Ostfolk awards

[Gaspare]

I used to have a bunch of these too..Some directly from the vet. ALL had the rope.. Ribbons and attachment rings don't really mean anything as we all know they can be switched around very easy..

"just can't see this being a maker's variant. The ropes are an integral part of the design."

I agree with the above statement completely. *Even period line drawings, and the award box has the standard design on it..

[RobertE]

Angolia's book shows a medal on page 412 in a side by side shot with no rope - and this was a first edition book from the 1970s. Did they fake them back then?

[Peppe864]

Angolia's book shows a medal on page 412 in a side by side shot with no rope - and this was a first edition book from the 1970s. Did they fake them back then?

They faked stuff already in the 50´s to sell to GI´s and collectors, look at our friend Souval for an example.

I prefer the ones with rope in my collection.

[leibregiment]

Being a child of the 60's surely the aim of the first copys was to placate the occupation troops for Nazi souvenirs, without the swastika these would have been seen as not commercial enough for that purpose, for collectors there would have been enough Ostvolk to go around, my feelings are that it iwould not have been a commercial enough viability to copy these medals..because they do not have a swastika (not sexy enough) and not enough return.

What I do believe is that late in the war when ost personnel were deserting in large numbers, these medals would have been seen as
crucial to rewarding those still loyal. Ost medals would not be seen as a priority to make compared to the EK2 etc, so local commanders would look to French, Czech etc
manufacturer's
to have them made......

[Peppe864]

Interesting point.....

And about the cases, can anyone show a case with a rope? All cases I have seen this far have been without the rope.

So what does this mean?

You can´t judge an award on point of it´s case.

[RobertE]

I agree with the discussion regarding the value of faking such an award in the 70s and before: the value wasn't there. Every dealers table had these for nothing in the 60-70s; you could give them away.

The rope and low-dome shape of these are the features being debated. I don't think many would dislike the reverse; the pin is proper and so is the metal type, with the signature bubbling. The same type is shown in an early collecting bible, and an examples on the forum shown an example identical to mine absent the rope, marked 100.

U-boat badges are absent certain features on the boats, varying badge to badge. PAB collectors can tell you tank body features absent, and added. Heck, some Army paratrooper badge eagles forgot to shave! In cloth, eagles have two rings swastikas, no rings, false oakleaves, no oakleaves. These are all common features known in the popular collecting areas for items that have had a lot of attention. This badge has not had that level of scrutiny.

[leibregiment]

I think that given the amount of interest that this thread has envoked with "serious" collectors proves that even now there is little interest in Ost medals,

[Darrell]

Here's a photo of a first class case top.

The design does not have the ropes, just lines.

Could the no-rope example just be a varient?

Howard

I don't think you can really determine what the badge should have on it based on a case outline. Look at the KVK cases.

Here's the case to one I had and the badge had the ropes. I've never seen a Ost Case outline "with" lines.

[RobertE]

Yes, my gold 1st class also has no ropes on the case, but ropes on the medal. I don't think will be much of an indicator for us as to the style of the badge itself; lots of cases have just the silhouette or reduced detail badge impressions on the lid.

s/f Robert

[Don D.]

What I do believe is that late in the war when ost personnel were deserting in large numbers, these medals would have been seen as
crucial to rewarding those still loyal. Ost medals would not be seen as a priority to make compared to the EK2 etc, so local commanders would look to French, Czech etc
manufacturer's
to have them made......

Yet we have examples from one maker (100) that has a rope and a no rope design. Do we conclude that he had two or more designs? Are the mm's good? Always more questions.

Barry Turk has several examples of each type on his website (emedals). Several are mounted on medal bars. If you page through it you will find that the ones with no ropes (mounted or otherwise) have languished there while roped ones have sold.

[Tom Yanacek]

Ribbons and attachment rings don't really mean anything as we all know they can be switched around very easy.

Hi guys,
Interesting discussion and some very good points are being made. The Ostvolk awards have never really been studied to the degree that we have scrutinized other Third Reich awards so this discussion is long overdue.
While looking on Helmut Weitze's site today, I looked in the "foreign awards of the Wehrmacht" section. There are brooch pin mounted ribbons for the bronze 2nd class Ostvolk and mounted ribbons with the suspension rings for the silver 2nd class Ostvolk for sale. He must have several of each for sale because the prices are listed as 4 euros per piece. I wonder if any of those suspension rings are marked with the Lieferant number '100'? No intent hear to impugn the reputation of Herr Weitze, it just kind of reinforces what Gaspare said about ribbons and attachment rings. It could also explain how a non-rope design medal ends up on a '100" marked suspension ring.
Best regards,
Tom

[Anthony N]

Some period portrait photos with these in wear would obviously be very helpful, but i would imagine these are scarce.
I don't suppose anyone here has any?
Ant.

[Don D.]

It took some digging but here are two from previous threads.

[Don D.]

The other.

[Darrell]

Good pics Don.

Imagine posting that Arm Shield on the forum for comments