Paul L Murphy

The accompanying medal is privately named in a very poor style with a stylus that is wider than the type you normally see on proper contemporary naming (at least that is how it appears from the crappy photos). I have handled the gold pin that is in Kilmainham Jail museum, which is one of only two attributed pieces, and the reverse is completely different. It was a well made jewellers piece with hallmarks and a pin back fitting similar to that found on jewelry, not a fitting for a split pin as appears on this. I suspect it is a fake badge that has been plated. I also find it strange that someone with zero feedback is all of a sudden selling something of such rarity ?

Here is my contribution. Defense of Chitral to 663 Sepoy Kalu 4th Kashmir Rifles. I bought this one in Spinks in 2006 since I wanted one of these in my collection after reading some books about the siege, not least the Story of a Minor Siege. Two Sepoys with similar names appear in the A Farringdon casualty roll for Defense of Chitral : Sepoy Kaloo 4th Company, 4th Kashmir Rifles was killed in action at Chitral Fort on 2 March 1895 and a Sepoy Kalu Raj of the same company was severely wounded on that same day. Not sure if Ed can hlep in trying to pin down to which of these gentlemen this medal belongs.

I would definitely like a copy. Any plans to do a similar work for Pakistani medals ? Paul

The M mintmark was only used for a certain period during the Showa era so most pieces you encounter will not have the mintmark even though they were made at the mint. Japanese sources are unclear as to exactly when the mark was used but it appears to be the during the 30s.

Badges 2 and 7 are not specifically Legion badges, they are used by the French armed forces in general (including the Legion). 2 is worn by instructors in some of the French commando training schools and 7 is for one of the overseas missions but I cannot recall whether it is FINUL or Epervier. Can you show the reverse of badge 5 since I suspect it is a IILE restrike. Regards, Paul

Many thanks, it is nice to know what they are. At DKK20 each they did not break the bank so I am not too worried about having totally misidentified them. Paul

Went to Copenhagen last weekend, great city and lovely people. Picked up a few bits and pieces. Nothing major but among what I bought were two badges which I thought from memory were Danish submarine qualification badges. Turns out I was totally wrong so what exactly have I bought since I cannot find them illustrated anywhere ???? Here they are, one in bronze and one in white metal. Both say Sporrong & Co on the reverse and they have a pin assembly on the reverse. They are just over 1 inch in diameter.

Marc, I just realised Iowe you a reply to an email you sent me. My apologies, work has been far too busy recently ! Regarding the issue of fake orders, convincing fakes are seldom encountered. There are collectors copies of the high end Golden Kites (1st and 2nd class) and very basic copies of a number of orders but they do not compare with the originals. At present you can but with a lot more confidence than is the case in Soviet orders, hopefully that will continue to be the case. Despite the simple way in which a Golden Kite 7th could be upgraded by gilding, I have never seen this done (yet). The usual caveat always applies, buy from a reliable dealer (like me ) Best regards, Paul

Someone is definitely pulling your proverbial, they were (and are) all made by Hancocks in London.

Unfortunately there is nothing further written on the back.

I don't think so. It was awarded if you qualified on mortars through a course of instruction on them as far as I am aware. I do not think the little knee mortars were covered by this, but I may stand corrected.

A lovely badge. These are seriously underappreciated and a lot harder to find than most people realise.

The Sacred Treasure was for long service as already stated but it was not simply a matter of determining the rank of the wearer from the classs of award. The length of service within certain rank bands was what counted. The 5th class could have been awarded to anything from a very long serving Lt to a relatively recent major or Lt Colonel. This group is definitely an officer's group and most likely someone between Lt Colonel and Captain. Beyond that it is impossible to tell. Regards, Paul

Veteran, Many thanks, this has been a tremendous help. Best regards, Paul

The numbers awarded were actually a lot higher. The highest numbered award certificate I have found for this medal was 136,512. All of these medals were awarded on 7th November 1915 and they covered more than just the fighting in Tsingtao (although this was the larger engagement). Unfortunately the medal rolls were destroyed in WWII but the certificates for each medal are numbered and each medal roll starts at 1 and works forward. Hence, there were at least 136,512 of these handed out. Best regards, Paul

Afraid there are plenty of stupid people out there who would prefer to spend a lot of money on junk rather than invest in a small library which might help them understand what they were buying.

The unit badge is a two coloured diamond, the upper half being paler than the lower half. I would have thought that there were a limited number of Claude's in the ANZAC forces who were awarded the Military Medal, how many are in the roll ?

The de la Jonquiere family have a pretty prestigious military lineage in France. This is a photo of one of them but which one and what did he do ? It was taken in Bordeaux and is dated 2 July 1914. He wears the dress uniform of a commandant in the colonial infantry with the Commander of the Order of the Dragon of Amman, Officer of the Legion of Honour, Knight of the Academic Palms, Tonkin Medal, and what is most likely a Colonial Medal and an Officer of the Order of Cambodia. Does anybody have any more information on this particular gentleman ? Cheers, Paul

This is one of my latest finds while wandering the Parisien flea markets last weekend. On the reverse it has written "Votre Ami, Claude". I am presuming Claude is the ANZAC in the photo wearing the Military Medal. Can anyone help to identify him ?

I thought it looked dubious. If you compare it to the one that you have in your collection you will notice that the detailing around the flames is not as sharp.

In previous years Whyte's has tended to get lower prices than Adams, even for directly comparable items. I would wait and see the results from Adams before we can have a view on the price level at the moment. I am also sitting out these two, there are many other items I want to get at this price level before I buy another 1916 Medal.

Many thanks for the help. It seems that this is one to put back in the bottom drawer for a while longer and wait patiently until some more of those rolls are completed. Paul

This is by far the nicest mini group I have in my collection. I purchased it from Detlev Niemann a number of years ago since it was one of those "had to have" items. The big question is can those who are far more knowledgeable about these things than I will ever be (even if I buy all their books) help to pin it down to a specific person ?? Feast your eyes on this baby !

It is for the member's badge of the Imperial Time Expired Soldier's League. The card on the inside says that the badge can only be worn by the association members and that if an ordinary member of the public wears the badge they will be reported to the police. It is dated 1936. Larry, you should buy all your badges from me, that way I will make sure they are in the correct cases Regards, Paul

I have it in mind as a longer term project. Before I do that I want to write the definitive book in English on Japanese orders and medals to replace Peterson. Paul