ww1 Imperial Russian St. George medal for bravery class 4?

[Antipater]

I recently picked up this medal on eBay which I believe is an imperial Russian St. George medal for bravery class 4? and I was wondering if it's real or not because it looks authentic (at least to me).
Sadly the number is quite badly scratched up, but I believe its something like "No. 10220?3" I might be able to take a better picture when it arrives.
Either way I got it for $26 AUD.
Any help is appreciated.



PS: it was listed as a "ww2 Russian medal".

[Antipater]

is it possible to research the person this medal was awarded to

[ericfg]

Not sure about the authenticity of this one but I've never seen such a lightly struck 'No' and serial number. Does the seller stock what look to be good items or are they mostly dubious items? Yes, they can be researched but not all awards infos survived the two wars so sometimes the returns are 'no info available'.

[Antipater]

thanks for replying, the seller only had a couple of items mostly bayonets which were likely original, the only bad thing I noticed was a cigarette case which was obviously a fake.
The fake in question.

[Antipater]

Medal just arrived, the number appears to be No.1029043
Took some new pics in two different lightings.




Also found the rim has very faint letter's on it "CAPT"? (captain?) there are more letters but are very hard to read.

[ericfg]

Here's some images of my two (with a Zeal added since it's similar.) Not sure why there's a seam running around the edge of yours. I don't like that. As for the lettering; that might be from a medal awarded to a Brit (or Australian, if Oz named their medals in WW1.)

[Antipater]

thanks ericfg means a lot, would make sense since I bought it in Australia.
after looking at the lettering on the rim it has a lot of text (only other letter legible is an "A" at the end possibly part of a unit abbreviation) that's been erased by a file or something.

PS: Don't know if this helps but I tested it with a strong magnet and it didn't pick it up and tried bending it (gently) to see if it was pewter but didn't bend (silver?).

[Watchdog]

[QUOTE=ericfg;2266323]Here's some images of my two (with a Zeal added since it's similar.) Not sure why there's a seam running around the edge of yours. I don't like that. As for the lettering; that might be from a medal awarded to a Brit (or Australian, if Oz named their medals in WW1.)

It was the line around the edge that struck me first of all. To my mind that is a very strong indication of casting. This together with the very feint number (which as you can see from the examples shown by ericfg above should be sharply stamped) and the very soft detail (as opposed to it having been eroded) especially on the reverse gives me a pretty negative feeling about this one.

It is true that this is a medal that may have been awarded to British personnel but that would have been a very small number (which would make it very rare if substantiated) and I have not seen any documented. If it was it would still be unnamed as issued unless impressed privately. Also, bear in mind that the "Medal of St George for Bravery" was for enlisted ranks and if any British personnel were decorated it was more likely to be an officer who would have received the Cross of St George.

Were there any Australian personnel who served alongside Russian troops in WWI?

The price you paid is also a red flag unless the seller had absolutely no clue. In UK, I would expect to be faced with asking prices in the low three figure Sterling range.

I would qualify my reply by saying I am no expert in Imperial Russian awards but this is based on my over all knowledge of history and militaria as well as general collecting experience.
So, I could be wrong but I think this is a fairly poor copy. Sorry.

Of course it is no help in this case but unless really sure about an item it is always a really good idea to post it here before parting with your hard earned cash.

Regards

Mark

[Antipater]

thanks for the reply Watchdog always helps, the rim seam looks to me as more of a indent but does still look bad to me as well, Australians served in the Russian civil war but in very very small numbers mainly as advisors to the Russians according to the "Australian war memorial".

the seller sold it as a "ww2 Russian medal" and had no description, the 2 pictures at the very top are the only ones he had of it.

Thanks again watchdog for your help is always appreciated.

[Watchdog]

Well it's not WWII for sure!

Any chance of returning it?

Regards

Mark