paul wood

Nice little grouping. Paul

Some civil war issues,are. Paul

I am afraid these would not fool a man with a white stick and a labrador. Paul

As an official Russian Order 1917 during the Provisional Government. It may have been awarded by the White forces at a later date and of course the Soviets established the Order in WW2 . Paul

Thanks for the info. Paul

Many czech-slovak military horseman were excepional amateur jockeys and participated in the Czech jump race that made the grand national seem like a klddies outing. Paul

No nobody has ever won both. While there have been 3 bars to the VC. Martin leake, Chevasse, whose brother was my local vicar and ardent pig farmer who on several occasions officiated at services with pig manure bedaubed wellies and Upham. 2 bars WW1, other WW2, there is yet to be a second award of the GC. Paul

The VC and GC come before any Order or Decoration. They are awarded for equal valour. The first for supreme bravery in military action. The Second is for supreme bravery in all other fields. The VC takes precedent over the GC due to the earlier date of foundation. Prior to the establishment of the GC the Albert Medal in gold took second precedent. Paul Ps The GC is awarded to both military and civilian personnel. Military awards are for non combattative bravery such as bomb disposal or life saving

I remember may years,ago Pajari's with 2nd award and all the stuff that went with it. The Finnish government soon put a stop to that. Paul

Scout's Bravery Cross 1st class, bronze 1st, silver 2nd, gold 3rd. Quite rare Paul

This was handed out to all VIPs present at the opening of the Aswan Dam. Communist representation was quite high as the Soviet Union provided considerable financial and technical assistance. Quite scarce but not commercially significant. Paul

Leading Aircraftman Corke. The number is his service number. The rank is non commissioned therefore more difficult to research. May find something on ancestry. Paul

Looks fine not ridiculously expensive. Many were awarded to British persnnel serving in Egypt and the Sudan up to 1914. Cant connect to Jeffs site for the Sacred Treasure, although they were given out in larger quantities than cornflakes in lower grades especially in the 30s and 40s. Paul

They are all correct. There are 2 bust types for Oscar II the bust right is the first 1872 to circa 1900 the other is the circa 1900-05. I suspect there is a second variety of the older bust 1906-07 without Norwegian title. They are medals of the Swedish patriotic society which give awards for various meritorious services and have various ribbons depending on the issue. They are officially . The first reverse is for long and faithful service, the second for loyalty and fidelity. There are many varieties of these medals dating back to the 18th century. They are an inexpensive collecting theme for tbe silver medals, the rarer gold medals are more expensive but rarely more than gold value Paul

Looks a French piece with french made bars Genuine as the French received the British Crimea as well as the Baltic. Paul

A few nice bits and bobs look forward to more details. Paul

Could he have emigrated to New Zealand. London Gazette 1/1/70. Nelson, for services to the community, especially visits to mental hospials. Would have been in his 70s then. Paul

Possibly a private issue of the time. Many campaign medals had privately made examples as well as the official mint issues, whether these were replacements or duplicates made for spare uniforms i have no idea. Paul

Not just pudding but bread pudding. Yum yum. Paul

Another Nicholas Ii Small silver Zeal medal. 4th class bravery medal, civil war period in white metal, coronation 1896. All in all a nice bunch of medals the , 1812, Warsaw 1831 and Transylvania 1849 being by far the best and comprising the majority of the value. Paul

Taking of warsaw 1831, Russo-Turkish War 1877-78, Transylvania campaign 1849. Paul

Alexander III memorial, 1894. Patriotic War of 1812 bronze, Nicholas II small silver Zeal. Paul

Please pm images of both sides I will certainly be able to id them positively ( i can id many from the present photo). Paul

My reason for collecting was accidental. As many of you will know I worked for Sotheby's and for the last 18 years Morton and Eden auctioneers cataloguing and valuing coins and ODM. I gained great pleasure in being the temporary custodian of some of the most fantastic medals and groups available including many VCs, Sir John Franklin's NGS, the Younghusband group and Oates polar medal. I decided that as I would never have the funds to afford anything of quality and would avoid mixing business wth pleasure. In early 2005 this all chanģed. I was cataloguing a nice collection which had quite a bit of Indian interest, amongst which was an Indian General Service 1908, 1 clasp Waziristan to an employee of the North Western Railway. I made it a weak single lot estimate £30-40. I was criticized for lotting it thus and I then made the fateful statement "If nobody else wants it I will buy it." I ended up with the medal as well as a 4 clasp IGS 1908 to a mountain battery which cost £95. The India theme suited me as my father had served in India with the RAF and RIAF from 1943-47 and in the process had "gone native". As a child I remember him talking to Indian bus conductors in fluent Urdu which resulted in us avoiding paying any fare. Unfortunately buying medals was like taking heroin, a serious addiction from which I was unable to kick. 700 odd medals later, almost all British campaign medals to Indian recipients, the addiction is stll as strong as ever. The marvellous thing about medals to Indian recipients is they are not researched to death like many medals to British recipients where in some cases we even know the make of underpants they wore into battle as a result I have been able to secure some real gems for next to nothing including a WW1 Afghan pair to a captain Mehta who was medical officer and later CO at the prison where Gandhi staged his famous hunger strike and is mentioned several times in Gandhi's diary as MO he knew Gandhi literaly intimately and a Malabar 1921-22 named to the Nizam of Hyderabad. I hope this gives a glimpse into why I collect. Paul

Thanks. I was tempted by the Tito's visit to India but it seemed quite cheap if genuine and therefore as with the Swinton Insurance commercial nagging doubt crept in. I would be interested in other opinions on it. As a serious collector of Indian medals I would eventually like to own one, preferably cased Paul