Lenin's Centenary Medal, Variation 3 (issue to a foreigner), with original fitted issue case.

In gilded brass; medallion measures 32.1 mm wide, 3.1 mm thick at the edge. Unlike the common issues to Soviet citizens, the writing on the reverse of this version of the medal does not specify whether it is for military achievements or for valiant labor. Maker marked suspension device. The case is in red plastic with a nest for the medal and translucent cover.

The medal is in excellent, near mint condition. The case shows minor wear and a couple of hairline cracks to the translucent lid but still sound and solid, very good and presentable overall.

A relatively small number of these medals, 10000 in total, were manufactured. Just a fraction of that total - exactly 4347 according to recently published Soviet archival records - were issued to foreign WW 2 veterans and Communist leaders. Most were awarded to those who attended Lenin's 100th anniversary celebration in Moscow in 1970, but the awards to VIP foreigners continued until as late as 1975 (case in point is the Communist Party USA activist Angela Davis who received the award in 1972 during one of her visits to the USSR). We would guess that unlike some of the "leftover" awards remaining after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the unissued surplus of "foreign issue" Lenin Centenary Medals was probably melted down in the later part of the 70s.


$590.00