Dear all,
This is it, the Pao Hsing 2nd Class in gold went for 21.500 Euros (including auction fees), i.e circa 24.000 US$ or 16.000 UK£. This was the highlight of the orders and medals sold that day.
My April 5th 2014 thread on GMIC shed light on a similar attributed award (1st Class) which went for an astonishing 92.000 Euros, i.e 4 times more than two days ago. However, I take from the horse's mouth that it was never paid by the overseas "buyer". It is likely that auction houses have tightened their security process to avoid stupid bids like that, hence an apparently lower price though perfectly clean and reliable.
The medal sold two days ago was nothing but a striking piece of Chinese jewellery with a robust pedigree, well worth the price paid for it.
Regards to all.
KimKan