valuable thread, i will review in detail.
I thought these were harder to fake, but i guess not.