Soviet Find In English Schoolyard! - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 7 / Views: 1,635
NumisRob Bedrock of the Community United Kingdom 16067 Posts	Posted 12/02/2020 2:22 pm I recently got permission to detect on a site in my hometown that was the site of a Roman Catholic school that opened in the 1890s and was demolished in the 1980s. The Church authorities plan to have the area landscaped and turned into a community garden. My first session revealed lots of junk and no coins, but three small medallions. One was so corroded and battered that identification was impossible. Another shows Saint Hubert with his emblem, a stag with a crucifix between its antlers. The third is really mysterious as it appears to come from the USSR! I'll certainly go back and try again. The site is in a town that goes back to Anglo-Saxon times and just yards away from a watermill that is listed in the Domesday Book... My Trade List: http://goccf.com/t/194596 My Wants List: http://goccf.com/t/191710 Edited by NumisRob 12/02/2020 2:22 pm Report this Post to the Staff

erafjel Pillar of the Community Sweden 2079 Posts	Posted 12/02/2020 3:36 pm There is certainly something strange with that CCCP medallion. The inscription around it uses Latin characters, not Cyrillic. And the text does not make any sense. Report this Post to the Staff
NumisEd Pillar of the Community United States 4375 Posts	Posted 12/02/2020 4:27 pm Something to do with "Order of the Red Banner"? Compare your medallion to the one listed on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order...e_Red_Banner The second line on the Wiki medallion: "BCEX..." corresponds to the line of text on your medallion in the top-left quarter. Followed by "CTPAH" on the Wiki medallion, which corresponds to the line of text on your medallion in the top-right quarter. The third line on the Wiki medallion: "COEΔ#1048;H#1071;#1049;TECbI" resembles the line of text on your medallion in the bottom-right quarter. Anyhow, it could be that the minters used a Latin "R" instead of a Cyrillic "P". Edited by NumisEd 12/02/2020 4:38 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Kcm Valued Member United States 273 Posts	Posted 12/02/2020 5:11 pm Consider the era of Kim Philby. The West -- especially the U.S. and the U.K. -- hosted a gaggle of "Soviet sympathizers." Among these were a good percentage of people who admired Communist philosophy, believing it was the solution to the chaotic world's problems in that age. Here in the U.S. these sentiments, which had to be hidden from polite society, gave birth to the fearful accusation, "Suchandsuch is a card-carrying communist. I think you've unearthed a long gone misguided Brit's once hidden "card." Report this Post to the Staff
NumisRob Bedrock of the Community United Kingdom 16067 Posts	Posted 12/02/2020 5:23 pm Interesting information! I was wondering if it might just be a souvenir brought back from the former Soviet bloc after the fall of the Berlin Wall. I visited Eastern Europe in 1991 and I remember seeing lots of people with makeshift stalls selling all kinds of Soviet memorabilia. My Trade List: http://goccf.com/t/194596 My Wants List: http://goccf.com/t/191710 Report this Post to the Staff
jbuck Moderator United States 157664 Posts	Posted 12/02/2020 5:28 pm Interesting find and discussion. Coin Collector Since 1978 My Avatar My Old Avatar My 7070 My Eisenhower Dollars CCF Members on eBay CCF eBay Search Engine Report this Post to the Staff
january1may Pillar of the Community Russian Federation 4934 Posts	Posted 12/02/2020 6:58 pm I'm reading RPOAETA[...]N BCEX / CTRAH COEANHRNTE[...], which is actually a pretty good Latin-letter-only approximation of what should be there (aside from CTRAH, which should be CTPAH, and the letter after RPOAETA, which looks like O or C instead of the expected P). (The initial RP for ΠΡ is weird at first glance, but I suppose the maker just couldn't think of anything more Π-shaped than a R, and I could hardly blame them because offhand I'm not sure either.) I agree with the conclusion that it was probably intended to (actually surprisingly faithfully) imitate a Soviet pin. Report this Post to the Staff
NumisRob Bedrock of the Community United Kingdom 16067 Posts	Posted 12/03/2020 5:04 pm Thanks january1may! I sent a photo of it to a Russian colleague (a tour guide married to an Englishman) and she replied as follows: "That's an interesting find! It is a fake or an imitation of one of the versions of the Order of the Red Banner (there is another version of the same order). I've found an image on PinInterest https://www.pinterest.es/pin/473863...b_unauth_id= The words are supposed to say: Proletariat of the whole world, do join forces! However, on your medallion several characters which exist only in Cyrillic are replaced with Latin ones, for example: Russian letter #1048; becomes "N", Russian #1071; becomes "R" and a couple of others more." So, NumisEd, you're right about the Red Banner. Many thanks everyone! My Trade List: http://goccf.com/t/194596 My Wants List: http://goccf.com/t/191710 Edited by NumisRob 12/03/2020 5:10 pm Report this Post to the Staff
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