Wessel Gordon

Thanks for all the replies. Want some input before I over-spend on something I'd likely never use.

What's the optimum magnification for studying medals?

Exactly my thoughts on the second question. Most of my slowly growing collection are copies, I just like the idea that I have a representation of whatever medal takes my fancy.

Unfortunately I can't help with translating the Japanese but those are two very good looking medals.

Peter, 

As you saw on the war memorials being named after family can cause a researcher to bang his head against those memorials in frustration. 

i'm not sure if it's a worldwide custom but South African families often have nicknames for family members that's unique to that family member i.e. a physical characteristic or character trait...I for one have a cousin we all call ''Naughty Pete'' because he was always up to some mischief. So knowing those nicknames of prior generations can go a long way in helping someone researching a family.

Some kind of in-law relative of mine (my fourth cousin once removed's husband or something) sent me his great grandfather's diary that he kept while he was a POW on Ceylon. While it's sometimes tricky to translate the essentially Dutch into Afrikaans the details that come through about conditions are harrowing.

Mike,

Thank you very much. Your link cracked open the mystery and answered the question that nobody in the family could answer (except my great grandfather who refused to talk about it) for over a hundred years.

I now know his POW Camp as well as his POW number.

Kind regards,

Wessel

I did some more digging in the meantime.

The individual that I spotted on the site you provided carries the ''family names'' of the family of my great-grandfather. That basically means he carried the same names as his father or paternal grandfather in the case of an eldest son. Second sons would carry the names of their maternal grandfather and additional sons would carry the names of their father's brother, then mother's brother in rotation.

I did find someone on a genealogical website that's married to my fourth cousin once removed or something and he's willing to help track family members for me.

Coldstream,

From the picture and description it's clear that there's no bar for this particular medal.

I saw the above medal on an action site for R 180.00 and the seller is describing it as ''scarce''. 

Are they as scarce as the seller is claiming or is he just to create some pre-sale hype?

To be honest I'm not sure if I am really interested in this item but thought some other collectors might be looking for one. I am not sure if links to auction sites are allowed so if collectors are interested in this sale send me a private message and I will forward the site's information.

Kind regards,

Wessel Gordon

This debate brings me to a few interesting question:

1. How does serious collectors feel about these copies?

2. Is it wrong to either buy or sell such a copy if both the buyer and seller knows and acknowledge the fact that the item in question is a copy and therefor have zero historical significance?

I hope I didn't stir up a hornets nest with these questions. I'm just curious to hear what people think. 

It looks like Google is a good place to start. Type in a search term such as ''Silver Star Recipients'' or whatever medal you are researching at that given moment.

Might be pretty basic results but it might act as pointers to more informed sites.

Dutchboy,

Your picture looks a lot like the now defunct South African Honoris Crux (of which I have a miniature copy). The only differences seems to be that the green on the ''compass points'' on your image is white on the Honoris Crux while the gold on your design is changed to silver on the South African version.

Which medal is portrayed there?

Wessel

Thanks a lot for clearing that up.

I'm a compete novice/newbie to medal collecting and all the jargon and descriptions can be a bit overwhelming. I have yet to decide if I want to specialize in a specific area of collecting so I'm afraid I've bought medals that attracted my attention instead of developing a coherent collecting strategy first.

Chris,

Please excuse a possible uneducated question: What is a Hindie? Is it the crossed swords on this medal ribbon?

The rest I can decipher as a World War One-period Eisernes Kreuz...correct?

Kind regards,

Wessel

I just had a online seller offer me a US National Defense Service Medal for less than 50% of what he wanted at auction so my collection is coming along nicely.

Arthur R,

Thanks for the reply.

At the moment I buy medals that catches my eye rather than aiming for something specific (a case of madness in the method and not method in the madness). Perhaps later I might either branch out or zoom in on something specific,

Great Dane

Thanks for the reply.

I sincerely hope I'm on the right section of the forum for this question...if I am not by all means boot my sorry backside into it's proper place.

I am new to medal collecting and saw on several posts that collectors use magnifying glasses to study makers marks etc. Would it be necessary for me to acquire a magnifying glass and which magnification is optimum for studying details on medals?

Wessel Gordon

Peter,

Thanks for the reply.

I've had a quick glance and it sent my antenna's into overdrive.

I couldn't find my great grandfather's name but I did find a male with his surname who was from a town about 130 kilometers from where my great grandfather lived. At the moment I don't have a single dot of proof that they were related but what I know about the family background etc the odds are that they are somehow related.

Sadly all my ancestors in that part of the family died over the years so I have to find some old documents to shed a bit more light on my search.

Hi everyone

I hope I'm posting this in the right section.

My great-grandfather participated in the Anglo Boer War (1899-1902) and at some point was taken prisoner and deported to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) till the end of the war. That's about all I have about that part of his history since every time someone mentioned the topic he would clam up and sort of mentally shut down.

Is there some resource where I can perhaps trace where he might have been held on Ceylon?

Kind regards,

Wessel

Chris,

That makes sense, thanks a lot. That kind of setup allow for soldiers to get medals that they are entitled to and for the Armed Forces to catch up on paperwork for medals that might not have been issued before the discontinuation date.

Megan,

The Pro Partia Medal was awarded for the 1966-1989, first awarded in 1978, discontinued on 26 April 1994 and conferment officially stopped on 27 April 2003. I admit I'm confused to why it would, according to my source, be discontinued on 26 April 1994 AND 27 April 2003.

I'm from South Africa so if you want some local help with medals feel free to let me know.

John and Graham,

Thanks for the replies. It seems like it could be a field of study that could keep someone busy for years.

New medals added to my collection over the last day or two:

9.   MBE (UK) - mentioned in previous post;

10. Pour le Merit (Prussia/Germany - WW 1 era) 

Can someone please explain or refer me to somewhere that explain the differences between the various classes/variants of the Iron Cross? To my untrained eye they all look the same even if the resource clearly states that it's a different class or variant.