Medals, Orders, Patches, Ribbons and other decorations Thread - General

[IMG]http://www.americacaresusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Medals-Banner.png[/IMG] Hi and welcome to the Medals/Orders etc Thread. I was looking through old other militaria threads but they were more focused on guns and wanted to make one just for this topic as there are non-military awards aswell. I couldn't find any specific part of the forum where this would fit so i thought I'd go with GD. Either way let's get this show on the road. Medals, awards or orders are decorations for different types of merits and extraordinary feats of courage and discipline. I wanted to make this thread to have one megathread for other collectors to discuss this topic and gain more knowledge. [B][quote]"Questions and Answers"[/quote] Q: [U][I]"What does it take to start collecting decorations?"[/I][/U][/B] [B]A:[/B] It all depends on which kind of decorations you're going to collect. If you're going for sport medals then it's probably up to you to earn them. Most countries these days don't have the biggest amounts of civilian decorations to be earned. But if you happen to do something extraordinary for your country there still are a couple of decorations to be earned. Different civilian departments (Firefighters, Police, Medical) have their own medals aswell. And then ofcourse there are military awards to be earned. [B]Q: [U][I]"That's all in good fun but i'm not going to try to earn them, how should i proceed to have a collection"[/I][/U][/B] [B]A: [/B]Okay there are different approaches to have a collection. Many people have relatives who fought in different wars/been in departments and have then passed away. Sometimes these decorations are passed through in the family but is up to your relatives and a sensitive subject. The most popular way is to buy decorations on different fairs and over the internet. Most of my collection was bought by my dad during the fall of the Soviet Union in different Eastern European countries from militarymen. Those times were a bit different as everyone tried to sell everything for any money. So you can wait for North Korea to fall apart but that might take some time. Also you'll probably want to have a real one and there are countless of fakes out there. We'll get to the question on identifying decorations on the next question. [B] Q:[I][U]"Allright i have a collection, how do i know it's not fake?"[/U] [/I][/B] [B]A:[/B] This is probably the hardest part for any collector. There are many ways to identify a fake from a real one. This varies [B]VERY [/B]much depending on what type of medals you collect and from which country and era. My collection is from the Soviet Union during and post the WW2 era. So i'll try to give as many guidelines that could be applied to all kinds of medals due to the fact that i don't know so much about other countries medals. [B]1.[/B] Most medals and orders have serial numbers engraved (Soviet ones are usually written in cursive) on the backside. This was to know who the medal belongs to and looks usually like this: [IMG]http://i40.tinypic.com/1q6a2e.jpg[/IMG] [B] 2.[/B] Internet and books. Probably the easiest source and great amounts information. They'll help you identify what kind it is and how a person could earn it and how the originals look like. [B]3. [/B]Some medals come with certificates of authenticity: [IMG]http://i43.tinypic.com/241v0ig.jpg[/IMG] [B]4.