MEDALS
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| The
Nakhimov Medal (forgery) |  |
  This
is a very good forgery and its definitely not the only one
around. Hundreds have reputedly came on the market from Ukraine
in the last couple of years. I have also heard that some unnumbered
pieces have appeared on the market. Although not seen on the
thumbnail, from detail it is obvious that when stamping the
serial number, the otherwise regular round edge is deformed
(it is also suspicious that only two numbers were used). In
addition, when viewed under a 10x magnifying glass, one sees
that the edge is of varied width and that some of the details
of the portrait are less than perfect. Pock-marks and traces
of casting are also evident even on the detailed scan (double-click
on thumbnail). The weight is only 17.4g as opposed to 21.2g
of the original and it is slightly thinner. The real medal
will also "ring". Apart from these tell-tale
signs, the difficulty is (as with every good forgery) one
really needs to compare with an original to notice most of
the differences! Buyers beware, especially if buying undocumented
pieces!
| A | Abundant,
readily available, often in wholesale quantities. | | C | Common,
always available. Occasionally in quantity. | | R1 | Usually
available without a long delay. Difficult to find in quantity. |
| R2 | Scarce
to rare, less seldom available. | | R3 | Rare.
Difficult to find. | | R4 | Very
rare. Demand outstrips supply, and specimens, when available are often eagerly
sought. | | R5 | Extremely
rare and seldom available. Collector may have to search for a few years to locate
one. | | R6 | Of
the highest rarity. Very difficult to obtain. | | R7 | Almost
never available. Most collectors will not have a chance to acquire these pieces. |
| R8 | Never
been on the market. Almost impossible to obtain. |
| R* | Not
available for collections. | |
