Soviet Hero of the USSR Medal
This gold star award was taken from a fallen officer near Stalingrad, first by a German soldier, then by an American in 1945. The numbered, hallmarked medal honored a tanker’s valor in 1943. It represents the human cost of the Eastern Front’s brutality. A similar medal sold for $35,000 at a 2024 militaria fair, placing its market value between $10,000 and $30,000 among serious collectors.
