Medal Costs

[Aave Johns]

Hi All
I know that the cost of medals can be a bit of a subjective matter as true value is determined by the collector, but I made what I think is a quite reasonably purchase yesterday for three sets of WW2 service medals. I got 14 medals in three sets, two sets I have already checked through the Australian War Memorial as original, the third set is Kiwi and will require a bit more research. On top of this I also got with these a set of minitures, two sets of dogtags and a 12 page service record. This cost me $965 Aust. How does this compare with prices in Europe? I feel that I paid a fair price, neither cheap or excessively expensive for pieces of history.

Regards;
Johnsy

[notned]

Well we need to see what medals are in the groups

Hi, Johnsy,

The main thing is that you are happy with the price you paid.

Perhaps some pictures for us to see?
ww1 or ww2?
as for the Kiwi group, i am curious, myself being a Kiwi,

Its also good to get the dog-tags and some paperwork too, as it gives the groups names and some traceable provenance.

Regards
Paul

[Jack]

.

Hi guys,
I picked up a DCM group to a guy in the 2/8 Commando Sqd with a great fighting citation who also was in Korea it set me back $32.5K Aust so price is relative to what he got and done plus unit.
Cheers Jack

[yellow]

The price very much depends upon rank, unit ,theatre of war, service record any number of factors really. It a funny old game is medal collecting.....investing in history, not metal or cloth.

I am very careful with WW2 Australian medals...too many fakes in my opinion......even more dangerous collecting that than WW2 German. There is no way to ID the fakes unless you have all the orginal paper work in which case you may be covered......but not always as they may be 'put withs'.

Steve.

[Aave Johns]

The price very much depends upon rank, unit ,theatre of war, service record any number of factors really. It a funny old game is medal collecting.....investing in history, not metal or cloth.

I am very careful with WW2 Australian medals...too many fakes in my opinion......even more dangerous collecting that than WW2 German. There is no way to ID the fakes unless you have all the orginal paper work in which case you may be covered......but not always as they may be 'put withs'.

Steve.

Never had any problems with fake Aussie medals as they are, with a few rare exceptions, all named. Then it is just a matter of checking on the Nominal Roll, or with the AWM. I have cross referenced my additions to my collection carefully, most medals I buy are to combat units. In this case both the Aussie sets are to NCO's in transport sections, nothing glam about that, but still an essential cog in the war machine.

[yellow]

I have seen many fakes.........to Australian Paratroops, Commandos, Nurses and Australian Navy. Other fakes include men KIA.......I got caught out with a KIA Tobruk grouping not long ago and this man was only a private with a bog standard infantry Battalion........it appears another collector had the real medals.

Part of the problem is orginal stocks of Australian mint medals were used and the very same machine used to name the orginal issue gongs to the vets was used. These fake medals do conform exactlty to the rolls.

Very much the ultimate fake.

I too have medal to supply men........but comparing these to the fakes will not help you as there is no difference! I was pulled up on this on another forum.

Steve.

[SHEARING-CROSS]

Hiya my understanding of service medals is basic but fully understand alot of the value is `where and what ` the individual did ,

each to his own regarding collecting ,i fully respect this , as mentioned before i would rather have the uniform the guy wore winning his MILITARY MEDAL than the actual medal .
I have always thought a group of medals ( a great war trio /pair or a second war star set ) to a guy who say ,joined up in 1940 served until 1946 ,may be discharged with the rank of N.C O or W.O far more of interest than a `casualty ` group to guy killed with in days of reaching the front ?.
Also why is it great war /second war medals to INDIAN units dont attract any interest or value ? , is there a lot about ?

last , did any one see the service medal group to a SOUTH AFRICAN on e,bay about a month back ?
the lot contained ` a full mashing ` of stars paper work letters I.D.disc and about 30 odd snap shots taken in the field ( North africa )
i thought this was a nice scarce..ish lot only made about £80.00 ,was told by a medal dealer the seller was very lucky to get that much !!!
best wishes ,Michael.

[Aave Johns]

Part of the problem is orginal stocks of Australian mint medals were used and the very same machine used to name the orginal issue gongs to the vets was used. These fake medals do conform exactlty to the rolls.

Very much the ultimate fake.

