AMA713

25 minutes ago, Gunner 1 said:

I hate to 'bring rain on your parade,' but a word of caution before you spend much time trying to attribute the miniature group. If all the attribution you have is a seller's statement "that there is potential provenance to a front-line physician" you really do not have an attribution at all.  Genuine attribution requires some physical evidence to support the attribution.  Even if you find that a medical person received that same group of medals you will never be sure of the attribution unless you can also prove that no other person was ever awarded the same grouping and that may be an almost impossible task.  Proper attribution of full-size unnamed groups and miniature groups requires accompanying paperwork that attributes the group; evidence that a miniature group was sold with the full-size group; or some other type of physical evidence that ties the group to a recipient.  

As a well-known dealer once told me as a young collector: "Spend your money on the medals, not on the seller's undocumented story that comes with them"

Oh i am well aware that there’s a chance that it may not be attributable, and included the sellers statement as background to when i received it.  I too learned the old adage “don’t buy the story” (paraphrased).  Without legitimate provenance, I agree that it will remain unnamed.  
 

In the (likely) event this is not attributable, I’m still quite happy with this bar, and am happy to have it in my collection.  

I’d like share one of my more prominent miniature bars.  This grouping and miniature bar belonged to Major Charles Beatty, older brother of famous British Admiral David Beatty.  I received the miniature bar and the photo showing Major Beatty and his wife.  I also included the sellers picture here showing the entire original grouping for provenance. Unfortunately i do not know what happened to the rest of the group. 

The DSO has always been one of my favorite British decorations due to both its elegant facade and simple yet intricate design.  The fact that this miniature bar is attributed to a significant figure only adds to the importance of the award.
 

Major Beatty earned the Distinguished Service Order for bravery and valor in combat against the enemy during the Boer War.  His actions appeared in the London gazette as ' At Evergreen, Eastern Transvaal, on 17th February, when Major Howard and orderly were killed, went back to fetch assistance through very close and heavy fire ; his horse was killed, hit three times' (London Gazette 20.8.1901). 

During WWI, Major Beatty was severely wounded during the battle of St Eloi, resulting in a left arm amputation.  Later in may of 1917, after suffering injuries from a fall from his horse, he died due to surgical complications to correct the aforementioned injury. 

Thank you for the warm welcome, and even more for the excellent leads! I will look into this and hopefully return with a name to accompany this beautiful set.

 Is this a harder bar to come by, especially if part of a bar with other orders/decorations on it?  
 

Hello all,

my name is Alex and this is my first post.   Before I begin, here is a little background on me:

I am a medal collector from the US.   and have been collecting full size and miniature medals since I was 13.  For the past 10 years, i became more “serious” about collecting, and focused heavily on american full sized And miniature medals, with special focus on  pre- WWI decorations.  However, repetition lead to stagnation.  I discovered British miniatures, a world unto their own which lead to me having a proverbial breath of fresh air.  
 

i still have much to learn in regards to which units/regiments are most desirable, but the beauty of collecting is there is no such thing as ever “completing” your education.  
 

Here is the first of many miniature bars i am looking forward to sharing with you.  
 

This is a recent acquisition that augments my growing collection and focus of British miniature medals.  This medal bar is a practically mint contemporary example of a serviceman who served from the Boer War thru WWI.  The bar and medals were struck by the famous manufacturer Spink and Son, and show the quality of their craftsmanship through the superb detail on both the planchets and campaign bars, if applicable.

From left to right:

- Order of the British Empire
- East and West Africa Medal with Sierra Leone 1898-99 bar
- Queens South Africa medal with South Africa 1901, Transvaal, Orange Free State, Modder River and Belmont Bar
- British 1914-18 War Medal
- WWI Victory Medal 

The seller stated that there is potential provenance to a front line physician, but as i am new to British research, i am not sure how/where to start searching. 
 

Thank you for looking! 
 

Alex 

And the reverse