Let’s see some Commie Enamel

[Ferdinand]

Here's a Soviet Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Class, also produced by the Krasnokamsk Mint, serial number 44030. It was awarded on 17 November 1943 to Guards Major Fyodor Alekseyevich Savelyev, the deputy chief of the reconnaisance section of the 5th Guards Tank Army. He got this OPW2 for organizing the reconnaisance well. Repeatedly he headed reconnaisance groups, operating on enemy territory. Several times they made prisoners, who revealed usefull information. Once they managed to capture documents from the SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Totenkopf (mentioned in the citation). Savelyev retired in 1955 as a Colonel.

[Ferdinand]

You stated that the order was converted to a screwback, do you think this was done by Sr Lt Mamoshin or was it done by a dealer/seller for dishonest reasons?

I'm guessing it was done by the recipient, perhaps to match his other screwbacks, or maybe he was a tanker or a pilot and he did not want to wear his (only) order dangling from a piece of cloth. The modification is pretty obvious, so I don't think it was done by a seller to deceive, and I doubt it increases the value much. In any case, it is pretty neatly done. The screw is only attached to the diagonal piece of metal, which is only soldered to the order on the edges. The screw is not soldered onto the order itself.

[Mike G.]

Hi John,

I think I can do that. Perhaps Rick and Tony would be so kind as to post there examples as well, that way all three levels would be represented.

The Bluecher Tapferkeit is in my opinion the most unique of the DDR Orders and Medals to have ever been produced. Versions were struck in 1968 and again in 1984. Even with two strikings, they represent the least produced of any medal in the DDR, and perhaps in all of the Warsaw Pact. Only a few hundred total of the Order were produced and a couple of thousand of the medallians. They were discovered in a vault in the basement of the Ministry of Defense headquarters building in Strausberg, about 30 km east of Berlin. They were discovered as part of the ongoing de-militarization of the former East German Military project being accomplished by the West German Bundeswehr. Upon initial discovery, everyone was perplexed as to what they were and what they represented. Discovered at the same time in another secluded section of the building was an elaborate plan between the Soviet Union, Poland and the DDR pursuant a pre-emptive nuclear strike against Nato as part of a prelude to initiation of WWIII. Eventually, some undisclosed former members of the Stasi were persuaded to cooperate and talk, and it was learned the Bluecher Orders and Medallians were produced in anticipation of being presented to military recipients that destinguished themselves in successful victorious combart against Nato. I personally don't know of a country ever having struck and minted campaign medals prior to an actual campaign being successfully fullfilled, but that is certainly what took place in the case of the Bluecher Order and Medallian. They are unique on so many different levels they virtually fall off the scale of any type of barometer that can be implemented to account for their historic presence, value and purpose.

The first striking occurred about the time of the invasion of Czechoslavakia and could vary well have an association to it. The NVA was initially going to participate and part of its Armor actually deployed along the border. A signals unit (no doubt Stasi reinforced) actually set up in the city of Prague and assisted the Soviet invasion force. The second striking occurred about the time Reagan was ratcheting up the pressure on the Warsaw Pact, and may have been a response to what surely at the time may have seemed the brink of WWIII.

A few (litterally a handfull) of the Bluecher Orders and Medallians have made their way out of the Dresden Museum to the hands of private collectors. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have a silver example of the Order and the Medallian.

Now that a little history of the Bluecher is known, here they are:
The Oder is of the 84 strking, and the Medallian is of the 68 striking and therefore is of 900 silver.

The Bluecher Order and Medallian -

[Mike G.]

Medallian Obverse:

[Mike G.]

Medallian Reverse:

[Mike G.]

Medallian Closeup Obverse:

[Mike G.]

Medallian Closeup Reverse 900 silver mark:

[Mike G.]

The very rare Bluecher Order (Silver):

[Mike G.]

The ribbon for this Order is in and of itself quite intricate:

[Mike G.]

Bluecher Order Closeup - Obverse:

[Mike G.]

Bluecher Order Closeup Reverse:

[John F.]

The Bluecher Tapferkeit is in my opinion the most unique of the DDR Orders and Medals to have ever been produced.

Michael,

You got that right! That is a fantastic land smart looking award and it's even better looking in person. I won't go into my I should have story, but I should have!

When did you get the Medallian? I didn't see that last summer.

Thanks for posting!

John

[Mike G.]

Hi John,

I picked up the Bluecher Tapferkeit Medallian a month or so ago off German Ebay. Waited many years, but in the end it was worth it. Needed it to be silver to match the Order, which is silver. Getting it in 900 silver was icing on the cake.

[Eric Gaumann]

Nothing special, just two new additions to the fold. Both in the 5000k range.
RBL

[Eric Gaumann]

And a BoH