[/B] Medal ribbon bars. The ribbon bars are usually to show what kind of medal it is and what grade it is of. For example let's take a look on the Order of Labour Glory. The banner for the medal looks like this: [IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Order_labor_glory1_rib.png[/IMG] The single red stripe means it's of the 1st class. [IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Order_labor_glory2_rib.png[/IMG] Here we have two stripes meaning it's of the 2nd class. If said medal wouldn't have these colors it might mean it's a fake or that they've swapped ribbon on it making it less valuable. Ribbons are usually worn in rows on your chest so that you don't have to wear 40 medals clinging while still showing of your awards. [IMG]http://www.army.mil.nz/nr/rdonlyres/b6aa2dac-3590-4934-9cde-30ba95468309/0/ak07030982.jpg[/IMG] [B] Q:[I][U]"Okay i have my collection, shit is real, What do?" [/U][/I][/B][B] A: [/B]Well there isn't more to it, but you might want to keep them clean. To do that you'll probably want to start with taking of the ribbon as many cleaning products can fuck your shit up. After that you should probably go with a silver cleaning product which you apply with a soft cloth and wash of carefully. Last step would be polishing it and buffing it with another cloth. This should help you keep your award neat and clean:eng101: [B]Q:"[U]Are there any non obtainable medals?" [/U][/B] [B]A: [/B]As far as my knowledge goes there is one you'll probably never have unless you break into the kremlin wall necropolis or dig through Eisenhowers' or Montgomerys' grave: [IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/Orden-Pobeda-Marshal_Vasilevsky.jpg/110px-Orden-Pobeda-Marshal_Vasilevsky.jpg[/IMG] The Order of Victory. Shit is made out of platinum, rubies and 150 diamonds and there were only 20 awarded. Good luck. I also think that you can't really get a Medal of Honor unless you earn it since it's not allowed to sell them under some kind of Stolen Valor Act but i might be wrong so please correct me on that. Well that's pretty much my tutorial for any starting collector and i hope you enjoyed the read :smile:. Here are some of mine: [IMG]http://i43.tinypic.com/24fd1e1.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i44.tinypic.com/jr6zus.jpg[/IMG] Anniversary Medals (Left to right) 1.Medal "For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic war of 1941-1945" 2x 2.Medal in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Soviet Armed Forces. 3.Medal of for "20th anniversay in Victory in the Great Patriotic war of 1941-1945" 4.Medal "For Military Merit". Instituted in 1938. [IMG]http://i42.tinypic.com/zvqt6p.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i42.tinypic.com/34zkh2x.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i39.tinypic.com/1085ks6.jpg[/IMG] Great Patriotic war Defensive Campaign medals(left to right) 1.Medal "For the Defence of Sevastopol" 2.Medal "For the Defence of Leningrad" 2x 3.Medal "For the Defence of the Transpolar Region" 4.Medal "For the Defence of Kiev" 5.Medal "For the Defence of Moscow" 6.Medal "To Partisan of the Patriotic War" 1st Class and 2nd Class in order. [IMG]http://i39.tinypic.com/1z39it0.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i40.tinypic.com/2dl1wkp.jpg[/IMG] Orders (Military) 1."Badge of the Guards" Presented to the entire personnel of the Soviet Army's Guards units and formations 2.Order of the Patriotic War. 1st class. 3.Order of Glory 4.Order of the Red Star [IMG]http://i42.tinypic.com/9gwtfk.jpg[/IMG] Orders (Civilian) 1.Order of Labour Glory. Unfortunately i can't tell if it's a second class or third since i lost the ribbon which has different amounts of stripes depending on which class it is. it's definately not 1st class since the first class has gold around it and is red in the middle. 2.Order of the Banner of Labour. 3.Order of the Badge of Honour 4.Medal for cleaning up in chernobyl. (I really hope this one is a fake though). [IMG]http://i39.tinypic.com/ml1af8.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i42.tinypic.com/b63mlk.jpg[/IMG] Rare/Exceptional Medals/Orders. 1.Order of Lenin 2.Order of Alexander Nevsky 3.Order of the Red Banner

