paul wood

They have increased in value due to interest from Russian buyers. Paul

Probably given or sold to those participating in the independence day rally. Paul

What a nice acquisition. Paul

Just looked at it on line, looks nice, certainly not a bad buy at 180 euros. Paul

Welcome Tariq, Look forward to hearing from you in the future. As a collector of the Indian subcontinent most of the interesting actions took part in modern Pakistan (North West Frontier). Bahawalpur produced several Orders and Medals of which I am fortunate to own a few, luckily my NWF Medal has its original ribbon. All the best. Paul

Here is Lawes' recommendation Lawes, David Arthur, 574021 Flight Sergeant, No 83 Sqn LG 15/8/1944 Sorties 43, Flying Hours 295.35. Flight Engineer Air2/9632 "This N.C.O. has now completed 43 operational sorties as Flight Engineer, 28 of these being with the Pathfinder Force and including attacks on many of the enemy's most heavily defended targets. He has proved himself to be a capable and outstanding Flight Engineer who was cool and courageous in the face of enemy opposition. He has at all times displayed the utmost enthusiasm for operations and has set a high standard at both his work in the air and on the ground. For his praiseworthy example of devotion to duty he is strongly recommended for the award of the Distinguished Flying Medal." 21 May 1944 Nice recommendation. Paul

Rift Valley Police appears to be spot on, they were certainly around in the 1920's and in the 50s they were involved in suppressing the Mau Mau, they still exist as a Kenyan Police Division. Paul

I wonder if VP stands for Valley Police, could be an Indian/Burmese police unit but I am stumped by what the R stands for. Paul

All issued pieces were made in silver, I am unsure of what metal the body is from the illustration. Paul

Paul, From the image it is difficult to be certain, it appears to be a rather worn but probably genuine example, to be absolutely sure one would need a better photo. Paul

The medal instituted in July 1896 covers various campaigns from 1853-95 alas there is no indication that I can find whether it was awarded for campaigns not previously recognised or was a standard veterans award. 20,000 silver and 10,000 bronze medals issued Paul

Ah Demir I recognise the piece, came from the Great Grandson of the recipient, nice to know it has gone to a good home. Paul

Yes I would certainly be interested in a copy were any to become available. Paul

First fully bearded king since Amadeo of Savoy (1870-73)(although Alfonso XII had some fairly drastic side whiskers a la Franz Joseph). I hope his reign is more successful than Amadeo's. Paul

Interestingly at DNW last week they had a selection of unused MOHs, they tended to make £500-600 hammer, seems the market in Canada is somewhat different. Paul

To misquote Churchill without the rum they will be limited to the lash and sodomy. Paul

None issued that I can see. Paul

Issued MoH's are very rarely offered in Europe, unissued specimens of varying quality turn up from time to time. Paul

It's a Civil War period 13th New York Artillery badge, probably more in Ireland than in America, as to value no idea possibly some of the US buffs will have an idea, interestingly I couldn't find any illustrations of it on Google. All the best Paul

The buyer from Kiev is known by most auction houses and banned from several, he is, to say the least, noted for slowness of payment, it seems now that he has decided to even give up on that. Given that the Imperial Russian market is flat with virtually no participation from that part of the world Dmitry is not going to get anything too exiting. The Soviet market is much stronger as it has always had a larger international following and prices for certainly the middle end material remain firm. The Imperial Russian Market provided good pay days for the auction houses and dealers for a good 6 or 7 years, just hoping another market goes crazy. All the best, Paul

Thank you for reminding us of this little known action of 1915 Paul

Yes I know an auction house somewhere between France and Austria which has been known to have the odd piece from this stable. Maybe when my India collection is complete I will start collecting Chinese warlord fakes. I could soon fill my cabinet with may hundreds of different varieties and they would be damn sight cheaper than my present collecting habits. Paul

Good luck. Paul

I find this difficult to comprehend as according to this post all miniature Japanese Orders and medals on foreign bars are fakes, surely we are talking about official and unofficial productions rather than fakes. If one uses this premise then virtually all miniatures are fakes. Perhaps my brain is hurting too much today. Paul

I would agree with Stuka on that, you certainly should be able to get a nice example for under $75, It's only when the paperwork comes with it that they start getting pricey. Paul