Order of The Badge Of Honor - Researchable?

[warsaw45]

I'm just curious to know if its possible to research an Order Of The Badge Of Honor. I have an award book for such a medal numbered: 411317 awarded to Anna Gerentewna Moskalenko

[desantnik]

Originally Posted by warsaw45

I'm just curious to know if its possible to research an Order Of The Badge Of Honor. I have an award book for such a medal numbered: 411317 awarded to Anna Gerentewna Moskalenko

If you don't have the accompanying authorization date, probably not.

[warsaw45]

Ok..I neglected to add that I have the award date as 9/7/1966and award book issued 10/8/1966. Both came after I posted a pic of book on here last year

[Kirchgoens]

From what I've seen in the former Soviet Union in my limited experience looking at the docs that cross my path, by the 1960's, the Badge of Honor, ORBL, and OLG3 (along with the DL and VL medals), were fairly common awards that tended to be given out en masse on certain "award" days each year in given republics (I've got several awards with docs to completely different people that have identical dates, and these dates roughly repeat each year over fairly long periods of time).

I've never seen a citation for these labor awards, just the docs. The docs tended to be per award (not many consolidated on one doc), so one doc with one award to one person could be just one of several or a complete one-order group. You've got no way to know. I also doubt a collector could ever find an actual citation for the average labor order from the 60's to the fall.

I've picked up a couple groups that tend to indicate that labor awards came in succession over a career: a medal (DL or VL), followed by OBH, followed maybe by OLG3, followed by ORBL. Then for a more distinguished person, that might be followed by an OOR or OFP. I've got a group that has OBHx2, ORB, and OOR, all with docs, but no indication whatsoever of citations. I think it's a shot in the dark that will usually never hit the target.

I'm told that might not be the case in the 40's and before when the awards didn't come as easily. Maybe someday someone will dig into one of the Pravda editions of the 30's and find and catalog award lists? They've got to be somewhere. Still, I think it's a long shot for the labor stuff.

To further confuse the issue, I bet that the many, many GPW veterans with later labor awards will not have those labor awards on their award cards. I've got at least one mixed military/labor group that seems to indicate that the military awards may be consolidated on one doc, but the labor awards were on separate docs. It's a set with CSM and ORS (almost certainly long service) on one doc and a couple labor awards on their own docs. I bet the military award card doesn't have the labor awards, but I don't know.

...Brian

[warsaw45]

Mmm thanks for that Brian! Some interesting points raised there. What I always find odd is how you can either have a: Medal & Award Book b: Medal or c: Award Book (Me) How do they ever become seperated??? Anyway, your help is appreciated!

[Eryk]

Originally Posted by warsaw45

Mmm thanks for that Brian! Some interesting points raised there. What I always find odd is how you can either have a: Medal & Award Book b: Medal or c: Award Book (Me) How do they ever become seperated??? Anyway, your help is appreciated!

Reasons/theories heard here are that some had multiple award books, so losing one didn't impact benefits; only the award book was needed to get benefits, not the actual award, so it could be sold, etc without losing benefits; and when these things get into circulation dealers in them are not at all conscientious about keeping things together if there's money to be made in separating them.

[Kirchgoens]

Having bought awards directly from families or from the guy who had just bought them from families, I've learned a couple reasons for the separation of docs and medals. Erik got part of it in his post already.

1. For some awards, the holder keeps the booklets because they can still get privileges in some former Soviet republics. This is why it's sometimes not too hard to get a Mother Heroine large doc, but the small doc often stays with the owner when she lets the rest go. Finding all three boxes for such a set is another matter...

2. Some won't let go of the booklets because they do not want the award traced back to them, or they or the family simply feel ashamed in letting go of the award - the booklet being the proof of that. I've also seen serial numbers on the medals intentionally defaced because of this. I have an OG3 and OFP with this sort of damage, and another OG3 that may have been so defaced.

3. Many families simply lose the docs because paper doesn't hold up like metal. Even today with all the talk of the rise of Russia, poverty is endemic, and the money very unevenly distributed with massive corruption. People are not doing well throughout the non-Baltic former Soviet republics, and it's a trial just to survive, let alone keep together paperwork that doesn't much matter anymore for daily survival.

4. The first line of buyers are not "professional" dealers. They are often guys who go from house to house in villages or are known in local markets as buyers. They are turning a buck, but they know very little about what they are dealing in. Often they sell what they pick up to melters at around $0.40/gram for silver. Families come to these first line guys with awards, and sell for a generally cheap price. These first line buyers are often not aware of the additional value of the booklets, and thus don't look for them, often don't even ask for them, let them go, or even throw them away. The dealers you all know from here or on the web are often several steps removed from the original purchase that occurs quick for cash at or near a bazaar or local market. There's still a lot of this stuff down at the town and village level bubbling to the surface, but not the high-end rare stuff. Still, OG3's and below and lots of labor stuff still show up as families sell off the awards of recently passed grandparents. I also see the occasional OG2 and OPW1, but very little higher than that now. I will say that the amount to be found has actually dropped significantly in just the past year.

5. Families just don't see value in a doc. I know first hand of a veteran's son who broke up an LS group of CSM/ORS/ORB/OL by selling the ORB with the booklet and leaving the Lenin for later selling. He sold the ORB less than two years ago for $85, and then tried to get a good price for the Lenin just before Christmas. He ended up getting $200 less because he didn't have the booklet. He had only a xerox copy, and was confused and upset that he had let the booklet go with the lower award earlier. I was not the buyer: I passed on this one, but I know the guy and his family.

[warsaw45]

Thanks both for your detailed responses. Those points of view make sense to me Pity when you have to sell medals. Sign of the times me thinks!

[riley1965]

Tony,
I've tried to get my BoH researched. Both researchers that we all know have said that Labour awards are not yet researchable.

Best,
Doc

[warsaw45]

Looks like its a bit of a dead end Doc You might be interested... Currently for sale on the Russian Glory website...BOH's (part of groups) with serial numbers awarded in 1966:

407314 LISAK F A
428663 RESHETNYAK U K
459655 BONDARENKO F P

Wide range of numbers for one year

Tony