Medals for battle merit

[Kohima]

Finally getting round to posting a few of my Soviet medals!
I acquired most of them from Russia in the very early 1990s, just as Russia was opening up, from all manner of little junk shops and street markets. I’ve never been a medal collector, per se, but it was there.. so was I! It was a remarkable time, like walking into a spy novel, and curiously exciting to be stopped and asked for your papers.. Far less so if it was a daily occurrence for you, of course.

I’ll start with these three examples.. all self explanatory.



And a couple of close ups..

[kmoney10]

Can someone comment on the No 11449 engraving? Is it supposed to be that way? To me it seems like the medal is made out of stone and then engraved (or maybe its the light)? Not saying it's not an authentic medal, just trying to broaden my knowledge.

[Marcel Banziger]

My guess would be a very dark oxidation from the silver. Old silver teaspoons give the same effect. I don't know but I assume it is the lighting that makes the serial number so bright.

[toot]

very nice items!

[Leaftree]

I tend to agree with Marcel, I think it's a flash reflection. I'm not fully familiar with the lower number engravings but have we seen examples with the numbers underscored like this before?

The medal #100087 is possibly a Stalingrad award, I would get it researched.

[kmoney10]

Interesting, thank you for the valuable information!

[Leaftree]

Could also be chalk. I've seen some people use that on serial numbers to make them more visable.

[Marcel Banziger]

Apart from the underscored numbers another thing that I noticed is that the letter N is different than all others I have seen. But then again, I have to admit I have not seen any medals in the 10000-19999 range. All those medals in the 20000 and 30000 range have a similar N with this distinctive curl, not like the one here in this thread. But as said, I have not seen any medals below the 20000 range so I can't compare these.

[32Artillery]

Hi Kohima,
Can you please post a clear closeup picture of the areas I've circled in the attached pic of your first pattern Merit Medal please.
Also, what is the thickness of this medal?
I have some concerns but don't want to say anything until I see clearer pictures.

Cheers

[Kohima]

The white infill appears to be paint.
As for the authenticity of the medal, I have absolutely no doubts or concerns about it whatsoever. Myself and a couple of friends were collecting Soviet militaria when virtually no-one else in the West was (or so it seemed), and there is nothing suspect about this example in hand.

With regard to the engraving style, I feel that collectors tend, or try, to set far too much store in these things..
We have to remember that these are hand-engraved.. by numerous craftspeople. There will always be microscopic, sometimes clear, variation.
With Soviet items, perhaps more than any others, the propensity for variation is huge.. ‘textbook’ is rarely a term that can be employed in this field. No textbook can be complete - until every example has been recorded. A faker’s paradise, to be sure. But as we collect, so our collective knowledge grows..

Returning to this example, it is heavily tarnished, as Marcel suspects, but weight, size and feel are all good. I shall endeavour to get a good detail shot for you, however..
I tend to use the iPad for photographing items for this site, as it’s far simpler than uploading and mucking about, but I shall set the Nikon onto it!

Thanks for your interest and best wishes to all,
Bob