paul wood

I have always put items of numismatic interest on the customs form as very few people know what it means (and it covers a multitude of items). For value i put as enclosed invoice (and put a document with value inside). Touch wood i have never had problems with overseas customs and nothing has ever gone missing although one parcel got buried in Florida customs for 2 months before resurfacing. Paul

There was a large Swedish contingent in Russian service. Both military and civil. Could explain the apparently random order Paul

Utter rubbish i have been sending war medals and decorations to Germany and the USA by uk tracked mail services for 41 years without any problem. .There is a harmonised customs code 07550000 i think (check) which should be placed on customs label which eases despatch. Shoot the postal employee. Paul Dont know how double post occured. Gunner 1 has it correct and has correctly remembered the harmonised code (i didn't have it to hand). It is bad when people who should know better give such incorrect info. I would suggest Duncan you use a different post office. Paul

Utter rubbish i have been sending war medals and decorations to Germany and the USA by uk tracked mail services for 41 years without any problem. .There is a harmonised customs code 07550000 i think (check) which should be placed on customs label which eases despatch. Shoot the postal employee. Paul

Russian orders correctly identified from around the 1840s if that is helpful. Paul

Yours is chipped as is usual as the enamel work is quite brittle. They are readily available on the market as they were awarded in huge numbers. They can be purchased for no more than 50 dollars Paul

Knight's badge probably WW1. Paul

Try michael.autengruber@autengruber.de Paul

Cant see any obvious problems Paul

Alas only a few were included in the sothebys t&t sale. The bruiser illustrated in the earlier post was included in a sothebys geneva jewellery sale. Paul

Nice selection who are they awarded to. Any Indian army to get me exited? Paul

Kris the photos are basically nitrogeneous waste, given that there is nothing i can see that screams fake, however a better photo might make me alter my opinion. Paul

IRemember the t&t fleeces. There was:a gorgeous emerald set jewel i could not see a fault in the emerald under ×8 magnification. There were also some glorious 18th century neck badges with dragon suspensions. The palace was something else. I was there with the wine, book and coach specialists hence a few thick morning heads It was an educational experience i will never forget. Paul

Laelian was a usurper of the Germanic Roman empire. While a rare find in England they turn up in Western Germany and eastern France. They appear in auction fairly frequently and while scarce they tend to make a couple of hundrec pounds typically Paul

Rob, Mahindra Dal Paltan (paltan =regiment). One of the two regiments who saw Waziri service. Nice do you have the accompanying BWM Paul

Any quarter decent lawyer would have got him off on entrapment although he deserved a lengthy sentence for gross stupidity. Paul

Mainly Abassid cut to the standard European denier weight Most interesting Paul

I think orange would would add to your already distinguished persona Paul

I believe under the Stolen Valor act it is illegal to buy or sell an officially made unnamed specimen within the US Paul

Always highly amusing at OMSA public days are obvious feds (they ought to have flashing neon hats) furtively asking all members of the trade if they have MOHs as they are fervent collecors. As far as I am aware noone has been stupid enough to fall for it. Paul

Documents can be faked without an ultra violet light it is impossible to tell whether or not an alteration has been made.

Need much better photos to give a sensible opinion. From what I can see no obvious alarm bells but the fakes are of very good quality. These days, especially with upper end Soviet it is assumed to be fake unless proved otherwise Paul

petfectly nice Knight's badge in silver and gilt. The earlier badges (19th cent) tend to be gold and are some of the finest quality orders ever made. PAUL

Two Nepalese regiments received tbe Victory medal for services in Waziristan. All the other regiments received just the BWM. Nepalese units also served in the 3rd Afghan war. I have a sizeable section of Nepalese contingent medals. Paul

No book on abbreviations. I have collected medals to Indians during British rule for 15 years. I have,around 1000 medals. One of my main interests is unusual units trades and ranks. Paul