What price Granddad's day of glory?

Press, 25 May 1977, Page 21

What price Granddad's day of glory?

RUPERT BUTLER finds that medals are now part of a collecting craze in w’hich large sums of money cheerfully change hands. A decoration may be worth thousands of dollars.

What is the price of bravery? It can be anything up to £2500, tax-free money that’s just waiting to be collected by countless householders blissfully unaware that those tarnished relics of distant wartime days have any real value.

We’re talking about grandfather’s medals. Never have they been in such demand or prices so high—from at least £2500 for a Victoria Cross to more than £3OOO for an Army gold cross. Strange to think that, until recently, medals were looked upon as little more than battered coins with dirty, fading ribbons, often hawked to street markets by scrap dealers. “But all that is changing now,” a leading medal dealer and collector, John Hayward, told me. “Interest in past military glory, together with the nostalgia boom, has suddenly made medals a formidable collecting hobby.” Mr Hayward points out that what makes a medal especially interesting and possibly valuable, is the identity of the recipient and the campaign for w’hich he was decorated. Most common medals of all to be found in any household are the general service medals of World War One: the 1914 Star, the General Service Medal and the Victory Medal — known colloquially as Pip, Squeak and Wilfred.

Many thousands of these were issued and consequently their individual value won’t be more than £5 or £6 to a collector. “But,” said John Hayward, “if anyone has a gallantry medal to add to the set, then the price for the lot can go up considerably.”

For example, a set of Pip, Squeak and Wilfred awarded to Private C. Button of the West Yorkshire Regiment came up for sale recently in London and included a Distinguished Conduct Medal awarded for “great gallantry” in 1915. It was that D.C.M. that interested collectors. The entire set is now reckoned to have a value of about £5O.

An increasing number of Americans, Canadians and Australians are enthusiastic collectors. “English medals are the most eagerly sought after,” said Mr Hayward. “One of the reasons is that many British medals have the name of the recipient inscribed on the rim — a practice followed by very few other coui> tries.

“Once a collector has a name, he can go through the fascinating detective process of tracing the campaign and perhaps the award citation.” The scarcest medal from the Boer War is the 8-bar medal. The medal itself will have Queen Victoria’s head on the obverse side, a proud Britannia waving to troops on the other (the reverse). An 8-bar Boer War

medal would certainly be worth not less than £lOO.

Medals issued simply for the defence or relief of Ladysmith or Kimberley would be worth £5. Many of these were issued. Films like “The Blue Max” and “Aces High” have fuelled interest in the history of the Royal Flying Corps, World War I forerunner of the Royal Air Force.

Thus, high prices can be paid for the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Force Cross —up to £lOO each.

“But,” said John Hayward, “what would make these medals really of col-lector-interest would be accompanying log books of the flight and any other documentation of the air battles for which the award was given. “It can’t be emphasised often enough that medals are part of military history as a whole. They can’t be regarded in isolation.” Already part of that history—and eminently collectable — are medals awarded for the war in Korea between July, 1950, and June, 1953. Cupro-nickel medals were issued incorporating the head of Elizabeth 11, and Hercules armed with a dagger. The word “Korea” was inscribed.

Most eagerly soughtafter and likely to fetch a high price are medals issued to the 28th Regiment (the Gloucesters) for their outstanding Injim river action.

A couple of Korean medals (issued by Britain and the United Nations) to

a British private soldier, recently fetched £l7. Medal collecting is subject to fashion; and, at the moment, collectors are keen on East African campaigns from World War I, but, of course, there is always a market for medals awarded during the most celebrated actions-—Jut-land for example. And there is a big interest currently in medals awarded to non-combat-ants.

“One of my best customers,” said Hayward, “collects only awards made to the police.” Earliest of these was the King’s Police Medal, introduced in 1909 by King Edward VII. As the king died the next year police medals from 1909 are not exactly thick on the ground and one could be worth up to £5O.

Nursing medals are another rich field. Always worth a reasonable sum is the Royal Red Cross, approved by Queen Victoria in 1883, to be awarded to British or foreign women for exceptional service in naval and military nursing.

The medal is in two classes: a First-Class Royal Red Cross is worth between £2O and £3O. The more common Second Class is worth up to £l5. And don't decry the decoration your aunt got for being one of thousands of civil defence workers during World War II; a WVS general service medal might be worth £lO.

To anyone thinking of collecting medals John Hayward said: “Don’t

do it simply for money because you could end up spending a lot and making very little. “The plain truth is that some medals were issued in such huge numbers that, individually, they aren’t worth much. “There are pitfalls. Sometimes—but not always —awards made to officers are more valuable than those to other ranks. On the other hand, there are examples where medals of other ranks are worth more because they are inscribed with the recipient’s name.

“This is another way of saying that this is a specialist field. Anyone selling or collecting should consult an expert, not a general dealer.” For those selling medals it is worth doing a little homework before approaching a dealer.

If you can supply any details about what you are selling and perhaps produce documentation like a citation you may get a better price. Homework can include reading such books as “British Awards and Medals.” by Edward C. Joslin; “British Battles and Medals,” by Major L. L. Gordon; and "Collecting Medals and Decorations,” by Alex A. Purves.

One last word from John Hayward: “Never — but never—attempt to clean up a medal before selling it. That’s a delicate business best left to specialists. “A dark patina protects the metal and any form of well-intentioned scrubbing could ruin it.”