Hi Steve
I thought that the Goverment Mint still controlled those machines and dies? I recently applied for and received an 1939-45 ASM for my Grandfather from the Directorate of Honours and Awards, as he had missed out due to his passing away. Can't get replacement medals though, as only the original recipient can do that, but if they missed out you get an "original restrike".

Regards;
Johnsy

[Jack]

fake medals

Steve sorry to hear that you got caught.If I may ask when and where did you get this group from??There was a guy who collected Viet Gallantry groups who then got blanks and made up the same groups he got caugth by the Feds but they did not find the machine but it had a fault in the way it struck certain letters that you can tell.But there was another guy who had a large supply of blank stars and other medals about 20 to 30 yrs ago who made up the groups you discribe but he has died along time ago but he did make up lots of different groups so there could alot still floating around especialy overseas.But as afr today is concern you are pretty safe if you know what to look for in type and style of nameing Ect ect.
Cheers jack

[yellow]

Please ignore my random ramblings on the 'other' forum but please take it upon yourself to read this thread and maybe send a PM to chap who told me of the story......and as you can see I was educated in this instance

http://www.britishmedalforum.com/vie...ighlight=#1453

Ive had this fake group for a while......it came from a UK vendor on Ebay who also operates on Speedbid. It wasnt untill several months later after doing a little research and a few emails to other collectors I came unstuck. But I guess we live and learn!

I like Australian Tobruk groupings I also have a few singles too.........but even now I`m thinking I may of wasted my money because they are fakes too. There are other debatable exmaples that in the future i would like to discuss here if possible. Most of my other stuff has been given the ok by an Australian collector who I met through another forum but I am still not sure.

I have collected medals all my life and so far collecting WW2 Australian has proved to be something of a let down. Ive been shown and told by dealers of these fakes also............having held some of the rarer items to nurses etc I just couldnt tell!

Australian collectors please help us out here!

Steve.

[Jack]

what fred said

Steve,
I just read what Fred said ( in the other forum) and yes what he says is correct any group to WW2 Nurse killed on the beach (1 or 2 survived ) Z and M force or any rare or fantastic group he made so yes you do have look hard but I was offered 2yrs ago a nurses group who was killed on that beach (walk out to sea then they were shot) but on careful examination you could see the lettering was not correct that chap who done these did also the Z and M force and others about 10yrs.But him and the other chap I mentioned were the only 2 that had access to a machine there was a couple of other guys doing it as well but not that good so I would not say collecting Aust groups was any harder to collect than say British whos WW2 groups were not named unless he had LSGC or medal that was offically named but if you require any help now or in the future regarding what you have or would purchase feel free to contact me and I will help you in any way I can regarding info or just looking at the group nameing.I could go on forever about these blokes its well known here what tp look for but alot of this stuff was sold overseas so if it comes on the market today thats the problem there was acouple of groups that surfacd out of Canada 2 yrs ago I wonder where they went?What was the name & number of the group you have or had??
Cheers Jack

[Aave Johns]

Steve
I think the main problem is that the seeds of dought have been sown in your mind. I read the thread on BM forum, and while it is a concern, he can't have faked every set of medals out there. It would seem that they have been made for sale overseas, and I would steer clear of anyone claiming to have medals belonging to groups such as Z-Force. Buying individual medals is a dodgy practice at best too. The groups I own are all from various units and few if any have "elite" status associated with them.The advantage I have living here in Australia is that if I get stiffed over a deal, then they are going to be saying "G'da" to the wrong end of a cricket bat.
I also have four sets of known WW2 originals that I have inherited from deceased relatives, so I can use these to compare with what I purchase, I am confident that what I have collected so far is genuine. Much of it has been picked up for next to nothing from stalls, antique shops that don't normally deal in medals, direct purchase from relatives etc. This is getting harder as there has been a resurgence of pride in the Australian military history, and many relatives are wearing the medals on ANZAC Day, which is a good thing unless you are a collector. 25000 people went to the dawn service in Canberra, with a larger turnout later in the day, and this was typical all over the country.
I'm sorry to hear that you have been sold fakes, it is a problem amounst the collecting community, but I don't think that it is anywhere near the level that German medals have reached, and while I am careful, it will not put me off my hobby.

Rgards;
Johnsy

[yellow]

Many thanks for all your opinions and help chaps.

I`m going to take some photos and let you have a look Jack.

Thanks Again,

Steve.