Uniforms, medals fetch high prices at auction

Press, 31 October 1979, Page 5

Uniforms, medals fetch high prices at auction

Wellington reporter A recent auction of mill-! taria in Wellington was re- : I markable for the very high prices paid for medals and 1 $ uniforms, while the normally k more popular guns and " edged weapons met a de- | mand that was no better F than sound.

| Six hundred and fifty' I dollars was paid for; " a K.C.B. (Knight Com-' | mander of the Order of' . Baltic Medal, 1854-55, and F China Medal, 1857-58. with a two bars. “Canton 1857” and " “Taku Forts. 1858.” They A; were axvarded to A. C. Key, _ , Royal Navy, whose full ser-) 9 vice record was — sub-lieu-1 k (tenant, 19/8/1840; lieuten-) " iant, 22/12/1842; commander,; b 18/1 1/1845; captain; 11/10/1850; rear-admiral,’

I 30/11/1866; vice-admiral ’3O/4/1873; admiral, .21/3/1878; First Sea Lord of the Admiralty, 12/8/1879. A Military" General Service' Medal, 1793-1814, with bar, “Nive,” sold for $lBO. It was awarded to William Bailey; of the 81st Foot. Eighty dollars was paid for a Crimea’ Medal with bars, “Sebasta-l pol” and “Turkish Crimea.”! awarded to Quartermaster- > Sergeant J. Harding, L.T.C., xvhile $7O was paid for an Indian Mutiny Medal, 1857-. 58, awarded to Bombardier Jas. Brown of the Madras) Artillery.

; The description of the, (medals reads like some trib-' !ute to a by-gone age — $9O ■(was paid for an Egypt’ (Medal, with bars, “Alexan-j idria July 11th” and “Tel-el-i Kabir,” awarded to Dummer T. E. Davis, R.M.L.1.; $45 was paid for an Afghanistan, Medal. 1878-80, awarded to! Private J. Ingham, 15tb Hus-I ’sars. ; South African war medals’ met a very strong demand.) indeed. $540 was paid) for a group of; eight South African war’ medals and ribbons at the! end of the sale — $l7O for a Natal Medal with (a surpris-’ ’ing) bar “1906.” World War I medals did (not attract much interest,') ’but some from the World. War II did — $250 xvas paid for the D.C.M. and Military ’Medal awarded to Sergeant) H. G. Church. A very rare German; Knight’s Cross of the Iron! !Cross, 1939, with oak leaves! (and swords, complete with the original neck ribbon, fet-, Iched only $220. Mainly, it was age that at-) traded the high prices: $400; (was paid for an 1842 China ’Medal, complete with bar and ribbon, awarded to Captain E. R. Gregg of the 26th! Foot. But the top price of the; sale went for an item of, ’head gear, $BOO being paid for a breathtakingly scarce

British 17th Lancers officer’s < helmet plate, gilt lion’s head I cockades, contained in orig-t inal tin, with the owner’s < ’name on a brass plaque on I ’the lid. I A Wehrmacht dress tuniclr ! jacket from World War 11, c catalogued to have been) owned by General-feldmars-il ichall Ewald von Kleist, soldlc ’for $4OO, while $340 was|t paid for tunic. ;< A Prussian dragoon’s kelhaube with brass chin-i (straps fetched $3OO and s2oo;j ’was paid for a scarlet Aust- a ’’rian bell-topped shako. ’- A full dress uniform worn! by the Grenadier Guards re-| alised $175. It was in mint’ ’condition and consisted of’ • red tunic, black trousers .with red stripe, buff belt! ’with brass buckle, bayonet) ’and frog, black bearskin! ■ with white hackle and’ (“staybright” buttons. Head gear was in great’ ’demand, $3OO being paid for a Prussian World War I Currassier’s helmet and $350 ’for a Prussian Balloon Ser-' vice officer’s shako. A Prus-i sian fitzhelm (felt helmet); ’sold for $l9O. One of the finest items of; the auction was Hertfordshire yeomanary officers plumed helmet (about 1890).) It had white metal with' brass fittings, brass and ’white metal helmet plate and xvhite horse hair plume.; It fetched $450.