paul wood

rhino.research@icon.co.za Paul

Audrey at Rhino Research should be able to get you some information. For SA material she is the best. Paul

Alas he is not the first and will certainly not be the last to engage in such reprehensible activity. Unfortunately the same penalty which was inflicted by Henry I on those moneyers producing sub weight coinage is no longer lawful (to put it politely they lost their ability to sire children), shame as in this case I think it would be totally suitable Paul

Paul I would very much agree with Chris. Basically Victory Medals to non-casualty corps members such as ASC, RE and RA tend to be the cheapest, followed by Line Regiments, then Militia, then unusual colonial units. $25 would be expensive for an other rank ASC, however double that would not be bad for some of the militia units. Again casualties will be higher, A first day of the Somme KIA would be well over $100. If you are seriously interested in WWI medals it would be well worth investing in Gordon Williamson "The Great War Medal Collector's Companion" . Should be easy enough to find one basically gives you all the info you ever needed to Know on WWI campaign medals and would probably more than pay for itself over a couple of years. You must not however show any interest in Indian Army medals to unusual trades , ranks or units, they are all reserved for me. Paul

Can't see anything obviously wrong with the document. Paul

As With Mark Twain's premature death notice, it seems the reports were grossly exaggerated. At least the Soviet market has life. Paul

Usual hype I am afraid, unlike the 2002 Gold set which included the gold Maundy set ,which was limited to 2002 sets, I suspect they will be limited to the number that they believe the can get away with selling. Obviously a serious collector of sovereigns will want to own one for reasons of completeness but I would not recommend purchasing one purely for investment purposes. Paul

Dave, Most helpful as ever. It is nice when someone with your knowledge is happy to share it. Paul

David, thank you for the link, most interesting and informative. Paul

Alik, The first photo is a mazing surely a virtually unique combination of the Hessian Golden Lion, Military Virtue and the Iron Helmet. I believe the portrait is of Wilhelm II elector of Hessen (or someone very good at impersonating him) Paul

I totally agree with Tim. Paul

Dave, Thanks for the explanation of the Thai dating system, a great help. Paul

Simon, 90th Foot was Perthshire volunteers. He enlisted in Aylesbury, presumably the regiment was based there or nearby and was recruiting, the 91st was the Argyll Highlanders. It is quite possible that he was based in Canada sometime between his enlistment and 1846 (when we know he was in South Africa). It would be worth consulting Army Lists from those periods as it gives the location of the regiments. Paul

Whalley is the name of the Silversmith he was based at 179 the Strand. Ekerman is a Swedish name which suggests he was probably a Swedish merchant based in London. Sweden had a strong tradition of Freemasonry in the 18th century with strong royal backing. A most interesting jewel all 18th century masonic insignia is rare, it is a pity that the lodges name is not mentioned. Paul

Lovely, I look forward to finding one to add to my collection. Paul

Simon, Quite interesting Born Near Thame in Oxfordshire in 1822, enlisted at Aylesbury with 90th foot 19 October 1839, height given as 5 foot 5.5 inches, profession given as Baker age given as seventeen and a half. Served in the Second and Third Kaffir Wars, 1846-47 and 1850-53 respectively with the 91st Foot, his medal (South Africa 1853) was sent to him 22 March 1856. He was admitted as a Chelsea Pensioner 16 July 1861. Hope this helps, Paul

Most interesting, I have never seen or until now heard of such a badge. I hope some member has. Paul

Kris Very nice, like the helmets as well, saw a few repros in the latest production of Tarzan which I watched over Christmas and the story is located in the Congo Free State. Paul

Nice to see that they are still making the Order of Bishop Platon, thanks for the link. Paul

Mark Not that I am aware of, occasionally loose oddments appear in collection which I keep in a drawer in the hope that a they will fit a piece lacking screw plate or retaining nut. Paul

Wow that is lovely and super rare, I have always liked the design of the Kassel Order of the Eisernen Helm. Paul

Certainly produced by the bucket load in some collective in rural China Paul

Shame, one of the pioneers of Balkan medal research RIP Paul

I suspect some of the RCMP would have got the war medal as they were engaged in the pursuit and capture of Nazi infiltrators in Canada. I would have thought only those involved in active war service such as this would have qualified. Paul

Not really militarized their main job was making sure that the black out was observed and aiding emergency services post raids in helping digging out people etc.. While some received gallantry medals such as George Medals, the majority only received the defence medal. Paul