paul wood

Radmilo, Thank you for your interesting post I was unaware that Serbia had a large population of Russian emigres. Keep looking in the Belgrade markets you never know you might pick up something super rare. Paul

Nick, Having trouble with Google translator. Can you give a rough translation of the regulations, my Limited Russian is not up to it. Paul

Brett can you give more details about McKenzie's relics. Paul

Radmilo, Only if you can read the mark. Paul

Radmilo, Illegible is more likely. The medals were given to those who served with the Russian Red Cross and those who made donations during the Russo-Japanese War and from 1907 those who served with the military. Medals wer produced by private companies rather than the official mint, hence the numerous variations known. Unlike the majority of Imperial Campaign medals we have no figures for the numbers issued. Paul

Radmilo, I agree totally illegible, just i havve seem some with clear marks on. All the best, Paul

That I realise but is 54 the number on his pair, if so as the first two medals are re-named it could be he has named them as on his BWM and Victory (I can't recall such low naval numbers from that period). Paul

Looks OK to me. Most of the problems are with the 1918 issue. Paul

Radmillo, This is the samller version, 24mm, unfortunately I can't make the marks out on the suspension ring above the cross. I can't see anything obviously wrong with it. Paul

To misquote Descartes I sniff my underarms each morning and say " I stink therefore I am" If I were to be reincarnated I would like to be a country parson in a good living circa 1880. Paul

There are 2 medal listed as returned to the mint. 1 for the QSA and 1 for China both to a J.Bourke, could W.J. Burk and J Bourke be one of the same. Just a thought. Paul

What a nice Group, with the Ernestine, FJ and Kitchou clasp should be identifiable. Sounds like something Claudius night have an idea on. Paul

A documented piece would make a considerably more, unprovenanced no more than £40-50. Problem is that PRP material without documentation is widely available, I suspect quite a bit 'disappeared' from the manufacturers when the communist regime fell. Paul

They are certainly more common than the first two issues and large numbers came out of Poland following the end of Communist Rule (probably 10 decorations per pair of Levis or 200 Malboro) in the 1990s you could buy as many as you like for £20-30 each, whether they were issued in much larger numbers is difficult to say but I suspect like most Eastern European Orders and decorations large numbers were issued when the regime was starting to totter in the 1970s and 1980s. Documented examples of PRP issues are much harder to come by. Paul

What you have is a fourth class badge, the 1944 examples were issued from 1948. Records from the 1918-39 Republic are published (although whether they include honorary awards to foreigners I am not sure). From the Forces in West and PRP so far nothing, although possibly someone in Warsaw may be working on it. Paul

Lambert back in the early 90s there was a Polish gentleman from Nottingham who had carrier bags full of Polish material much PRP but also quite a number of Polonia Restituta I didn't like the look of, most of them, like yours, had similar qualities to the PRP issues, almost as though they had had a 1918 substituted for a 1944, there were just over 2,400 5th classes awrded prior to WWII and unknown number issued by Polish forces in the West. I would pass and wait until a somewhat nicer example turns up. Paul

Well put Peter, although I always remember my headmaster's favourite phrase "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions" Paul

I notice he uses the name St John, his offering is far from saintly and he is even stupid enough to show the edge which would not fool a blind man. Paul

That is one fantastic group. I would imagine as a coloured P.O.W. he probably had a rough time at the hands of his captors. Paul

Why do you think Ernst Blass made his masterpieces in Nepal, same reason that lots of multinationals use third world labour, its all down to economics and profit margin. Also you'd pay a lot for European manufacture but it would not be as good (health and safety forbids the use of poisons in making nice enamel) Paul

Thanks Nick I was thinking that I had seen ones of lower numbers but of course they were pre 1859. Paul

GF Sorry for not replying sooner (I did but it got zapped by a fault). I'm not sure whether you are interested in purchasing Waterloo medals or you are just researching casualty details. In any sizeable collection of Waterloo medals there is likely to be casualties (although not KIA). KIA medals are occaisionally found awarded to officers, these are very rare and can fetch very high prices, a recent KIA to a colonel in the KGL realised £20,000. Prices for casualties depend very much on a number of things 1 condition of medal 2 nature of wound, someone who had his horse shot under him and was severly wounded wold fetch a lot more than someone who had a gunshot wound to the hand 3 regiment, a Scots Greys casualty is going to fetch quite a bit more than an Artillery casualty. Things to be wary of, there are a lot,for many reasons, of re-named Waterloos around, most reasonably contemporary, the recipient was broke, pawned his Waterloo, then bought another one from the pawn brokers and had it renamed, also if you walked into a pub wearing a waterloo medal it was likely that someone would buy you a drink, So someone not entitled purchased a Waterloo medal and awarded them to themselves. If you are thinking of buying a Waterloo medal you are advised to either go to a reputable dealer or auction house who guarantee the authenticity of their items, I would be very wary of buying on E-bay or similar sites unless you are 100% sure of the item. I hope this is helpful. Paul Paul

Sorry Nick what I mean was it attached to a side arm, rather than worn with the group. Paul