History

The Order of the Patriotic War was the first Soviet award established during the Second World War, on May 20, 1942. Originally it was intended to be awarded to servicemen, civilians, foreigners, units and institutions for actions against German invaders, however on December 16, 1947, it was changed and no longer included civilians, units and institutions. On July 18, 1980, foreigners were also dropped from the statutes.

This Order was conferred upon enlisted and officer ranks of the Army, Navy, NKVD Troops, and Partisan Detachments in recognition bravery and courage during the Great Patriotic War. This Order was awarded for many acts of bravery such as attacking enemy positions, destroying enemy vehicles, showing initiative, saving life and other such acts of courage. By the end of the war, there were 324,903 I Class decorations awarded, and by the end of 1991 a total of 2,398,322, including the 1985 issues.

Type II, I Class was produced from June 19, 1943 until 1991. Although Type II was awarded until 1991, it was only conferred for actions performed during the Second World War. This type has a screwback, five piece construction and two variations.

Type II, I Class with screwback, five piece construction was made with a screwpost soldered to the reverse of the red enamelled star, instead of the Type I suspension ring. The reverse presents with a hole in a center with three thick spokes. The Monetny Dvor mark is stamped in one line on the top of the reverse of the rayed star.

Variation I has the mint mark Monetny Dvor, stamped in a single line with separate stamps. The spokes on the inner circle reverse point to the 10, 2 and 6 o'clock positions. The serial numbers range from roughly 24,700 to 263,000. The lowest observed number is 24,736 and the highest is 263,695.

Variation II has the mint mark Monetny Dvor, in a two line/ stacked post position, with the spokes on the inner circle reverse point to 12, 4 and 8 o'clock. The serial numbers range from roughly 251,000 to 312,000. The lowest observed number is 251,068, and the highest is 311,683.

The obverse Russian inscription translates to: "Patriotic War".