South Atlantic Medal - Parachute Regiment

[Kurt A.]

I bought this back in the 1980's when such medals were still affordable. Medal was awarded to a member the Parachute Regiment, which was involved in very heavy fighting.
Kurt

[Kurt A.]

Naming

[Kurt A.]

Other half of naming.

[Robert Shoaf]

A great medal to own. My 2006 "Medal Yearbook" shows a value of 800-1200 pounds for a South Atlantic Medal to a para. i would guess the value is up by 10-20% since then. I had a pair, General Service Medal , clasp Northern Ireland, and a South Atlantic Medal with rosette, to a Royal Marine, but had to raise some cash back in 2003, and sold them for $1475. Wish I still owned that pair.

Bob Shoaf

[Paul B]

Hi Kurt

Sent you a PM.

All the best

Paul.

[Kurt A.]

A great medal to own. My 2006 "Medal Yearbook" shows a value of 800-1200 pounds for a South Atlantic Medal to a para. i would guess the value is up by 10-20% since then. I had a pair, General Service Medal , clasp Northern Ireland, and a South Atlantic Medal with rosette, to a Royal Marine, but had to raise some cash back in 2003, and sold them for $1475. Wish I still owned that pair.

Bob Shoaf

Bob-
I too regret selling-off some of the things I've found over the years.
Kurt

[Kurt A.]

Hi Kurt

Sent you a PM.

All the best

Paul.

Paul-
Thanks very much for the additional info.
Kurt

[yellow]

Its a great accidental British medal collection you have Kurt.

Sadly when my father tried to buy a SA medal to a Para back when they were first awarded in the 1980's the price was unfordable because 1. There were very few on the market 2. The actions of the Para at Mount Longdon were even more well known then than they are now.

[blaze]

I had one as a kid and traded it away for a (worthless) grenade.

[yellow]

Yes and I had the medal to the man onboard HMS Conqueror who pressed the button to open the torpedo tube that sunk the Belgrano. I lost that one in a game of tiddlywinks with the kid next door.

[peter monahan]

The SA Medals were issued in some cases to troops as they debarked in the UK or immediately thereafter, very fast work indeed. I recall that summer, as I was working for a militaria dealer in Toronto, Canada and when the news hit the papers that the medals would be out before all the boys were home there was much speculation as to how long they'd take to hit the market.

As I recall, the first I saw came into the shop 4-5 months later, two together, both to Royal Marines and with a note attached saying 'bought in a pub in ...' (Liverpool? I can't recall). Both went inside 24 hours for, I think $600.00 or $800.00 apiece.

I also remember that within a very short time replacement medals were being stamped "replacement" because so many had been "lost". Mind, there was a story that one of the units doing Buck House parades the following year lost a packet of them because the suspensions (or maybe the pin backs) were faulty and nobody was able/willing to stop in the middle of a guard mounting to pick up the ones that fell off tunics. Don't know whether that was true or not, but it came out of the UK as explanation for why a list of 'lost SA Medals' had so many named to a single unit. I also think I recall that the British authorities were promising to deal harshly with anyone suspected of flogging his gongs!

[Paul B]

South Atlantic Medal

Hi Kurt

Another PM on it's way to you.

All the best

Paul.

[rkhunter]

Very nice piece of history there!

[aeroraider]

Possible Connection?

http://archive.burytimes.co.uk/1997/5/8/828426.html

[Gary Jucha]

Wait

Wait till he gets out of the can

..... He might want his medal back

("Life" in Britain means a couple of years gardening behind wire, and sent home early to bed without supper !!)