paul wood

have been ill for the last few days. The piece was made in St. Petersburg by August Wendt circa 1865-75, nice piece, some unfortunate enamel damage on reverse centre but certainly a desirable piece. The market is not as strong as it was 2008-2010 but certainly ought to be around £10,000 but really something that should be put in an auction to determine and accurate price and on a good day with two or more competitive buyers who knows. Paul

Don, One sold in Kunker last June for 350 euros. Hope this is of help. Paul

Megan, Glad you have received it, later than usual due to the printers having a major breakdown and having to farm it out, such is life. Paul

For your information the owner of the Arab Campaign medal purchased it some years ago from Willy Dufossez and he has a good reputation. Paul

Bureaucracy is the same the world over. I remember as child in the 60's when my father was with HM Customs and Excise, everything, pens , pencils, paper were all marked GOVERNMENT PROPERTY, even each sheet of toilet paper. Paul

Most interesting, I think George V would have got on well with him pre-war as he used to like to shoot anything that moved (apart from when he was sticking stamps in his album). Reminds me of the Tom Lehrer song "two game wardens, seven hunters and a pure bred Jersey cow.", especially the line " they ask me how I do it, I say there's nothing to it, you just stand there looking cute and when something moves you shoot." Paul

Unfortunately I haven't the latest flash so it won't let me view. Having lost me hard drive last time I tried to install software I am reluctant to do so. Paul

There are dots in the Cornish coat of arms. could it be Cornish Constabulary. Paul

Both of the 20 dollars were struck at the San Francisco mint, hence the S beneath the eagles tail. The first year for the 20 dollars was 1849 however this date is unique, the only example residing in the Smithsonian, from 1850-1907 the liberty head design (as yours) was struck during this period at 4 mints, Philadelphia (no mark below eagles tail), Carson City (cc beneath eagles tail), New Orleans (O beneath eagles tails) and San Francisco (as Mervyn's pieces)in 1907 the design was changed with standing Liberty and a left facing flying eagle, the last date struck was 1933 when the US went off the gold standard, only one of the 1933s is available to own and it sold some years ago at $6 million dollars. While there are several rarities in the series, in the main, unless they are in absolutely mint condition they tend to be worth little more than their gold value. All the best, Paul

Re the Niger Company if it is not named it is at best an unnamed specimen which is sometimes seen with other campaign medals (In a future sale there is an unnamed specimen Sutlej and Punjab). As a specimen even if contemporary they are worth many times less than an officially named piece. Now the bronze with the number that is a rare beastie, pity you missed out on it. Paul

Thanks for that Megan, it will be interesting to see what the design will be like. Paul

Nearly up to 2,000 signatures. I have notified the editor of Medal News and hopefully he will do something about it for the next issue which should get a few more signatures. If anyone is a member of other military forums. Or has contact with anyone who runs military related publications please let them know. Every signature we can get is worth its weight in gold, alas one can't do at they used to do in Northern Ireland elections many years ago "vote early, vote often." Thanks for all the support shown by members of this forum. Paul

Most definitely worth 25 euros, It's the commemorative medal of the Old Finnish Army which was manufactured after the Independence of Finland. Turns up from time to time but not common. Paul

The Niger Company Medal was struck by Spink and Son, the silver examples when issued are named and are extremely rare. Spink struck later specimens which either have the S of SON below the bust deleted or have COPY stamped on the rim as a specimen they are still collectable but at about £100. All the best, Paul

Thanks Mervyn, Paul

Outstanding miniature group Lars I am just sad to hear your pockets were not deep enough. Paul

However if you were an Albanian illegal immigrant you would have no problem. Paul

Thanks Mervyn, the more this worthy cause gets publicised the more signatures we will get. Paul

Wonderful acquisition. It is just so sad that in "the land of the free" you are not able to own such a medal, which obviously no one is going to pretend they received but rather will be lovingly cared for and researched, which is probably why many US collectors get hooked on British or German medals. Paul

I don't know if you have heard, but the Ministry of Defence is planning to close the Royal Artillery Museum. This would obviously be a disaster for anyone interested in Army, military or indeed British heritage.. The intention, evidently, is to give all medals to the officers' mess (you can guess what might happen to them), books and records will go on the open shelves in the local library (you can guess what might happen to them), any interesting items of ordnance will be stored in a big warehouse somewhere and everything else will be got rid off (a scrap merchant has already removed a few items)!! There is an e-petition set up on the HM Government web site which already has about 1,500 signatures. If you haven't already signed it and want to, the link is below: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/64840

:unsure:Your presumption may be right Paul

Joseph The mark to the left of the Kokoshnik and 56 in the alpha mark denoting that it is from St. Petersburg rather than any part of the Eduard mark. Given that it is 1908-17 mark Eduard was the only official maker for Order for that period. I will PM you concerning your other enquiries. Paul

Not cheap but not ludicrously expensive. Paul

I cannot see anything obviously wrong with it, certainly not one of the usual suspects. I would be interested to see if other forum members have a similar opinion. Paul

Joseph, I can see no obvious problem with the piece as to authenticity, It looks like an Eduard piece, the name would be on the lacking suspension ring, with the scroll and ring lacking it would be a major and probably quite expensive restoration job. I hope you didn't pay too much for it. All the best, PAul