Hi I received this trio this morning however on the medal index card it says that the Victory and BWM are reissue does this mean they are not his original medals or are they a late issue and does this affect the value of these medals.As a recent beginner to British medal collecting I'm a bit concerned. Thanks Roger
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The entry looks like replacement medals were issued in 1944.
Any chance of a view of the naming of these? It would be interesting, and perhaps helpful, to see the naming style. -
here's the naming on the medalsComment
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second viewComment
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Hi Roger, is there a "R" for Replacement or "D" for duplicate anywhere near the name impressing? The name impressing style is between the Wars by the looks of it.Comment
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Hi Kai no theirs no R or D on the medal rim but the BWM and Victory exibit what appears to be minute pitting to them. Regards RogerComment
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The naming resembles late-issue examples I have seen.
I don't know when the practice of marking campaign medals with R/D began. As for WWI medals I only remember encountering gallantry awards that had a "duplicate" stamp (even had an MM+Bar that was a "triplicate")
I suspect your man lost his pair, or they were stolen, and he obtained a replacement set.Comment
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Adam, I have a 14 trio to AH Chittenden ASC the Star is marked REPLACEMENT. I never though tto check the war and victory medals.
Agreed, the naming on these shown above looks fine to me.Comment
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Hi Roger, the minute pitting will probably be contact marks on the medal rim, nothing to worry about there. And to answer your question regarding value. Since the Victory and BWM are late reissued medals this will affect the price, anything from 15% and above. Will depend on who you sell it to, as dealers will hammer the price down even more because of this!Comment
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Thanks to all who commented I am returning them to the seller.Regards RogerComment
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On the other hand, they are official reissues, not privately obtained replacements, issued by the correct authority to someone who is entitled to wear them. Further, as medals are symbols of service and not of particularly great intrinsic value in most cases, they should, IMHO, have the same value as the original issue and I'd be proud to have them in my collection were I buying WWI medals. I certainly understand and agree with the logic of wanting a vet's original badges or uniform - the things he wore to win the medals - but turning up one's nose at re-issued medals is, again IMHO, mere snobbery.Originally posted by rkhunter View Post
I have seen, for example, many references to re-issued South Atlantic Medlas to Guards regiments. Apparently the suspenders (or perhaps the fasteners) wre not robust enough to stand up to weeks of guard mounting at Buckingham Palace and they were lost while on parade - and probably scooped up by tourists! I defy anyone to suggest that A Guardsman who fought through the Falklands campaign, got his medal and stayed in to guard his Sovreign is somehow lessend by having gotten a re-issue!
Is the re-issued VC to a Gurkha who had his stolen less valuable than the original? I don't think so! I'm sure the re-issues were, rightly, worn with the same pride as the originals, and rightly so.
Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now, but snobbery narks me.
PeterComment
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I don't really think it's snobbery so much as pragmatism. With reissued medals there exists the distinct chance that there is an identical set(s) of medals out there. They are now no longer unique.
Personally, if I knew there were 2 identical "official" medal groups in existence, I'd much rather have the original issued set.
Consequently, replacement medals are downgraded. I personally don't touch them, the exception might be a single replacement within a group of originals, for which there is a good explanation.
The problem is rampant with modern British groups. The modern campaign medals change hands for hundreds, if not thousands of pounds. Consequently, a considerable number of squaddies have been tempted to report their medals stolen after selling the originals. If still service it's an offence to sell them, but if they just released...it's rather difficult to enforce. This is why I would advise against buying the recent campaign issues that aren't accompanied by the red book and other docs.
Cheers,
AdamComment
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I am no snob Peter, and Roger was asking for help regarding value, and what ever way you look at it re-issued medals of any kind are not worth as much as originals!Originally posted by peter monahan View PostComment
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Hunter
" I am no snob Peter, and Roger was asking for help regarding value, and what ever way you look at it re-issued medals of any kind are not worth as much as originals!"
Fair does! As you say, it was a request for a valuation. My apologies for the rant and, particularly for the implication that you and Adam are snobs. I should have waited a few hours to send that e-mail, at which point I'd have toned it down considerably. Again, sorry for any offence caused!
PeterComment
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Hi Peter, no offense taken mate! I do not mind re-issued medals myself, as I agree with what you say regarding the men behind the medals and what they did to earn them in the first place, all the sacrifice etc etc!! But unfortunately when it comes to what a medal is worth, it does affect the medals value if its a re-issue! All the best!
Kai
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