I have a fake Iron Cross, I wear it to school everyday. [editline]26th February 2012[/editline] I'm sorry Peter the bump did nothing!1

[QUOTE=Swebonny;34884054]I have a fake Iron Cross, I wear it to school everyday. [editline]26th February 2012[/editline] I'm sorry Peter the bump did nothing!1[/QUOTE] They never do!1

I got the National Defense, Global War on Terrorism, AF Basic Training and 2 Outstanding Unit Awards. Nothing special :(.

I wish I had money to fund habits like this.

National Defense, GWOT, and a NAM. Also got 5 meritorious masts masts. I suppose I could include my expert marksman badge.

I had some old soviet union pins, but I ripped off the little nibbly bit on the back so I could weld it to my lighter. Trench art is cool.

[QUOTE=UncleJimmema;34886946]National Defense, GWOT, and a NAM. Also got 5 meritorious masts masts. I suppose I could include my expert marksman badge.[/QUOTE] Could you spell out the whole sentence for NAM and GWOT? Im having trouble googling out what it means

[QUOTE=Swebonny;34884054]I have a fake Iron Cross, I wear it to school everyday. [editline]26th February 2012[/editline] I'm sorry Peter the bump did nothing!1[/QUOTE] you're a cool guy

[QUOTE=Gmans Granny;34887014]Could you spell out the whole sentence for NAM and GWOT? Im having trouble googling out what it means[/QUOTE] Global War on Terrorism and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medal. They call it a NAM since it was originally just called the Naval Achievement Medal

[QUOTE=UncleJimmema;34887034]Global War on Terrorism and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medal. They call it a NAM since it was originally just called the Naval Achievement Medal[/QUOTE] Is there a reason the airforce is not included as apparently it's given to both ground and naval forces? (Excluding the army)

[QUOTE=Gmans Granny;34887120]Is there a reason the airforce is not included as apparently it's given to both ground and naval forces? (Excluding the army)[/QUOTE] Airforce has their own medal.

Not really a collection, but kinda cool: My father was named "Officer of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit" for his works as a univeristy professor where I live. He's been there for over 40 years teaching Scandinavian studies, so the King awarded him this medal: [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/01/Royal_Norwegian_Order_of_Merit_cross.jpg/250px-Royal_Norwegian_Order_of_Merit_cross.jpg[/img] [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Den_kongelige_norske_fortjenstorden_ridder_1_klasse_stripe.svg/94px-Den_kongelige_norske_fortjenstorden_ridder_1_klasse_stripe.svg.png[/img] As I recall, it's the highest Norwegian decoration that can be awarded to a foreigner. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I actually got to shake hands with the Norwegian ambassador to Canada when he came here to award my father. Was pretty cool. This looks like a pretty cool hobby though, something I actually might get into. I'm gonna have to keep an eye out for some.

That's really neat! Cudos to your dad!

I got a Jet Service Medal! :downs: [img]http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSAU-ghm8mduL-x49MnB_7CNNBOBJoC7uBhv9lEo51F1thiZWahBU_iUMKo[/img]

Well I bought these in Washington DC... [t]http://i.imgur.com/0BotS.jpg[/t] [t]http://i.imgur.com/tHzZn.jpg[/t] Also I have a Black Ops medal from when I bought the Hardened Edition. [t]http://cdn2.callofduty.com/assets/codbo/images/intel/large/Row4a.jpg[/t] I have an impressive collection.

oversized pics inbound USSR [img]http://filesmelt.com/dl/medalsnpins1.jpg[/img] Some American coins [img]http://filesmelt.com/dl/coins1.jpg[/img] Russian Patches and other misc items [img]http://filesmelt.com/dl/patchesRUSSIAMISC_11.jpg[/img] American [img]http://filesmelt.com/dl/patchesAmerica.jpg[/img]

fyi its [noparse][t][/t][/noparse]

Yeah those were a bit to big

National Defense, GWOT, and Pistol Sharpshooter. Working on my overseas service and 3 years of community volunteering. Hopefully a NAM too :P. what did you do to get rated a NAM Jimemma? Also. Awesome BUMED Force Master Chief coin Nesto. What's the story behind it and which BUMED FORCM did it belong to? (BUMED FORCM is in my chain of command) I had the chance to personally meet the last BUMED FORCM, Master Chief Martinez and the current one Master Chief Boss.

I've been looking for an Imperial Iron Cross for a loooong time now, anybody know where to find one?

I want a Liquidator Medal so badly :(

[QUOTE=NotMeh;34893476]I've been looking for an Imperial Iron Cross for a loooong time now, anybody know where to find one?[/QUOTE] It depends. Where are you from and also how far are you willing to go to get one? I have bought many of my other militaria stuff including a Iron Cross from a fair called Jarmark in Gdansk Poland. It usually starts somewhere in the middle of summer. Another hot tip is St.Petersburg, they have infinite amounts of military collectors from WW2 and before. I drove throughout the whole route of the 101st airborne and polish forces in france to get a original 101st airborne bayonett from St.Mere Eglise. Ill post it when i get home!

[QUOTE=Swebonny;34884054]I have a fake Iron Cross, I wear it to school everyday.[/QUOTE] I think i would get excluded if i wore my 25 attack Luftwaffe ground assault badge to college [t]http://i44.tinypic.com/2cgoi2a.png[/t]

Oops, didnt realize the pics were so big from the post preview. Fixed em