Opinion on this Sudwest Afrika medal?

[TimoJ]

I listed one of my SWA Koloniale medals and have had some question its authenticity.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/120860022819...84.m1555.l2649

I will be putting more photos up tonight, if that helps.

Any opinions?

Thanks
Timo

[Bhokara]

No way to tell from that photo, but in any event it's not "rare."

[TimoJ]

No way to tell from that photo, but in any event it's not "rare."

Thanks, I put up some better photos.

As for "RARE" every other one listrd is tagged as "RARE", so...

Why are the prices so high on these, they are interesting but...


Thanks Again

Timo

[Bhokara]

I have no idea why these command the prices they do, particularly on German eBay.

Here are my definitions:

Rare: Less than 10 examples are known to exist today.

Scarce: Less than 100 examples are known to exist today.

Hard-to-Find: Less than 1000 examples are thought to exist today

Common: From 1000 to 10,000 examples are thought to exist today.

Common as Dirt: More than 10,000 examples are thought to exist today.


By my definition, this medal is Common. When mounted on a medal bar with other medals (i.e., originally mounted during the period before 1920), it is Hard-to-Find. With four or more originally-mounted bars, it is Scarce.

[Kondor]

It looks fine except missing the ring and ribbon. You have it sold for sure but why anyone would go that high for this medal is beyond me. But then the US did give out a Philippine insurrection medal for similar treatment of the Moro Tribesmen, though we didn't wait around water holes waiting for the thirsty natives to come in and then kill them. It may be popular in Germany now since the government recognized the genocide committed by the 14K Schutztruppen sent to deal with uprisings against German control. I think the German Government just gave back 40 or so skulls of natives to the Government of Nambia that they had on display in the Berlin Museum. Naturally Nambia is looking for reparations for past deeds by the Schutztruppen, but Germany is too busy trying to bolster the Teuro in Europe to worry about Nambia

[Kondor]

Having written that, I forgot to mention that I do have one n my collection with two "Campaign" bars on it.

[Wild Card]

I think that the seemingly high prices for these medals are -

1. Imperial German medals of "the Colonial Era" have enjoyed renewed popularity in recent years.

2. The real high end value lies in the rarity and combination of the bars.

One last point. Compare the price versus the rarity. How many Ek2's, or Ek1's for that matter were awarded and what do they sell for compared to these medals?

[TimoJ]

It looks fine except missing the ring and ribbon. You have it sold for sure but why anyone would go that high for this medal is beyond me. But then the US did give out a Philippine insurrection medal for similar treatment of the Moro Tribesmen, though we didn't wait around water holes waiting for the thirsty natives to come in and then kill them. It may be popular in Germany now since the government recognized the genocide committed by the 14K Schutztruppen sent to deal with uprisings against German control. I think the German Government just gave back 40 or so skulls of natives to the Government of Nambia that they had on display in the Berlin Museum. Naturally Nambia is looking for reparations for past deeds by the Schutztruppen, but Germany is too busy trying to bolster the Teuro in Europe to worry about Nambia

Kondor, perhaps a better relation could be drawn to a US Indian Wars medal...as for tactics used, well this should remain a friendly discussion.

Timo

[Gran Sasso]

But then the US did give out a Philippine insurrection medal for similar treatment of the Moro Tribesmen, though we didn't wait around water holes waiting for the thirsty natives to come in and then kill them.

Always the same old story - they not waited there to kill them, but to keep them away from the water holes. Orders were to shot OVER their heads, so they would turn around and run.

[Bhokara]

Always the same old story - they not waited there to kill them, but to keep them away from the water holes. Orders were to shot OVER their heads, so they would turn around and run.

No, this is not true. The infamous "shoot to kill" order is a matter of historical record, and is preserved in the archives. It was genocide, pure and simple. This is why I don't collect artifacts from Deutsche Suedwest (or allow anything pertaining to the SS in my house).

[Kondor]

Timo, a lot of folks are not aware of the history behnd this medal. That was my only intent, to put it into historical perspective. You are right, on the Indian Wars being mor appropriate, but comparison on the US overseas colony is what I was shooting for (pardon the pun)